Page 9 of The Rules of Playing with Fire

I shook my head and wiggled my finger. “Uh-uh, no bribes. Pleasing me isn’t going to be that easy.”

Sameer laughed again and looked at Tara with so much love, a warmth washed over my heart. She had definitely made the right choice. Then it occurred to me that I’d never experienced that kind of adoration from any man.

“And you’re no stand-in, Sona. You’re the real deal. You are my sister.” Tara’s sweet voice broke the chain of my thoughts. Thank goodness, or it would’ve been only a moment before I spiraled down the deep, dark hole that was my love life.

Tara and I had been friends for five years, but we’d shared a lifetime in that short period. We were both from western India, spoke Marathi, and had wanted a sister. But it was our remarkable ability to read each other’s thoughts and emotions that had brought us so close that we were family now.

“Come on, the chhole will get cold,” Tara said, passing around the bowl of piping hot chickpeas and the platter of warm pooris. I spotted a tangy raw mango pickle and my favorite semolina dessert.

“You made sheera!” I squealed.

“Yes. What’s poori without sheera for you?” she replied, and I almost blushed from all the love around me.

As I passed the bowl of sheera to Mihir, our eyes met. For a second, his gaze peered deep into mine, and my heart took a quick, sharp plunge.

SONA

Iinspected myself in the full-length mirror in Tara’s lavish guest room. The sparkling champagne gown she had chosen for me to wear to the party that evening had a sweetheart neckline and a tapered waist. The slight off-the-shoulder design worked to successfully amplify my breasts. My happy eyes landed on Tara, towering over me.

My nose scrunched up into a smile. “I love it. Thank you. How much do I owe you for this?”

“Are you kidding? I just said you’re my sister. I did what I would’ve done for her. And Sameer is paying for it all, so don’t worry. You know he’s loaded. And he’s so happy, he’s been spending like a drunken sailor. I’m going to have to take over the financial reins. That man has the potential to bankrupt us.” She was joking, of course. Sameer ran a successful investment firm and had a good head on his shoulders.

I sat on the bed beside her. “Now, tell me, what’s been bothering you? Is it Sameer’s family?”

She shook her head promptly. “Not his parents. They have been absolutely supportive of our relationship. It’s his sister, Juhi.”

I frowned. “Doesn’t she live in Australia or someplace?”

“Yes, in Melbourne, but she’s visiting for a wedding in her husband’s family.”

“What’s her problem?”

After a moment’s pause, she said in a hushed voice, “Sameer doesn’t know, but I overheard Juhi telling Aunty that she doesn’t think it’s right that Sameer and I are living together before marriage.”

“Seriously? That’s rather old-fashioned for someone her age.”

“Right?” Tara inflected, still in a low voice. “I thought so too, but I think she’s uncomfortable with me generally because Sameer broke it off with an heiress to be with a nobody like me.”

I scoffed. “A nobody? You’re Tara-frigging-Kadam.”

“But I’m not rich. I’m not an heiress. I have no social connections.”

I returned a slow, thinking nod. “What did Amrit aunty say?” I asked about Sameer’s mother.

“I couldn’t hear her, but she’s been okay with us living together. At least, she’s never said anything to suggest otherwise. Uncle hasn’t either.”

“Don’t let it bother you. You’re kick-ass, and Juhi better accept it. Plus, when Sameer loves you like he does, who cares about his sister?”

She nodded. “Yes, and his parents love and respect me. Lately, Uncle has been relying on me to keep him on top of his medications. That’s something, right? This kind of love and acceptance.”

“Definitely. And they see how you love Riya and how much she adores you.”

Tara’s features softened at the mention of Sameer’s spunky, thirteen-year-old half-sister from his father’s extra-marital affair. When the affair had come to light thirteen years ago, along with the severe debt the man had incurred, the family had relocated from Delhi to Dallas to save face. In a cruel twist of fate, Riya had lost her mother a few months ago, orphaning her. Sameer’s family had brought Riya to the United States and welcomed her with open arms. Both Sameer and Tara loved her to a fault.

“Is Juhi the reason for tonight’s party?” I asked.

She nodded. “Juhi wanted to have an engagement ceremony of sorts, but Sameer told her off quite rudely. He said he won’t be held hostage to her whims, that we will celebrate our relationship as and when we are ready.”

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