Page 55 of Not In Love

To reach out and kiss him when she woke up every morning, to have him embrace her after a long workday at night.

To just spend the rest of her life loving him.

Sighing, she slid out of bed gingerly. Her robe was where it had landed last night, bunched near the door.

Everything felt too loud, too colorful, too intense. The floor cold beneath her feet. The sunlight warm on her bare limbs. The ache between her thighs, raw and intimate.

In the bathroom, she stood under the lukewarm stream of the shower longer than necessary, bracing one hand against the tile while water rinsed away every trace of him. But some things were etched in too deep.

Her skin still tingled where he’d kissed her hip, her collarbone. Her lips swollen from his kisses.

And inside her…there was no forgetting the way he’d possessed her. Like she belonged to him. Like he knew her better than she knew herself. Like he could love her better than anyone else ever had.

She dressed quickly in leggings and a fitted top and tied her hair back into a bun, giving herself the illusion of control. The house would be in chaos again today with more wedding prep.

Diego might be everywhere. Or nowhere.

Part of her wanted to find him and ask him why he’d left. Part of her wanted to act like nothing had changed. Pretend she hadn’t watched him sleep like a lovesick fool.

What she couldn’t do—what she didn’t know how to do—was tell him the truth.

That she was already his. That it wasn’t just sex anymore. That she was scared out of her fucking mind.

Not just yet. Maybe not until her brother and Muriel were married and she could think without the wedding chaos around her.

She squared her shoulders, opened the door and stepped out into the world a changed woman. A woman utterly in love.

CHAPTER17

The wedding madness intensified with each passing day, bringing them to the Wednesday before the big day.

Outside, the winter sun filtered through bare tree branches, casting shifting gold patterns across Tia’s bedroom floor. The room smelled faintly of apple shampoo, the leftover sugar from pink-frosted cupcakes, and something warm and floral from the closet sachets.

Tia’s stuffed unicorns had been swept to the foot of the bed to make space for the heavy lehenga-choli sets laid out like royal offerings.

Muriel had just delivered several of hers and Tia’s outfits—each one carefully steamed, hung, and tagged with names. It was to be a joint try-on session for the women in the wedding party, full of selfies and commentary and sparkling wine in plastic flutes.

Muriel’s friends were already sorting theirs in the other bedroom, but Tia had clung close to Kash the moment the bags were unzipped. All morning, now that she thought about it.

She hadn’t been neglecting Tia—there were a house full of people who spent time with her—but suddenly, Kash felt guilty for being so consumed in her head with Diego. Hopefully, Tia hadn’t noticed her aunty’s fixation with her papa.

“Baby, you want to try yours on with me?” Kash asked gently, crouching to eye level. “Just you and me doing the full works?”

Tia nodded quickly, eyes big and solemn. “Yes please.”

Muriel hesitated at the door, still holding a hanger draped in gold-trimmed netting, her clipboard tucked under one arm. “We’re making a whole afternoon of it. Someone even brought their cousin, she’s around Tia’s age. You sure you don’t want to join?”

“I’ve got it,” Kash said, firm but polite. “You and your friends can use the other bedroom. We’ll catch up after.”

Muriel blinked, a little thrown by the clear dismissal, but nodded and disappeared, the soft jingle of her bangles fading down the hallway.

Kash exhaled and turned back to Tia. “We’ll do this the Aunty Kash way,” she said excitedly, smoothing the comb down Tia’s hair.

Tia smiled shyly and nodded.

Kash’s worry deepened, but she pushed it aside for now. She chatted on as she plaited Tia’s thick hair into a French braid and hooked on tiny, brass dangling charms all the way.

Then she did her own braid and asked Tia to hook the charms in hers. The little hand clasped snugly in her large one, Kash pulled Tia to the bed.

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