Page 12 of Pillow Talk (Rally Romance #1)

Once her shorts and T-shirt were on, she ran her hands through her hair. Still, he didn’t move.

She turned to him.

‘Okay, is this one of your lawyer moves?’

Sen didn’t answer.

‘Fine. I didn’t think about how you would feel when I allowed Jeremy, the boring psychologist, to chat me up at the bar on Monday. I’m sorry, but in my defence, Anni made me do it.’

Sen didn’t budge.

‘I give up. What’s going on?’

‘How’s work?’

Finally. He’d forgiven her, she assumed.

‘It’s good. I got two more orders from Felicity,’ she said.

‘I mean how’s work at the shop?’

His eyes never left her face. It was as if he could see her soul.

Shona looked away.

‘It’s good,’ she lied and walked out of the bedroom.

Sen followed. She entered the kitchen, opened the fridge and pulled out two bottles of water.

‘Are you managing your business and working at the shop?’

Shona nodded – too fast.

She handed him the bottle, which he didn’t even look at before he placed it on the centre island.

Shona fumbled as she opened her bottle.

He was watching her every move.

She took a sip of water, and a few droplets ran down the side of her mouth.

Sen shook his head and walked out.

Shona stood dumbfounded. What had just happened?

She tried to figure it out for a minute before she ran out into a fully dressed Sen about to leave her apartment.

‘Seriously, Sen? Why are you being such a brat?’

Sen took a step towards her and stopped.

‘I’m being a brat? Shona, you’re the one who hasn’t grown up.

I am not the Sen who tagged along like a lost puppy.

I am not the Sen you saw for a few weeks once a year.

I am Sen who has been here for six months.

Sen, who has been in your bed. Sen, who thought you trusted him.

I gave you a chance to tell the truth, but you still lied.

You kept something as big as quitting the shop from me because you don’t trust me.

Dammit Shona, I have always been your friend. ’

Shona’s mouth went dry and her ears were ringing. She tried to respond but no words came out of her mouth.

Sen shook his head.

‘I can’t do this. It’s messy. It’s complicated. It’s Shona. For fuck’s sake, Shona!’

He took one last look at her and walked out.

The taxi stopped at the red traffic light near the shop.

Shona looked the other way. She couldn’t believe that she hadn’t heard from her family in almost a month.

Was she being stubborn? Did she do the wrong thing?

Was it disrespectful? These questions kept her up at night.

She tossed and turned, replaying the scene before she’d walked out of the shop.

She’d obviously hurt her parents. What else could be the reason that they couldn’t even stand to think about her. Not even a text message.

She was on her way to meet Felicity. This taxi ride to Durban was going to cost her a fortune but it would be worth it. Felicity was not just a wedding planner; she was a wedding planner for the rich and famous. And now most of her brides wanted a Shona Shah veil.

Last night when she couldn’t sleep, she sat down and worked on her budget.

She had to explore hiring a seamstress. She couldn’t do it on her own.

But could they work from her apartment? Shona wished she had someone to bounce these ideas off, but she didn’t.

Anni and Sam had left for Paris five days before.

She didn’t want to disturb her friend on her birthday European trip, so she kept text messages brief and asked the usual questions about sightseeing and the cuisine.

The taxi was just nearing the freeway towards the city when her phone rang.

‘Hello.’

‘Hi Shona. It’s Sven.’

‘Sven?’

‘Your neighbour. Your smoke alarm has gone off.’

Shona didn’t even thank him. She cut the call and told the taxi driver to race back to her apartment. He found a way to turn around and they headed back.

She paid him and jumped out as soon as the vehicle stopped in front of her apartment block.

She ran up the stairs, fumbled to find her keys, dropped her sketch book, picked it up again and finally opened the door. The stench of burnt toast hit her.

Shona threw her bag and sketch book on the couch and raced to the kitchen.

Thank heavens! There was no fire, just a cloud of smoke above the toaster. I must get a pop-up one! The hundredth time she’d told herself this.

How did she forget the toast? Come to think of it, she hadn’t eaten breakfast. She was in such a rush to get to Durban.

Oh no … Felicity! Shona would have to reschedule.

She called Felicity and told her she’d had an emergency.

Felicity was understanding, and thankfully didn’t ask any details before rescheduling for another day.

Shona hadn’t explained and wondered what the sophisticated wedding planner thought her emergency was.

She couldn’t exactly tell Felicity that her life was falling apart: that her parents had probably disowned her, Sen had walked out of her life two weeks ago, and there wasn’t a single person she could talk to.

Shona used plastic tongs to remove the charred toast. She dumped it in the bin and sighed. This day couldn’t get any worse.

