Page 6 of Since You Came Along (Ever Since #1)

M eera and Raghav spent the entire week chatting on long calls, enjoying every moment of getting to know each other.

There was an unspoken understanding between them; no talk of marriage or the future, just easy, getting-to-know-each-other conversations.

Their bond deepened with each passing moment.

Raghav had listened to some of her childhood stories and learned many things about her. He discovered she was a morning person, always cheerful as soon as the sun came up, while he needed Meera to nudge him into going to bed every night.

After barely any sleep the night before, Meera went to bed early on Friday. But even then, she tossed and turned, her stomach fluttering with excitement and nerves about tomorrow’s dinner with Raghav and his friends.

She had barely got any sleep when the shrill ring of her phone jolted her awake at five in the morning. Alpha, who had been sleeping beside her, jumped up with a soft growl and trotted out of the room.

The ringtone blasting from Meera’s phone was unmistakable. She groggily reached for the phone. ‘Hello?’

‘Open the door,’ Siya’s voice came through, calm but tinged with frustration.

‘Huh?’ Meera mumbled, still half-asleep.

‘Open the door!’ Siya repeated, more urgently this time.

Meera stumbled to the front door. Alpha seemed to recognise the person at the door, as he wagged his tail and pawed at it. She nudged him aside and opened it, only to be bombarded by four arms that knocked her off balance.

Swayam hugged Meera and spun her around in the air, making her laugh. Siya walked past them and headed into the kitchen, with Alpha trailing behind, hoping for some treats.

Still disoriented, Meera asked, ‘What the hell are you guys doing here?’

Swayam wiped fake tears from his eyes, grinning. ‘Oh, what a warm welcome! So happy to see us!’

‘Obviously, I’m happy to see you guys,’ Meera replied, punching him on the shoulder. ‘But I thought you said you couldn’t make it.’

As they made their way towards the kitchen, Alpha leapt onto Swayam. Leaving the two of them to wrestle on the floor, Meera entered the kitchen.

There, Siya was sitting at the counter, looking as if the weight of the world had settled on her shoulders. She stirred her coffee in a mug with her name etched on it, her lips pressed together. Siya was so addicted to coffee that no one dared touch her mug, whether or not she was there.

Meera whispered, ‘Should I ask what happened?’

Siya let out a long groan, her high ponytail swishing as she moved. ‘That idiot kept me up all night. His flight was delayed by two hours, and he didn’t bother to tell me!’

‘We had a miscommunication about the timing,’ Swayam explained with a shrug.

Meera shot him a warning look, but turned her attention back to Siya. She could see how long and tiring her week had been. Even though she looked chic in her snug jeans and black turtleneck, the fatigue in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Siya continued, her voice dripping with sarcasm, ‘I had to wait at the airport for four hours, with no idea when he would land. He didn’t even bother telling me his flight number.’

Meera stroked her back in sympathy, and Siya smiled, the tension easing from her shoulders.

‘To make up for it, I will ask aunty to make gaajar halwa for us at lunch,’ Swayam announced.

‘Why wait till morning? Might as well keep her awake all night too,’ Siya muttered under her breath, taking a long sip of her coffee.

Swayam poked Siya in the arm, and she shot him a glare that could have melted ice. Not missing a beat, he turned away, but Siya, with a sly grin, pressed the hot cup against his finger. He yelped, ‘Ow!’

Meera couldn’t help but smile, feeling a warmth spread through her chest. It was like old times, and the realisation of how much she’d missed them hit her hard. Her throat tightened, and she whispered, ‘I can’t believe you guys are here.’

‘You’re just now starting to notice, huh?’ Swayam teased, waving his hand in front of her face.

Siya pulled Meera into a tight hug. ‘Of course! Did you really think we’d miss out on meeting the guy you might get married to?’

‘How did you guys manage it?’

Swayam shrugged. ‘I called Siya at ten last night and we came up with this impromptu plan. We’re heading back tomorrow afternoon.’

‘And work?’ Meera asked.

‘I have a few online meetings today, and Swayam worked on his manuscript during the flight so we could take a day off.’

‘It means a lot to me,’ Meera told them. Swayam ruffled her hair and went back to playing with Alpha. Siya disappeared into the house to freshen up, no doubt planning to raid her wardrobe for something comfortable to wear.

Later that afternoon, they sat in the garden, passing around the plate of cookies and fudgy brownies Meera had baked.

‘So, are you nervous about meeting his friends?’ Siya asked.

