Page 29 of Pillow Talk (Rally Romance #1)

S hona stopped in front of the shop. It was close to closing time and she knew it was the quietest time of the day.

She looked up at the sign. It had faded a long time ago but her father didn’t want to upgrade it. Dad was afraid of change. But now she knew why.

She entered the shop and immediately spotted Drake.

‘Shona, I’m so happy for you. We’ve heard all about your business,’ he enthused.

Shona was afraid she’d start crying if she spoke, so she nodded.

‘He’s in the back office,’ Drake said, without her even asking about her father.

She smiled her gratitude and made her way there. Her dad was sitting at the desk, leaning back with his eyes closed.

‘Dad?’

His eyes flew open. ‘Shona! Are you okay? Has something happened?’

The same reaction as her mother…

‘I’m okay. I came to see you, to talk,’ she said.

‘Do you need help with the business? Your mother said the location is perfect.’

Shona sighed. ‘Dad, I’m not here to talk about shops and businesses. I’m here to talk about us. Why didn’t any of you contact me when I left?’

Her father swept his hand over his face.

‘Because I didn’t want you to change your mind. I instructed Aru and your mother to give you time. I didn’t want you stuck here,’ he explained.

‘At first I thought you were forcing me to be here but then someone…’ She pushed the thought of Sen out of her mind… ‘Someone offered advice that made me realise that I wasn’t forced to be here.’

Her father looked away.

‘Dad, please look at me.’

He turned to her. ‘Shona, I wanted you to be happy. You’re happy. It’s okay now,’ he said.

Shona shook her head. ‘It’s not, Dad. You’re not happy. Mom’s not happy.’

He didn’t answer.

Shona walked to the desk and put down her bag.

‘Does this shop bring you joy?’

He didn’t answer.

‘What’s stopping you from retiring? You could promote Drake to manager. He could run it. And you could live your life with Mom as planned.’

Her father didn’t look convinced.

‘Dad, have you ever felt passionate about something? When I sit down to design a wedding veil or dress, I feel my heart explode with joy. I feel alive. Dad, do you feel alive in this shop?’

‘It’s not that simple, Shona,’ he said, a tone of sadness creeping into his voice.

‘Tell me. Why is it not simple?’

‘What would I do? Can we afford it?’

‘Dad, these are just excuses. What would you do? How about spend time with Mom. Travel. Take her on that holiday with her brother that we never got to go on?’

‘You remember that?’

She nodded slowly.

‘As for money, you’re not giving up the shop. You’re promoting Drake to management so you can retire. Dad, I’ve been managing the shop’s finances for years. Even if you give up the shop, you have enough in the bank to live comfortably,’ she explained.

Her father thought for a while and finally sighed.

‘Can you come back here tomorrow to help me speak to Drake about his new position?’

Shona dashed round the desk to her father and hugged him.

‘Daddy, I love you,’ she blurted out.

He patted her back.

‘Shona. I’m really sorry for never standing up for you, for your mother and Aru. I shouldn’t have given up…because that’s what I did. I’ve always hated this shop. My mother was obsessed with it even when I was a kid. I had a life planned out with your mother… a good life and then…Laksh…’

He sat back in the creaky old office chair and shook his head.

‘His death ended my life, Shona. But that’s no excuse for just giving up. I should have stood up to my mother. I should have taken you all away from it,’ he said.

Tears streamed down Shona’s face.

‘Shona, don’t cry please. After you left I started doing research on that computer you insisted we get. I’m learning that I can heal too.’

‘How?’ she whispered.

‘I found a therapist on that computer. I’ve signed up for a few sessions,’ he explained.

Shona wiped away tears with the back of her hand. Her dad did want change. He just needed to know how.

‘I love you daddy,’ she murmured.

‘I love you too, my girlie. Now tell me about this new shop in the city.’

‘So you just called it quits?’

Sen ignored his cousin and handed her a bowl of lightly salted popcorn. Kaavi was considering giving up modelling full time, but until her final decision was made she still counted calories and watched with envy as Sen ate whatever he liked.

He stuffed a handful of extra-butter popcorn in his mouth and sat down.

It was another scorching day in Rally so he was in shorts and a T-shirt and the air-conditioner remote had become an accessory in his pocket.

‘You’re not going to answer?’

He switched on the television and then switched it off again.

‘What can I possibly say? I ended it. Shona doesn’t trust me,’ he said.

‘But did you talk to her about it? Did you at least explain?’

