Page 27 of When Love Trespassed

Like somewhere along the way, the wall of real anger between them had slowly started to crack. Chipping away, bit by bit.

And maybe if they ever bothered to look past their egos, they might actually start getting along.

Not today, of course. That would be asking for a miracle.

But someday?

Nandini had a strange, quiet feeling that the two most stubborn men in her life might surprise her after all.

***************

Nearly thirty minutes later, Shaurya stepped into the kitchen, instantly greeted by the warm, familiar aroma of ghee sizzling on hot rotis.

At the counter, Nandini was busy rolling out dough into perfect circles, her movements swift and practiced.

She was muttering something under her breath, and while he couldn’t quite catch the words, he definitely caught his name—and Varun’s—woven somewhere into her quiet, creative rant.

Her sleeves were pushed up, a few strands of hair escaping her high bun, her cheeks slightly flushed from the kitchen heat.

She looked flustered, fierce, and utterly beautiful.

While he was here, Varun was still busy entertaining Grandpa with some exaggerated tale about a scooter chase and a missing shoe.

Shaurya leaned against the doorframe, arms folded. “Your Grandpa wants the bottle of ayurvedic oil—”

He didn’t even get a full sentence out before Nandini turned around and marched towards him over like a woman on a mission, the rolling pin clutched tightly in her flour-dusted hand.

“You told Varun?” she hissed, not even bothering to lower her voice. “ Seriously , Shaurya?”

He blinked, thrown by the speed and fire of her reaction. “Told him wha—”

“The kiss!” she snapped, jabbing the rolling pin accusingly at his chest. “You had one kiss to keep quiet about. One! And you couldn’t keep it from your best friend? Imagine how you’d feel if I told Priya?”

His brows lifted, but instead of backing down, he stepped forward and plucked the rolling pin from her hand with maddening ease, setting it on the counter behind him.

“I don’t care if you told Priya. Or the entire Serene Meadows community on the WhatsApp group,” he said, his voice low and husky. “I only care about one thing. What did you think about that kiss.”

She blinked, caught off guard. “W-What?”

He leaned in, just enough to crowd her, his eyes holding hers as if he could see deep into her soul. “Outdated? Seriously? From what angle was it outdated for you?”

Her face turned red, but she stood her ground, crossing her arms across her chest like a shield. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just—okay, technically, you didn’t even tilt your head the right way.”

Shaurya blinked. “Excuse me?”

She gestured animatedly, already digging her own grave. “There’s a science to kissing, you know? A rhythm. A neck-tilt-to-hand placement ratio. And you… you just lunged.”

His mouth fell open, clearly baffled at the accusation.

“You were all—” she paused mid-sentence to demonstrate an over-the-top, awkward lunge that made him raise both eyebrows in disbelief “—like a sudden attack. No buildup. No warning. It was like being kissed by an overconfident avalanche.”

An incredulous laugh escaped him. “An avalanche?”

“Yes!” she said, sticking to her point. “A warm cologne-scented avalanche that doesn’t even ask before it knocks the wind out of you and makes you forget your own name for full six seconds. I was caught off guard, that’s all,” she added defensively. “That’s why it felt... outdated.”

“Wow,” he said finally, his tone half amused, half offended. “That was the most dramatic insult I’ve ever heard for a kiss that quite literally made you grab my collar back.”

“I—” she opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. “That was a reflex! Like when a puppy thinks it’s about to fall off the bed!”

“Good to know,” he murmured, his eyes glinting. “So next time I kiss you, I’ll remember to tilt my head at a mathematically precise angle, warn you three to five seconds in advance, and make sure no avalanche energy is involved.”

She sputtered, her cheeks reddening. “There won’t be a next time!”

He smiled like he absolutely didn’t believe her.

And frankly, neither did she. Both of them stilled.

Because they both remembered… the kiss. The only one that had happened. The one on New Year’s Eve, in the dark, with no names, no faces, just two mouths crashing in a moment that had burned itself onto both of them like a brand.

His eyes lowered, drawn to her lips, slow and deliberate, as if he was replaying and reliving the kiss in full colour in his mind.

Nandini’s breath caught. Her fingers curled into the sides of her dress, trying to ground herself. But it didn’t help. Not with him looking at her like that. Like he was already imagining breaking that “no next time” promise.

There was a pin drop silence for a few seconds before he raised an eyebrow, then smiled—a slow and wicked smile. “You look like someone who knows exactly what she wants when a man kisses her.”

Her mouth parted in protest. “Of course I do. I read romance novels.”

He nodded, his gaze drifting past her, landing on the small book at the edge of the kitchen table. He walked over, picked it up, flipped through the pages, and then turned back toward her with an absolutely mocking grin.

“You were reading a hot neighbour romance ?” he asked, holding the cover up like it was a piece of damning evidence.

Her face burned. She snatched the book from his hand with more speed than grace. “It’s—It’s Priya’s book. She gave it to me. Forced me to read it. I haven’t even started it, I swear.”

He didn’t look convinced. At all.

“I’m not into hot neighbour romances!” she blurted out, taking a step back, wildly defensive. “And I don’t even like the whole grumpy-sunshine trope! It’s not my thing.”

He leaned against the counter, his arms crossed. “Alright. What is your thing, then?”

Without thinking, she shot back, “Dark romance.”

Silence.

Absolute, horrifying silence.

Oh God.

Her eyes widened as the words hit her. Why? Why couldn’t she just zip her mouth before him? Why did she have to blurt that out?

Shaurya’s expression shifted subtly, something darker and much more dangerous flickering behind his gaze. He took a deliberate step toward her.

“Dark romance?” he repeated, the edge in his voice unmistakable. “You know, in dark romance, it usually starts with a kiss…”

She swallowed, her heart hammering as he closed the distance between them, his presence looming over her.

“…but it ends with much more than that?”

The heat in the kitchen suddenly felt suffocating. But still, Nandini raised her chin, met his gaze, and somehow managed to whisper, “I know that.”

His eyes darkened, gleaming with something unreadable.

For a beat, his fingers flexed slightly at his sides, as if fighting an overpowering urge to touch her.

But then he blinked. He tore his gaze away from hers, and suddenly, as if realising something, he grabbed the ayurvedic oil from the table, where the romance book had been just seconds ago.

Before she could reply, he turned and left in a flash, as if staying even a second longer would burn away whatever restraint he had left.

Nandini let out a long, shaky breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, the book still clutched in her hand.

What the hell had just happened?

They were supposed to sort out the embarrassment from yesterday. Set boundaries. Maybe go back to fighting about mango trees and being civil for Grandpa’s sake.

Instead, they’d tangled themselves even worse. One impulsive kiss had turned into full-blown confessions, book-based teasing, and something too hot for a kitchen that didn’t even have the flame on.

And now she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to run after him and yell… or pull him back in and test every last thing she’d just confessed to loving. Dark romance with a grumpy neighbour. Effing Hot!!