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“Do it,” he snapped, and she rose with a weary sigh.

“You’re a pain in the ass,” she muttered as she stomped over to my end of the boat.

I set the oars down, ignoring my thumping heart as she climbed onto my lap.

It’s fake. It’s all for show, I told myself. But when I wrapped my hands around her waist and looked into her eyes, it felt far too real. Her pupils were dilated, and a pulse fluttered at the base of her throat, showing that she wasn’t as unmoved as she made out to be.

Sunaina wound her arms around my neck and turned to Sufi.

“How much longer?” she asked, wriggling a little to get more comfortable.

“Smile at your husband,” ordered Sufi.

Sunaina tried to smile, but her smile dried up as she stared into my eyes. Her full breasts brushed against my chest as her breath came faster. Her lips parted, and I couldn’t take my eyes off them. Her face was so close to mine. All I had to do was lean forward and claim her plump, juicy lips in a long, wet kiss.

I tightened my fingers at her waist to keep her still because if she wriggled any more, my rock-hard dick was going to leap out of my shorts. She licked her lips, and I groaned under my breath. My wife was going to be the death of me.

“I think we’re done here,” I called out hoarsely, and Sunaina froze when she felt my hardness against her.

“Yep, all done,” she squeaked, clambering off my lap hastily.

In her haste, she knocked one of the oars into the water and I groaned in horror.

“Oops! Don’t worry, I see it,” she said, reaching for the oar that bobbed on the surface of the water, just out of her reach.

“Don’t lean too far,” I warned, but it was too late.

As soon as she leaned over the side, the boat began to rock. Before I could pull her back, she leaned too far, and the boat overturned. Sunaina screamed as we hit the icy cold water with a loud splash. She went under a couple of times before I fished her out of the water and held on to the side of the boat as I dragged her ashore, with Sufi holding her other hand. Thankfully, we hadn’t rowed too far from the shore before Sufi stopped us to take pictures.

He ran to get us some towels while I turned Sunaina onto her side and thumped her on the back to make her cough up all the dirty water.

“Stop hitting me,” she snarled.

“I’m just trying to save your life,” I replied, trying to hide my grin.

She looked so adorably grumpy with her dress all soaked and her wet hair plastered to her scalp. It almost made me forget we were just playing make-believe.

“Let’s just go home, please,” she groaned, and I didn’t blame her.

Our picnic had been a spectacular fail so far.

CHAPTER 9

SUNAINA

Isneezed loudly, and there was a chorus ofBless Youfrom the people gathered around the kitchen island. I glared at them in response because this was all their fault. If they hadn’t overreacted to a couple of stupid articles, I wouldn’t have almost drowned in a lake.

“Don’t be mad, Aunty Sue. You look like a mermaid,” said Aisha, holding up her iPad. “Look.”

“No, thank you, baby,” I said, blowing my nose loudly. “I’ve seen enough for a lifetime. No more damage control! I don’t care what anyone says about the state of our marriage.”

“Oh, hush,” snapped Sufi. “Look how much love you’re getting online.”

He had posted the pics two hours ago, and they were already viral. I didn’t know what magic Sufi did, but the images he shared painted a very romantic picture of our marriage. Except for the one where Viren looked like a chiselled Greek god withhis wet, white shirt plastered to his broad chest, and I looked like a beached whale as he carried me out of the water.

“Now, what do we want to do tomorrow?” he asked and I shuddered in reply.

“Why are you trying to kill me, babe? Isn’t it enough that I almost drowned for you today?”