Page 76

And oddly enough… he liked it more than he cared to admit.

As they rolled through the hallway toward the living room, there was a sudden shift in energy. Nandini’s friends were here, and the sounds of laughter, clinking glasses, and the mouthwatering aroma of freshly delivered pizza filled the air.

But the second Shaurya wheeled Grandpa into the room, everything stilled, like someone had hit the pause button on the scene.

Priya froze mid-sip, Kavya nearly dropped the stack of napkins she was holding, and Jyoti let out an audible gasp, as if she’d seen someone walk straight off a movie set. A few other girls Nandini had invited blinked wide-eyed, their conversations dissolving into flustered giggles and hushed whispers. One of them even flipped back her hair seductively, and the other reapplied her lip gloss.

Shaurya was no stranger to female attention, but this sudden temperature spike was hard to ignore.

Grandpa’s smirk was instant as he scanned the room with narrowed eyes. All the girls had moved into Shaurya’s orbit like he was the sun and they were very devoted satellites.

“Shaurya, you didn’t tell us you’d be attending,” Priya said, her voice just a bit too bright.

“Oh my god, you look so different in casuals,” Jyoti chimed in, shamelessly checking him out.

“Do you always dress like this on your days off?” Kavya added, already placing herself a little too close on the sofa.

Shaurya, calm as ever, gave a courteous nod and his trademark half smile, but the change in the room was unmistakable.

Grandpa’s eyes danced between the girls and Shaurya, and though he said nothing for a beat, his thoughts were very clear.

This boy walks into a room, and suddenly, everyone’s hormones lose coordination.

He cleared his throat loudly, and with a mischievous tilt of his head, he said, “Well, well. I didn’t know I invited a walking heartthrob. Had I known, I would’ve charged for entry tickets. I could’ve made a fortune.”

Shaurya turned, half an eyebrow raised at Grandpa, already preparing for a sarcastic comeback, but Grandpa was quicker. He pointed towards the main door just as Varun strolled in, grinning as he pulled off his sunglasses with a dramatic flourish.

“I meant him,” Grandpa said, tilting his head toward Varun.

“Obviously,” Shaurya muttered, knowing how Varun had somehow left a deep impact on Grandpa with his easy charm and cool and jovial personality. Yet, this time, Shaurya knew exactly whom the old man had meant.

Varun beamed inside, greeting Grandpa and Shaurya first before meeting the girls, who were thrilled to have another handsome hunk to admire.

And then Shaurya saw her.

Nandini stepped into the room from the hallway, laughing at something Lakshmi had just said. Her head tilted slightly as she smiled, and the sound of her laughter did something to him. Derailed his thoughts. Disarmed his mood completely.

She was in black.

A soft, flared cotton dress that floated just above her knees, moving with her like it had memorised her rhythm. No sequins, no glitter, no dramatic flair. But on her, it looked lethal. The dark fabric contrasted against her warm-toned skin, making her earrings glint brighter and her eyes look sharper as she glanced around the room. Her hair was loosely pinned up, with a few tendrils slipping free at the nape of her neck, framing her face in the kind of way that made a man forget everything, even how to blink.

And her smile?

It undid him. Every single time.

Whatever the rest of the night held, one thing was clear.

This party was about to get very interesting.

****************

The moment Nandini stepped into the living room, shefelthis gaze. Her dress swayed gently with her movement, her hair falling just right around her face, and she knew without looking that he was watching.

He didn’t say anything. He didn’t need to. His eyes trailed her as if they were tethered, as if each step she took carved its way into his focus. And while he sat there beside her grandfather, calm and unreadable to the rest of the world, she felt the heat of his gaze on her skin, like he was touching her with just his stare.

Which he wasn’t.

Obviously.