Page 36

“Oh?” he said, clearly amused. “And what exactly did you bet on?”

“That you wouldn’t show up,” she grumbled. “Now, thanks to your sudden need for unpredictability, I’ll have to host a pizza party for all those girls next weekend.”

He raised an eyebrow. “A pizza party? That’s your idea of punishment?”

“Not the party,” she muttered, rolling her eyes. “Losing to them. I hate losing, especially because of someone like you.”

Shaurya took a step closer to her, the crowd fading into background noise as his eyes held hers. “Let this be a lesson to you then. Never ever underestimate me.”

Her lips parted in disbelief. “I didn’t underestimate you. I just overestimated your ability to stick to being the neighbourhood grump.”

“Grump?” he repeated, the word sharp on his tongue like it left a bitter aftertaste. “Is that what they call me?”

“Among other things,” she said sweetly, shrugging as if it was common knowledge. “But yes, that one’s a favourite.”

He didn’t say anything at first. He just stared at her, his eyes darkening, not exactly with anger but with disbelief. As if no one had ever dared to say that to his face before.

No one but Nandini.

Before she could read deeper into that look, a few men from the community, around Shaurya’s age, approached him with polite smiles. He immediately straightened, slipping back into his more reserved persona and began chatting with them.

Nandini took the opportunity to step back, politely excusing herself and walked off towards her friends, her stomach still doing that annoying flutter it always did when he was around.

CHAPTER 7

31stDecember Night – Community Hall

Amidst the celebration, Shaurya stood at the corner, engaged in polite conversation with a group of men from Serene Meadows. He nodded at the right moments and offered brief smiles here and there, but his heart wasn’t in it. His attention was only half on the conversation.

The other half was undeniably and involuntarily drawn to the far end of the garden, where a group had gathered to light the wish lanterns. His eyes scanned the area and found her almost instantly.

Nandini stood among the women and kids, her cheeks flushed with excitement, her red dress catching the light just enough to make her stand out amongst others like always. She was holding a small lantern, her hands cupped around it as if it were something precious. He watched her close her eyes for a second, her lips moving in a silent wish, her expression suddenly softer and hopeful. Then, with careful hands, she lit the lantern and released it into the sky.

The orange glow soared higher and higher, and when it didn’t falter and floated just right, she actually let out a small squeal and clapped like a kid. He saw her throw her arms around her friend, Priya, sharing her joy in a way that was almost too pure for the cynical world he lived in.

Shaurya’s mouth twitched into something dangerously close to a smile. Of course, he’d been right to call her kiddo. She had that chaotic, bright, sugar-rush energy about her that kids often did. And yet, there was something about Nandini Raichand that sent all kinds of warning bells in his head. She was bold, unpredictable, and refreshingly genuine. And that, more than anything, was what threw him off balance.

She was perfect. The perfect woman next door. Pretty in a way that wasn’t forced—more warmth than gloss, more soul than polish. Cute without trying, charming without pretence. The kind of woman who could fluster you just by tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

She had all the qualities that made a man not just look twice, but stare, unable to tear his gaze away. Including him.

And that was the problem.

He shouldn’t be thinking like this. He wasn’t supposed to. And yet, his eyes hardly left her beautiful face.

Nandini was like that fresh wave of homely air a man breathes after flying in and out of foreign cities, speaking in boardrooms, shaking hands with polished strangers—only to land back in his home country and finally exhale in relief.

She was every man’s dream.

And that thought? That one dangerous, treacherous thought terrified him.

Because every time this ridiculous feeling clawed its way into his head, it sent a jolt of disbelief through him. He couldn’t believe that Nandini Raichand, of all people, was the first woman since Rhea, his ex-wife, to have ever made him feel anything close to... interest. Real, unsettling, and distracting kind of interest.

He remembered the other day at the community shopping centre, when he’d pulled her aside and told her not to publiclydisplay her ‘fondness’for him. Fondness. Really? As if what they had was anything remotely sweet.

And then, because his mouth had been quicker than his brain, he’d blurted out that one line.

“They’ll have you married to me and pregnant with twins before February if they ever find out it was you in my villa that night.”