"What are you
doing here?" She blinked at him in wonder.
He, on the other hand, appeared to be frowning at the room behind her. "You didn't get the power cut
here?" he asked when he finally settled his eyes on her.
"What power cut?"
she scrunched her little nose up.
Arnav sighed,
running a hand through his hair. "We lost the power in the whole city a few
minutes ago. It's started to snow and apparently there's going to be a big
storm soon, it'll last the whole night. I thought you lost power too... I thought
I should check on you, see if everything's fine... Maybe you should all just move
in town tonight? I could-"
"Hey, mate," NK
appeared behind Khushi jovially. "Get inside before you turn into a snowman and
we'll talk about that, okay?"
"Right," Arnav
blinked. Khushi felt herself redden as she hastily moved away to let him in
then closed the door behind him. When she looked at him next, he was shaking
snowflakes off his hair, but that was of no real use because they were melting
fast in the warmth of the cottage. Well, except that it made his hair unruly,
which made him look incredibly sexy... Khushi slapped herself mentally and
immediately. Lavanya was definitely a bad influence.
NK took Arnav's
jacket and hung it by the fire to dry. "So," he rubbed his hands together.
"Want to join us for dinner? There's more than enough."
"There's a snow
storm coming," Arnav frowned again. "I think we should all head to town and-"
"Aww come on!" La
rolled her eyes even as she remained seated at the table. "Get your arse over
here and have dinner with us. You are already here, we still have the power and
I bet you haven't eaten yet, have you?"
He glanced at
Khushi. "I don't want to impose myself on you guys... I was at Stella's diner
when the power went out and..." He looked at Khushi again before quickly looked
away.
NK moved back
towards the kitchen. "Oh please, come and have a seat. I cook better than any
Stella." Then he realised that Arnav could be feeling uncomfortable because of
his feud with Khushi so he turned to his friend with a sigh. "Of course Khushi
doesn't mind. Do you, Khushi?"
Biting her lip,
she threw a sidelong glance at her adoptive-cousin-slash-business-partner and
there was something about him right then that made her smile. "Of course not.
Sit."
***
To think of it
now, she was already regretting having let him stay for dinner. In fact, she
could very well open the door and throw him out right away if she could. But
that would be inappropriate and it would prove Lavanya right. Of course La was
wrong! She was not at all attracted to Arnav Singh Raizada.
Then why was it
suddenly so difficult to look away from him while he sat back in his chair -
right across the table from her, his sleeves rolled back to his elbows, his
hair adorably dishevelled - while he chatted easily with her friends? She
shuddered. Oh she hated him. That was why. She hated him and the fact that he
was getting along so smoothly with her friends. Yes, that was exactly why she
was staring at him. No, she was glaring at him. The vile monster. But he was
not looking so vile, was he? He was smiling and grinning and even laughing and
she was... She was wondering why he couldn't do that more often. It really made
him look so much more handsome...
"And now dessert!"
NK announced, sauntering back to the table. "As fantastic a cook I might be, I
did not cook this, not enough time. But Khushi enjoys tiramisu and cheesecake
so we bought some on the way. I hope you like it, Arnav?"
He looked at
Khushi in surprise. "Seriously?"
She scowled at him
immediately. "Yes, why?" she snapped.
"Nothing," Arnav
smiled strangely.
La's eyes rounded
in delight. "You are hiding something, mister."
He chuckled and
shrugged. "My favourites too," he mumbled meekly and Khushi felt her cheeks go
up in flames. Oh dear lord...
***
"I should go now."
Yes, you bloody should, you bas***d. She
smiled tightly at him. "Good night."
He pleasantly
greeted Lavanya and NK, but for her, he reserved an awkward nod of the head
coupled with a barely audible good night'. She closed the door firmly after
him with a sigh of relief. Although her relief did not last very long because
firstly, Lavanya caught her eye and jiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and
then, there was a knock at the door again. She opened the door. Again. And was
faced with Arnav Singh Raizada. Again.
"For god's sake!"
she hissed. "What do you want now?"
He looked quite
hurt by her tone. "My car is not starting," he grumbled.
Khushi leaned
against the door frame and sighed deeply as La came towards them. "What's the
matter? Your car's not starting? Oh don't worry, I'm really good with cars.
