Page 50 of Right Where I Belong

Sabrina took it, offering a small smile.

Regal like a queen, his mom flicked a hand, and a waiter approached them. The man pulled a chair for her, and his mother sank into it. Once they were all seated, her eyes latched onto Sabrina again.

Noticing the hovering waiter by their side, Aditya repeated his whiskey order for his mother. She nodded in acknowledgment, her eyes never leaving Sabrina.

“So, tell me about yourself, Sabrina,” his mother said, her command polite but unmistakable. “How long have you known my son?”

“Mom…” Aditya began, his tone light. “Can we not start with an inquisition?”

His mother tilted her head. “When I find my son out on a date with a woman—one I know nothing about—I’m bound to be curious.”

Aditya shook his head. She was too much, as always.

“So, Sabrina,” his mother continued, “You were going to tell me about yourself.”

Aditya cut in. “She’s Aisha’s?—”

“I’m sure she’s perfectly capable of speaking for herself.”

“Mom…” His jaw tightened. He was thirty-three years old, for God’s sake, and he didn’t need his mother policing his love life.

Before he could give her an apt reply, Sabrina touched his arm.

“It’s okay.” Sabrina gave him a warm smile that instantly calmed him. “I can speak for myself.”

Sabrina addressed his mother. “I’m Sabrina Solanki, like Aditya already told you. I’m a trained chef, and now I own my catering and event management company in Mumbai. I’m herein Singapore to do a culinary course. And like Aditya was trying to tell you earlier, I am also Aisha’s sister-in-law.”

His mother’s steely gaze narrowed on Sabrina’s hand that was still resting on Aditya’s arm. “You’remarriedto Aisha’s brother?”

“Was. My husband passed away six years ago.”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” his mother said. Sabrina lowered her chin in acknowledgement.

His mom studied Sabrina carefully. Aditya could practically hear the wheels turning in his mother’s head. So, before she could say anything else, he cut in, yet again, “How did you know where to find me?”

“Your assistant makes all your reservations for you. I just had to make a phone call.”

“Next time, callmefirst,” he said.

“Where would the fun be in that, my love?”

He rolled his eyes. Incorrigible. His mother was truly incorrigible.

“So, Sabrina,” she continued, coolly sipping the whiskey now set in front of her. “What do you plan to do after this course? Go back to India? Work here?”

Sabrina smiled. “I have to go back. I have a son, Ahaan. He’ll be waiting for me.”

His mother blinked, just once, but he saw the disdain flare in her eyes. “You have a child.”

“I do,” Sabrina said, her voice unwavering. “Ahaan’s eleven, and he’s the most important part of my life.”

“I see.”

“And with that, we come to the end of your interrogation,” Aditya announced calmly, but firmly.

Sabrina’s phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse, and her face lifted in a smile.

“It’s Ahaan,” she told him. “I’ll take this and return in a bit.”