He nodded and shoved another handful of popcorn in his mouth. He chewed loudly to annoy Kaavi.

She clicked her tongue. ‘And what did Shona say?’

‘Nothing because I told her it wasn’t working out and it was over,’ he casually replied.

‘Do you really win any of your cases…because you are so dumb,’ Kaavi said.

Sen’s head jerked back and he glared at her.

‘I win all my cases. I am not dumb. Shona is complicated. She doesn’t know how to communicate, even if you give her a chance to. She just jumps to conclusions,’ he retorted – a little too defensively.

He looked away. He was remembering Shona at Anni’s mother’s funeral – how she’d huddled close to Anni on a pew in the church, with MrsShah’s protective arm stretched around them.

MrShah had said a few words – more to let Anni know that she wasn’t alone and that she had a family than to eulogise her mother.

No one could really say anything in her favour anyway.

Sen’s grandfather had accompanied him and made sure that Anni knew he was also looking out for her.

Sen had hung back. He was already at university and Shona at college by then, and something that had happened two summers before had altered their friendship. After Shona’s confession about having a crush on him, he now knew their friendship had shifted at the bonfire because of Andrea.

But that day at the funeral, Shona had looked at him with sadness and it wasn’t because Anni’s mother had died but probably because she’d realised she’d lost him for good.

He was too blind back then to see that he, too, had harboured feelings for Shona.

Maybe Kaavi was right because now, as a man, he was too stupid to admit he did have feelings for her.

‘How would you have felt if you’d seen Shona kissing another man?’ Kaavi interrupted his thoughts.

‘I didn’t kiss anyone! I pushed her away,’ he replied through gritted teeth.

‘You know what I mean,’ his cousin said.

He put his bowl of popcorn on the coffee table and, ignoring his oily fingertips, ran his hand through his hair. Kaavi was frustrating him.

‘Sen, you know sometimes when you walk away, you can’t go back and you’ll regret it forever,’ she said solemnly.

Sen studied her face.

‘Is there something you want to talk about?’ he asked gently.

She scoffed. ‘Of course not. I don’t have time for relationships and love.’

Sen wasn’t convinced, but he knew his cousin well enough to know that she would tell him when she was ready.

‘Shona didn’t even think twice about ghosting me and that hurt, okay?’

‘So your ego is bruised?’

Fuck it. He was going to lay it all out on the table.

He placed his palm over his heart. ‘No Kaavi. My heart hurts.’

Kaavi sat up straighter and looked at him closely. Really closely. ‘You’re in love with Shona.’

‘Isn’t it obvious?’ he said, reaching for his popcorn again.

‘Then why end it?’

‘Because I don’t want to get hurt. It’s not worth the risk,’ he said, shoving a handful of popcorn in his mouth.

Kaavi shook her head. ‘You’re a bigger fool than I thought you were.’

Heartbreak didn’t suit Shona. Her hair was a mess, her eyes were puffy, and she wore a ratty T-shirt dress.

She lay on the couch scrolling through social media, looking for inspiration from other heartbroken people on how to mourn. It didn’t get more pathetic than this but it had to be done.

She pressed the hashtag #heartbreaksongs and, when the first video came up, she turned up the volume on her phone.

The song was about being cheated on. Shona listened to the lyrics, which didn’t really apply to her because she now knew that Sen hadn’t cheated.

She played the next video. This time the song was about someone’s lover not paying much attention to her. That also didn’t apply. Sen always paid attention. He listened when she spoke. He wanted to know more about her. He supported her dreams. He took her to a fabric warehouse!

She skipped to the next video. The singer sang about his wife’s death. Shona gave up on the app and closed her eyes.

If it hadn’t been for her doorbell ringing, she would’ve fallen fast asleep.

She lazily got up and, when she opened the door, was surprised to see Anni and Kaavi.

Both looked glamorous and gorgeous in summer dresses, while she looked like Cinderella.

She instantly thought back to the fairy godmother she’d encountered in Thirsty’s.

Sen had lied. He said he would never make her cry, yet all she wanted to do was cry.

Anni walked past her into the apartment and Kaavi followed, waving at Shona.

She shut the door and followed them.

‘I feel like I’m about to be ambushed,’ she said.

Anni sat down and gestured for Kaavi to do the same.

‘Why would you even think that? I’m here with a proposal. I’ve already spoken to Kaavi and now I need to speak to you about it,’ Anni said brightly.

Shona sat down too and looked suspiciously at her friend.