Page 61

Seriously?

By the time Varun sauntered into the villa, wearing that trademark irritating grin, Shaurya was still slouched on the patio near the pool, legs stretched out on the lounger, his laptop resting untouched on his lap. From where he sat, the Raichand Villa was clearly visible just beyond the mango tree.

Not that he was waiting to catch a glimpse of her or anything.

Absolutely not!

He genuinely liked working from this spot. It usually cleared his mind, gave him ideas, and helped him reset. But today, none of that was happening. All he could focus on were his restless thoughts and the three ridiculous words Nandini had thrown at him the day before.

“Hey, buddy. What happened?” Varun asked, flopping onto the lounger beside him like he owned the place.

“Nothing,” Shaurya muttered broodily, eyes glued to his now cold coffee, refusing to look at him.

“C’mon. Don’t lie to me. I can easily read your face. That’s the face of a man who just got emotionally kicked.”

Shaurya shot him a glare, still clutching his coffee cup like a weapon. “Don’t start.”

Varun raised his hands in mock surrender. “Okay, okay. Let me guess… Nandini?”

Silence.

Then a groan escaped Shaurya.

“That bad, huh?” Varun leaned in, curious now. “Did you talk to her? Tell her about the kiss? About the actual mix-up?”

Shaurya exhaled a tortured breath. He hated that Varun knew him too well. “Yes. I told her. And guess what she said?”

“Oh, this should be good,” Varun said, his eyes lighting up like a kid waiting for a lollipop.

“She called me hot and outdated.”

There was a pause.

Varun blinked, then snorted and then burst into laughter so loudly that a bird twittered and flew out of the mango tree in protest.

“Hot and outdated?” Varun wheezed, nearly falling off the lounger. “What are you—Windows 95?”

Shaurya groaned and dragged a hand over his face like he could erase the memory away. “Glad you’re enjoying this.”

“Oh, I’m ecstatic,” Varun said between chuckles. “Please tell me that’s all she said.”

Shaurya shot him a flat look. “She compared the kiss to an old flip phone, Varun.A damn flip phone.Said it was clunky, awkward, and needed to be warmed up just to make a connection.”

Varun stared at him for a second. Then he lost it. He doubled over, clutching his stomach, laughing all over again. “A flip phone?! She actually said that? That’s brutal, man. That’s not even criticism. That’s a full-blown digital insult.”

Shaurya reached for a cushion, briefly considering suffocating him with it.

Varun wiped a tear from his eye, still snorting.

“Dude, maybe it’s time you started dating again. You know, meet people who don’t compare your kissing to obsolete technology.”

“Cut the crap,” Shaurya scowled. “Your brilliant idea of setting me up on a blind date on New Year’s Eve is what got me here in the first place. A woman ten years younger telling memykiss is ‘outdated’? I don’t need any more of your ridiculous ideas.”

Varun still hadn’t stopped chuckling. “So what are you going to do? Change her mind? Prove her wrong? Upgrade your firmware? Install Kiss 2.0?”

Shaurya shot him a look that could have curdled milk.

Varun scooted closer, pushing aside the laptop that had been pointlessly resting on Shaurya’s lap.