Come, we'll see what's wrong with it."
She slipped her
jacket on and went outside with Arnav while NK washed the dishes and Khushi
stood by the door, feeling miserable. Arnav stood by La as she fiddled around
to see what the problem was and fix it, but Khushi's eyes lingered on him. It
was snowing harder now and his head was not covered so the snowflakes clung to
his hair, making it look white. She smiled. He looked old. Feeling her gaze on
him, he turned to look at her and she noticed that the snowflakes were hanging
on to his eyebrows and stubble too. She giggled helplessly. It was dark outside
and she was probably not seeing things right but she thought he had flashed a
grin at her before Lavanya had straightened up and started explaining something
to him.
"It's too cold for
his car, I guess, because everything else looks fine," La said as she came back
in. "Happens in this weather, nothing to worry about but do have the car towed
to a mechanic tomorrow morning, Arnav. But I'm pretty sure it's the temperature.
You'll have to spend the night here, unless you want to walk in that and freeze to death?"
Arnav looked at
Khushi. Again. She hid another smile. "No, it's fine. I don't want your death
on my conscience."
It was indeed not
safe at all to wander outside right now. He had been right about the snowstorm.
They had been more than ankle-deep in snow when La and Arnav had gone out and
at the rate it was going they were in danger of being snowed up here. And his
clothing and shoes were definitely not apt for the weather. He did have some
good chances of dying if he decided to walk back home.
They shut themselves
in the warmth of the house and discussed the sleeping arrangements. Khushi had
previously decided to give the only room upstairs to her friends and she could
take the sofa-bed and she stayed firm on her decision, except that now, Arnav
would have the sofa-bed and she would curl up in the loveseat. They all agreed
and went to sleep soon after that, supposedly because La and NK were very tired
but Khushi knew what was really up. It was always the same with these two. They
could barely keep their hands to themselves. Arnav had changed into the clothes
NK had lent him and of course, since Arnav was burlier and taller, the T-shirt
was snug, almost straining, and the tracksuit pants hardly reached his ankles.
Khushi chuckled at
the sight and he pretended not to notice. The fire, still going strong, kept
the room alit. She gazed at the ceiling, thanking the heavens that La and NK
had learned to keep it quiet because it would have been terrifying awkward with
Arnav sleeping in the same room as her. But right then, she heard as sharp moan
that petrified her. Shit! What the f**k was Lavanya thinking? Her heart
galloped as if she had been running a marathon and she broke into a sweat. What
if he was not asleep yet? Another
similar sound, closer this time. She heard Arnav stir.
"Is that your
cat?" he whispered.
"Uhhmm..." Oh shit,
how was she going to explain this now? She sat up awkwardly and turned to him.
He was sitting up too, frowning at something in the doorway. She followed his
eyes and almost laughed with relief. A pair of green eyes peered at them
curiously from the shadows. "Oh!" she jumped to her feet and moved to the
animal. "It's you. Which one are you, honey?"
When she lifted it
in the light, she realised it was the black one, the one she was going to keep.
She cradled him adoringly and sat back into the loveseat. "This is the kitten I
will keep. La and NK will have the other too and NK's friend wants Cindy."
To her surprise,
he smiled warmly at the little ball of fluff. She bit her lip. She would have
to decide on a name. That was seriously the hardest things to do though. She
could rarely do that easily. But the kitten had its own idea. It leapt from her
lap onto the sofa-bed and crawled onto Arnav's thigh, purring happily.
Surprised, Arnav gingerly attempted to rub it on the head with a finger,
causing the cat to playfully flip onto its back and mewl. Khushi giggled.
"Aww, he loves
you!"
He chuckled. "Hmm...
he's a funny little guy... What are you calling him?"
She sat in
thoughtful silence for a few minutes. "I know!" she exclaimed, making him jump
with fright. "I'll call him Armani!"
"Armani?" he
winced. "Are you kidding me?"
Khushi shrugged
defiantly. "He's black like your suits and he loves you. Like it or not, I am
calling him him Armani!"
He regarded her
with astonishment before he threw his head back and laughed loudly. "You are crazy, you know
that?"
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