Meera sighed, her nerves creeping up. ‘Honestly, yeah. From what we’ve talked about, I can tell he’s close to them. I’ve already met Abhay, and while he seemed nice enough, I got very little chance to talk to him. Another friend, Luv, is going to be there too, if I remember correctly.’

‘You’re great with people, don’t worry,’ Siya assured her.

Meera rolled her eyes. ‘This is different. I don’t have many guy friends, and the one here’—she gestured to Swayam—‘isn’t exactly much help.’

Swayam was too busy devouring brownies to take offence, his focus on the manuscript he was reading. They shared an amused look at his expense, and Siya nudged him to join the conversation.

Swayam reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘Don’t worry too much, Mihu. Just be yourself, and everything will be fine.’

Meera nodded, but the heaviness in her chest refused to ease. She’d try not to worry, but she wasn't sure she could pull it off.

In the evening, Raghav parked his car in the dimly lit restaurant lot.

As they walked toward the elevator, Abhay checked his emails, his fingers flying over the screen.

He had to cut a crucial meeting short, all because of Raghav’s irritating habit of showing up half an hour early everywhere.

It was a quirk that never failed to test Abhay’s patience.

The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, and as they ascended, Luv gave Abhay a playful nudge. Looking up from his phone, Abhay caught Luv’s gaze and followed his pointing finger. Raghav was up ahead, his hand running through his hair, then adjusting his cufflinks.

As they took their reserved seats, his eyes flickered between his phone and the door, as if waiting for a call. Abhay chuckled, knowing that Meera had promised Raghav she would call once they arrived. It seemed Raghav had forgotten they’d arrived at the restaurant so early.

Abhay knew Raghav like the back of his hand, and these fidgeting gestures were a dead giveaway.

He was amused that the man who never broke a sweat in boardroom meetings was a bundle of nerves over meeting Meera’s friends.

So, Abhay made up his mind to do whatever it took to make the evening go smoothly for both of them.

To calm his nerves, Raghav ordered a glass of single malt whiskey. The warmth of the drink eased him, just enough to take the edge off. A moment later, his phone buzzed, and a smile tugged at his lips when he saw her name on the screen. She was here.

He had never been more thankful that she didn’t share Abhay’s love for being fashionably late. His heart raced as he watched the entrance, the soft clink of glasses in the background fading to nothing.

Then, he saw her.

Meera walked in, her burgundy-highlighted hair falling in soft waves over her shoulders. She wore a faded blue denim dress that gracefully hugged her figure. When she smiled at him, his breath caught. There was no other word for it; she was simply stunning.

‘Hey,’ Meera greeted, waving. Raghav stood as they approached, and her heart skipped a beat. The dark navy suit he wore fit him, accentuating his tall frame. The sight of him made her stomach flutter with unexpected heat.

‘Hey, you,’ Raghav replied with a smile.

But before either could say anything more, someone cleared their throat. Meera shifted her attention to Abhay, who nodded at her in greeting, and then turned to the guy standing beside him.

‘Hi, Abhay,’ she greeted, then, glancing at the other man, asked, ‘And Luv, right?’

‘The one and only,’ Luv winked at her, his grin broad and cheeky.

Meera then turned and began introducing her friends.

‘It's great to meet you all,’ Siya said, but it was clear to Abhay that her sweet words didn’t match the anger in her eyes. Without thinking, he let out a mocking snort, which caught everyone’s attention.

‘Really, Ms Kashyap?’ Abhay asked, his tone dripping with amusement, his gaze fixed on Siya.

Siya shot him a glare that could have melted steel. ‘Just couldn’t shut up, could you, Mr Agrawal?’ she replied, her sharp words aimed at Abhay.

Meera glanced between them, confused by the lingering tension.

‘Do you guys know each other?’ Raghav asked.

A dangerous glint flashed in her eyes and she shot Abhay a warning look. ‘Apparently not,’ Abhay shrugged.

Siya rolled her eyes, irritated by Abhay’s response. She huffed and moved to sit beside Meera, taking the seat farthest from Abhay.

Raghav, sitting on Meera’s other side, raised an eyebrow, hoping for some sort of explanation. But when Meera just shrugged, he understood she did not know about the tension between Abhay and Siya.

Siya sat quietly, her earlier cheerfulness replaced by a quiet anger. Abhay, however, seemed unfazed, as if the brief exchange had been nothing more than a harmless distraction.

‘Are you both done playing the war of silence now?’ Swayam teased. ‘We’d like to talk too, you know,’ he added, his tone breaking the tension that had settled over the group.

Everyone chuckled, but the atmosphere remained a little off-kilter. Meera looked between Siya and Abhay, sensing there was more to their interaction than met the eye.