Her doorbell rang. Apparently, it could.

Shona kicked off her heels and went to the door. It could only be a delivery guy with the fabric she’d ordered online, so she opened up and held out her hand.

‘Aruna?’

Her sister brushed past her.

‘Shona, you have to come back. I know nothing about Dad’s invoicing system. It’s all fallen on me,’ her sister demanded.

Shona closed the door and faced Aruna. ‘No hello Shona? Are you okay Shona?’

‘How about Shona, stop being a drama queen? This has gone on long enough. You made your point.’

Shona shook her head. ‘I don’t think so. Because if I’d made my point, you’d know I’m not coming back to work in the shop.’

‘What do you want, Shona? Dad to beg you to come back?’

Shona shook her head again.

‘Tell me, why do you want me back? Because you miss me?’

No reply.

‘I’ll tell you why you want me back. Because you now have to work. And I mean really work, not hide in the back office playing on your cellphone or whatever you do.’

‘How dare you?’ Aruna shot back angrily. ‘Unlike you, I care about Mom and Dad. I didn’t desert them like you did. Guess what, Shona, the world does not revolve around you.’

Before Shona could answer, Aruna turned on her heel and stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door behind her.

Shona stared at the door for a few seconds and then retreated to her bedroom. She slipped out of her stylish grey dress and put on jeans and a tee.

Her stomach growled. She was definitely not going to have toast. She went back to the kitchen and made a wholesome breakfast – an omelette. After cracking her last egg, she noted that she’d have to go grocery shopping soon.

The nerve of Aruna. She replayed the conversation in her head as she made breakfast.

Carrying the plate and a glass of juice to the dining room, she sat down and ignored the pit in her stomach as she remembered Sen. Two weeks. No contact in two weeks.

Shona took a bite and as the food went down her throat, she sighed. She hadn’t had a proper meal in days. Noodles, rice crispies, toast and even crackers were on her menu. This was no way to live. She could cook, so she should cook!

Her mind ventured back to Aruna. Where did they go wrong?

Aruna was two years younger than her. She’d wanted to be a professional traditional dancer and open her own school.

She’d put her heart and soul into it. As children, while Shona was designing wedding dresses, Aruna was always at dance practice.

She was graceful. She was beautiful. She was a perfect dancer.

And then one day she came home and just said she never wanted to dance again.

She never gave them a reason and no one probed her.

Looking back, Shona realised that her parents should have probed.

She should have probed. But she was a couple of months away from leaving for college and that was her focus.

It shouldn’t have been; her baby sister’s dilemma should have been.

But Aruna and Shona were not close. Their grandmother always pitted them against each other.

Who was better with the customers? Who could work the till better?

Who was more dedicated to the store? It became an unwritten competition.

Aruna had no time for Shona and Shona had no time for her.

Their sisterly bond was lost long before they even knew who they were.

Shona washed up and tidied the kitchen. She should get some work done. She was about to sit at her sewing machine when the doorbell rang again. She sighed and reluctantly went to answer it.

Who was this blond, blue-eyed hunk at her door?

‘Hi, I’m Sven – your neighbour. I figured I should formally introduce myself since I’m going to be home a lot more nowadays.’

‘The FBI let you go?’

Shona realised what she’d said and blushed.

‘FBI. Good one. What else do you have?’

‘Travelling salesman?’

He grimaced.

‘Travelling circus?’

Sven let out a hearty laugh.

‘Let me put you out of your misery. I’m a doctor. I worked for an organisation that travels to remote areas around the world to provide medical services to impoverished communities.’

‘Impressive,’ Shona responded.

Sven peeped over her shoulder. ‘Your boyfriend home?’

Shona raised an eyebrow. ‘Boyfriend?’

‘Tall, wears a suit, looks like a lawyer or CEO of sorts, drives a sports car,’ Sven replied.

Shona looked away. ‘Sen’s not my boyfriend.’

‘Okay. Sol gave me your number this morning when I called him about the smoke alarm. He doesn’t really like to be involved, does he?’

Shona laughed. ‘Yeah, Sol is the caretaker who simply doesn’t care.’

Sven grinned. ‘I’m glad we met, Shona. I’m looking forward to seeing more of you. I’d better get on my way.’

‘Bye Sven,’ Shona said. He took the few steps to his door, waved and disappeared into the apartment.

Shona closed her door and plopped down on the couch.

It was Friday. She missed Sen. She thought back to Sven’s question.

Boyfriend. What would Sen be like as a boyfriend?

Shona lay down on the couch and looked back at the last six months.

Sen was not a fling. He was a boyfriend. And now he was no longer in her life.