Page 104 of The Ex Factor

Twenty minutes later, I lay my niece in her crib, peaceful as an angel. An angel no one would believe had screamed like a banshee just a few minutes ago. I put Jia in an armchair with her feet up while the housekeeper brought her herbal tea. Dropping a kiss on Jia’s forehead, I grabbed the keys to my Audi.

I had missed driving my car since I left. There was no way I was driving in NYC, and the thought brought me sadness, as if I was slowly wrapping up my life here and moving there for good. A sudden, loud thud echoed through my heart. The thought was exciting and nerve-racking at the same time.

As I entered the heavily decorated banquet hall, hoping to run into friendly faces, I ran straight into Tara.

“Aarti!” she exclaimed with a slight gasp as Sameer appeared by her side. She wore a beautiful evening gown that accentuated her gloriously curvy shape—proud breasts and shapely hips.

“Hi, Aarti,” Sameer said, and I gave him a side-eye.

“I was told you were on your honeymoon,” I explained with my eyes resolutely planted on Tara’s face. “That’s the only reason I decided to come.”

She exchanged a quick look with Sameer and returned a warm smile. “We had to cut it short. I got invited to an exhibition. And you don’t have to miss anything on our account, Aarti. We’ll excuse ourselves from events. This is your community. These are your friends. I’m a newcomer. You have more right, more love here.”

I returned a tired smile. “You never made it easy for me to dislike you.”

Sameer, too worked up to smile, touched Tara’s elbow. “People are staring and whispering. We should move along.”

Tara scanned the crowd around us with a gentle frown, then pulled out a wicked smile. “Since they are already talking about us, let’s give them something to talk about. Would you like to get a drink, Aarti?” she asked, nodding at the bar.

“That might not be a good idea,” Sameer tried to interject, but she gave him a stern glare, and he shut up promptly.

I loved that look on him. He’d always been a larger-than-life figure, a striking, powerful man with enough machismo to melt panties. It was gratifying to see him cower before Tara’s ferocity.

“I’d love that,” I answered Tara, partly to vex Sameer.

“Go on, I’ll catch up with you,” she said to Sameer and started walking toward the bar without waiting for his response.

“White wine?” she asked when we’d crossed the small distance to the bar with all eyes glancing and glimpsing at us.

“Sameer told you?”

She nodded. “Sparkling white, right?”

“What are you having?”

She shrugged with a naughty curve of her lips. “I’ve always been a whisky gal.”

“Then make it whisky for me as well.”

We grabbed two on-the-rocks and stepped over to a table in the corner. I looked around for my parents but didn’t spot them in the crowd around us.

“Here’s to you and Sameer,” I said, raising my glass.

“And to you.” She clinked it. “How’s New York?”

“How did you know…ah, the desi rumor mill.”

She nodded and sipped her drink.

“It’s good. The work keeps me busy, and it’s the best place I could be right now.”

“The city is bewitching for sure. I lived in Brooklyn for five odd years,” she said.

“We bought some property in Brooklyn, but I’ve not had a full experience of the place.”

“If you need someone to show you around, my friend Sona lives there, and she’s amazing. Knows a lot more about the region than I do. She’s in Dallas right now, but she’ll return soon.”

A light flickered in my head. “Is she the one Mihir is seeing?”

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