12. Naina
Chapter Twelve
NAINA
Hours later, I found myself lying on a mattress of clouds, cocooned in blankets that also felt like clouds. I was watching reruns of The Nanny because nothing provided entertainment the night before your wedding than a woman desperate to get married to her rich boss.
Poking out an arm from under the blanket, I felt around the top until my hand hit the box of French chocolates. The elaborate GC on top of the box told me it was Guillaume Chocolates - handmade, French chocolate, delicious, expensive, and melty.
After I threw up, Samira drew me a bubble bath, put on a romance audiobook, and disappeared. I had redrawn the bath twice before I was forced to get out when my fingers started to prune.
Somehow, all those days Kash had come to the restaurant and even when he offered me five million dollars to be his fake wife, I didn’t put two and two together. Kash wasn’t just rich. He was wealthy.
Blood so blue it might as well be frozen.
His family owned this hotel and so many others like it. I’d known all of this, obviously. One could hardly ignore one of the wealthiest families in the country.
And I was going to marry him.
I was out of my depth with this one.
Samira was hopefully asleep in her own room, after she explored the entire suite. At least one of us was having fun, and I didn’t hold it against her. This place was no less than a playground.
My phone rang, startling me, and I reached for it to silence the harsh ringtone. Who the hell was calling me this late? It was almost two in the morning. Since Kat was three hours ahead, I doubted it would be her.
Kash’s name flashed on the screen.
Oh, if it wasn’t my would-be husband.
“Hello.”
“Goldie,” Kash said.
That nickname startled me just like it had when he used it two days ago. A part of me wondered if he remembered that night. Two idiots on a rooftop in Manhattan on New Year’s Eve.
It was stupid to think he remembered anything. Sometimes, I felt like I was remembering that night through a haze of rose-colored glasses, making it more than it was. I remembered it like a dream, though. Somethings might be made up, but I remembered the feelings, the comfort and safety.
He really needed to stop using that nickname, though.
“Baron.”
He laughed sharply. “I knew I was going to regret telling you that.”
I took a deep breath, settling more comfortably on the bed. It was weirdly nice to be talking to him, and I wasn’t surprised by that. There was a connection between us. At least I wasn’t the only one in this ‘relationship’ who was wide awake thinking about tomorrow.
“You’re disturbing my beauty sleep the night before my wedding,” I said.
“Considering you answered my call in seconds, I doubt you were getting beauty sleep.”
I heard a tiny meow in the background and Kash’s deep sigh.
“Is that a cat ?”
“Two, actually. Lucinda and Josephine.”
I blinked up at the ceiling. Who was this man? Apparently, someone who had cats and gave them human names.
I was marrying him but I didn’t know the first thing about him. God, I really was desperate and stupid. Goes to show, getting an Ivy League education didn’t make someone smart.
He told me I would be safer if I didn’t know, but what did that even mean. Why wouldn’t I be safe?
“Can you tell me something about yourself?” I asked.
“Like what?”
“Like your hobbies. Your likes and dislikes. Where you went to school.”
“Why do you want to know that?” He sounded so confused. Has this man never been on a date?
“Because we’re getting married. Wouldn’t it be odd if I knew nothing about you?”
Kash scoffed. “It would be more odd if you knew anything about me. Trust me, you can lie through your teeth about my likes and dislikes and everyone will believe whatever you tell them.”
My heart sank and the idea that I was making a huge mistake burrowed deeper into my psyche. I thought I’d learned from my mistakes, but apparently not. This was what happened when you accepted help from people, they took advantage.
Panic started to set in. It wasn’t just about me anymore, it was also about Sami.
I would find another way to renovate the Windfield and pay off the debt. A bank robbery wasn’t completely off the table.
“This isn’t going to work,” I said, throwing the covers off. “I’m going back to Carmel, and I’ll transfer all the money back to you.”
“Wait, Naina, you can’t be serious,” he said. It was hard to tell over the phone, but for a second I thought he was genuinely panicked.
“I don’t know the first thing about you, Kash, and we’re getting married. I don’t need to know your whole life story, but I do need to know something so I can delude myself into thinking I am not marrying a complete stranger.”
I stood in the middle of the room, staring out at the vastness of it. From where I was, I could see the bathroom counter and the luxury items scattered across it. The flowers, the chocolate, the champagne were nice. Maybe the old me, who was more prone to taking risks, would have been swept away in the excitement of it all. But this me had crashed and burned.
Kash cursed softly. “Fine. Fine, okay? I will tell you things.”
He sounded like it was physically painful for him to do this.
“I’m listening.”
He didn’t say anything for what felt like ten minutes.
“I don’t have time for hobbies. But, I like foreign films. Cinema isn’t limited to Hollywood.”
That wasn’t a lot. It wasn’t a declaration that he wasn’t a serial killer or that he didn’t have skeletons buried in his closet. It was still something. Right?
“Is it the truth?” I hedged.
“I won’t lie to you.” He sounded so sincere, I believed him. He had had plenty of opportunities to lie to me and he hadn’t. His admission eased the knot inside my chest.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he begrudged.
Slowly, I got back in bed, pulling the covers over me. I listened to the rhythm of his breathing, in, out, in, out. It was strangely comforting. I was going to marry this man. However temporarily, we would be husband and wife.
“Can we make a deal?” I asked.
“Go on.”
“From now until we go our separate ways, we share one thing about ourselves with each other every day.”
Kash groaned. “You can just say you hate me.”
“You annoy the ever-loving patience out of me, but I don’t hate you. It’s why this a deal, and not a condition.”
Something crashed on his side and Kash grumbled quietly, followed by rustling noises. A few minutes later he was back on the phone, groaning. It reverberated through me and my body clenched with need. I clutched the covers tightly, pulling them up over my head.
“Sorry, that was just Lucy throwing a tantrum,” Kash explained.
“It’s okay,” I murmured.
“You sound different. Cold feet?”
“Nah, I wear socks to bed.”
Kash’s chuckle was soft and rich, warming me from the inside. He had such a nice voice. He could read me the dictionary and I would be too lost in his voice to pay attention to anything else.
“Is this one of your little facts about yourself?”
“Sure.”
He released a deep breath.
“Fine, I will play your game.”
“Oh, it’s not really a game?—”
“Naina?”
I swallowed. “Yeah?”
“I’m doing this because I realize you need it, but you also need to understand that I don’t share. Ever. When I told you no one knows anything about me, I meant it. It’s how I have chosen to live my life. This is a privilege only you will have. So, yeah, I’ll play along with your little game. As long as you’re brave enough to take whatever comes next.”
I held my breath under the blanket. Leave it to him to turn getting to know him into a threat.
What was I doing? I wasn’t brave. A part of me wanted to take back the words. We didn’t need to know each other for this temporary marriage to work, as long as we both got what we needed. Let’s not forget, if Kash ever found out what I’d done, he could just as easily take everything from me. I should be staying far, far away from him.
And yet, the only words out of my mouth were, “I understand.”