Page 66

Shaurya leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. “Your Grandpa wants the bottle of ayurvedic oil—”

He didn’t even get a full sentence out before Nandini turned around and marched towards him over like a woman on a mission, the rolling pin clutched tightly in her flour-dusted hand.

“You told Varun?” she hissed, not even bothering to lower her voice. “Seriously, Shaurya?”

He blinked, thrown by the speed and fire of her reaction. “Told him wha—”

“The kiss!” she snapped, jabbing the rolling pin accusingly at his chest. “You hadonekiss to keep quiet about. One! And you couldn’t keep it from your best friend? Imagine how you’d feel if I told Priya?”

His brows lifted, but instead of backing down, he stepped forward and plucked the rolling pin from her hand with maddening ease, setting it on the counter behind him.

“I don’t care if you told Priya. Or the entire Serene Meadows community on the WhatsApp group,” he said, his voice low and husky. “I only care about one thing. What didyouthink about that kiss.”

She blinked, caught off guard. “W-What?”

He leaned in, just enough to crowd her, his eyes holding hers as if he could see deep into her soul. “Outdated? Seriously? From what angle was it outdated for you?”

Her face turned red, but she stood her ground, crossing her arms across her chest like a shield. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just—okay, technically, you didn’t even tilt your head the right way.”

Shaurya blinked. “Excuse me?”

She gestured animatedly, already digging her own grave. “There’s a science to kissing, you know? A rhythm. A neck-tilt-to-hand placement ratio. And you… you just lunged.”

His mouth fell open, clearly baffled at the accusation.

“You were all—” she paused mid-sentence to demonstrate an over-the-top, awkward lunge that made him raise both eyebrows in disbelief “—like a sudden attack. No buildup. No warning. It was like being kissed by an overconfident avalanche.”

An incredulous laugh escaped him. “An avalanche?”

“Yes!” she said, sticking to her point. “A warm cologne-scented avalanche that doesn’t even ask before it knocks the wind out of you and makes you forget your own name for full six seconds. I was caught off guard, that’s all,” she added defensively. “That’s why it felt... outdated.”

“Wow,” he said finally, his tone half amused, half offended. “That was the most dramatic insult I’ve ever heard for a kiss that quite literally madeyougrab my collar back.”

“I—” she opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “That was a reflex! Like when a puppy thinks it’s about to fall off the bed!”

“Good to know,” he murmured, his eyes glinting. “So next time I kiss you, I’ll remember to tilt my head at a mathematically precise angle, warn you three to five seconds in advance, and make sure no avalanche energy is involved.”

She sputtered, her cheeks reddening. “There won’t be a next time!”

He smiled like he absolutely didn’t believe her.

And frankly, neither did she. Both of them stilled.

Because they both remembered…thekiss. The only one that had happened. The one on New Year’s Eve, in the dark, with no names, no faces, just two mouths crashing in a moment that had burned itself onto both of them like a brand.

His eyes lowered, drawn to her lips, slow and deliberate, as if he was replaying and reliving the kiss in full colour in his mind.

Nandini’s breath caught. Her fingers curled into the sides of her dress, trying to ground herself. But it didn’t help. Not with him looking at her like that. Like he was already imagining breaking that “no next time” promise.

There was a pin drop silence for a few seconds before he raised an eyebrow, then smiled—a slow and wicked smile. “You look like someone who knowsexactlywhat she wants when a man kisses her.”

Her mouth parted in protest. “Of course I do. I read romance novels.”

He nodded, his gaze drifting past her, landing on the small book at the edge of the kitchen table. He walked over, picked it up, flipped through the pages, and then turned back toward her with an absolutely mocking grin.

“You were reading ahot neighbour romance?” he asked, holding the cover up like it was a piece of damning evidence.

Her face burned. She snatched the book from his hand with more speed than grace. “It’s—It’sPriya’sbook. She gave it to me. Forced me to read it. I haven’t even started it, I swear.”