Page 19 of Entangled Vows

Just then, his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and answered without even looking at the screen.

“Vikram,” came the familiar voice on the other end.

Vikram froze mid-step. “Arjun?”

His best friend calling him wasn’t surprising, but considering he was in Paris, it shocked him a bit.

“Who else?” Arjun replied lightly, though beneath the teasing was a flicker of concern. “You sound surprised.”

Vikram narrowed his eyes as he looked around the dim hall. “I wasn’t expecting your call. What time is it in Paris?”

“The same as Dehradun, since I’m right here,” Arjun said casually as if it was no big deal.

It took a moment for his words to sink in, and Vikram froze. “What?”

“I’m at your place,” Arjun replied, acting way too chill considering the bomb he’d just dropped.

“What?” Vikram repeated.

“I’m at your house.”

“You are in Dehradun?” Vikram’s voice shot up in disbelief.

“Where else would I be?”

“You were in Paris! You were literally accepting awards four days ago—”

“Exactly. Four days ago,” Arjun cut in smoothly. “After the call we had that night, when you told me about the clause that had you in such a bind, there was no way I was going to just sit here sipping Bordeaux while you sounded like you’d been run over by a truck.”

Vikram’s grip on the phone tightened. “I didn’t mean for that to... Fuck. Arjun, you shouldn’t have bothered coming all this way.”

Arjun chuckled. “Seriously? You call me at two in the morning, all upset, and you didn’t think I’d be here?”

Vikram shook his head, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips. “Izz is going to kill me for ruining her Parisian holiday.”

“Don’t flatter yourself,” Arjun retorted.

Before Vikram could reply, Ira’s indignant voice boomed in the background. “Vikram! Seriously?! You are worried about our vacation right now?”

Vikram couldn’t help but grin. Over the years, Arjun’s wife, Ira, had become a really close friend.

“Izz—”

“Don’t you ‘Izz’ me!” she shot back. “You needed us, plain and simple. Well, now that we’re all here... quit pretending everything’s okay. That won’t fly with us!”

“We allcame,”Adil drawled with his trademark nonchalance.

“Allof you?” Vikram blinked, his mind reeling. “You’re all here?”

“Of course, Vicky,” Vaayu chimed in, his voice full of amusement. “Now hurry the fuck up. We expect you to come and mope with us.”

“I wasn’t moping. And you didn’t have to wreck your plans—”

“Say one more word about ‘ruined plans,’ and I swear I’ll drive all the way back there just to smack you,” Kabir growled.

“Vick, drop the tough-guy act,” Kyra teased, her voice playful.

“Yeah, you might fool the world, but we know you’re a marshmallow underneath,” Mira laughed.