Page 65 of First Comes Marriage
‘I think I can take a guess what you might have thought, love. But I’m here. With you, Reshma. And when we go back to London, we’ll go backtogether. We just needto remember to take my menace of a grandmother back with us. We need to have some sympathy for the Kenyan citizens. Can’t leave her behind.’
She giggled softly, just as he’d hoped she would, but her hold on him was as firm as before and he continued to hold her. He’d do it for as long as she needed and he was quite happy to do so, inhaling her scent as they stood there.
‘I do need to apologise to you, though.’
She lifted her head and looked up at him questioningly, her face clear of the despair that had clouded it a little while ago.
‘I’m sorry. I said some things that I shouldn’t have said. I let my frustration do the talking instead of being rational and patient. I can see why you might have thought I’d want to get home immediately because that’s how I behaved. But once I’d calmed down and looked at the problem logically and like I should have without getting worked up, I saw what needed doing and the fact that I could manage it well enough remotely.’
‘So the problem’s fixed?’
Zafar pursed his lips. ‘It should be. We’ll find out in the morning for sure when the guys have a chat with the seller, but we’ve done everything we could. If it’s meant to be, it’ll be.’ He watched her as she took a deep breath, feeling her relax in the circle of his arms. ‘Is my apology accepted?’
She looked up and smiled, her first full smile since the waterfall of tears he’d witnessed. Her nose wrinkled ever so slightly as her nose stud twinkled. ‘It is. I’m sorry too. I … I completely misunderstood everything and let my fears take over. Everything seemed to point in that direction and with Ibrahim calling you when he did and then everything today…’
‘Yeah, his timing does leave a lot to be desired, doesn’t it? He cut me off from saying one of the most important things I’ve ever said to someone.’ He paused, taking in every dear feature of her face as she looked at him questioningly. ‘I love you, Reshma. Actually, I was going to say I love you too yesterday, but since there’s been a severe lag on my part, I believe adding the “too” is unnecessary. I think just “I love you” is the important part, right?’
She didn’t say anything, just looked at him with an inscrutable expression. ‘You’re not just saying it because I said it, are you? Because you don’t have to do that. Maybe you should wait till we’re back in London and you’re sure. It could be the time and place that’s—’
Zafar didn’t let her finish her sentence, cutting her off in a way he found thoroughly pleasurable, even if there was a risk of them getting caught by a relative. He moved his hands from around her to cup her cheeks and angle her face to his. He kissed her languorously, as though he had all the time in the world, and she didn’t take long to respond, opening up to him and taking entry into his mouth and allowing him entry into hers, her hands tightening their grip on him.
They kissed until he felt pressure building within him to take in air. Reluctantly, Zafar eased away from her, dropping soft kisses around her mouth and on her face in between taking breaths and interspersing them with a softly voiced ‘I love you’ after each kiss.
He looked down into her bright eyes. ‘I do love you, Reshma. Your bright and beautiful light has filled my life in a way it’s taken me too long to realise and appreciate. You mean more to me than you know and while I’ll accept that our match was arranged by our families, don’t for a minute think that I don’t choose you. I do. And Iwill, each and every time. Ah, please don’t cry again. As it is, I’m not sure you’ll want to go into the reception with your make-up looking slightly… um…’ He circled his finger around her face, refusing to elaborate verbally.
She sniffled and cuddled up to him again, as though snuggling into a duvet. ‘I love you too, Zafar. So much.’ Her words reached deep inside him, warming his heart in a way he’d never thought possible and he knew he’d never tire of hearing them.
He kissed the top of her head as he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.
He turned and found Safiya standing there, a broad smile on her face.
‘Hey, Saf.’
‘Sorry to interrupt, but Daadi’s worried that she’s misplaced the pair of you. Would you like to come and reassure her? She sent your cousins to look for you, Reshma. One of them said he saw you here with Zafar and what he saw had him turning back and needing to wash his eyes out, so I came to get you instead, being a mature adult and all.’
Zafar barked out a laugh as he saw Reshma’s cheeks go pink. At least there was colour in them now.
Safiya caught sight of Reshma properly and her gasp had him wincing and Reshma’s eyes widening. ‘What? What is it?’
‘Wait here. I’ll bring my bag. I’ve got some powder and lipstick. Hopefully they’ll do the trick.’
28
Reshma
Saleema and Nomaan’s reception was as spectacular as the rest of their wedding events had been. Though she and Zafar had missed Nomaan’s father’s welcome speech and part of Nomaan’s speech – thanks to Safiya doing a quick fix of her make-up after insisting that she wanted no details about why it was needed in the first place – they’d caught the end of it, where he’d asked everyone to toast his new wife.
When they’d joined the others at the table, Haniya had given her a relieved smile when she’d squeezed her hand in silent communication and Shoaib had handed her back her mobile phone – sixty per cent charged. She’d given it to him and asked him to charge it in the car for her on the way to the reception. She looked at her list of notifications and bit her lip at the number of messages from Zafar and the few voicemails he’d left. He saw her screen but didn’t say anything, he just raised that imperious eyebrow at her and shook his head, a smile teasing his lips as she looked back at him sheepishly.
The bride and groom had then cut a huge three-tiered wedding cake before dinner was served and they were now on the dance floor, their heads together as they moved in time with the music.
The romance of the moment had Reshma suppressing a deep, contented sigh. Or maybe it was the deep sense of love and romance she was feeling towards the man who had maintained some form of contact with her throughout the evening, and now held her in his arms in a corner of the dance floor.
He hadn’t gone and he hadn’t left her.
He could have, but he hadn’t. He’d stayed and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he’d stayed for her.
Because he loved her.
