Page 9 of Driven By Desire
“It’s horribly short.” Fingering the strands that skimmed her shoulders in a blunt cut that had cost Krish an easy grand at the fancy salon he took her to, she shrugged, “I wanted to grow my hair buthewouldn’t let me.” Cue the glare. He’d been missing it there for a moment.
Before he could respond, Max answered, “I love your style. It’s Parisian chic, didn’t you know?”
The glare disappearing as Pooja turned back to her wide eyed, she continued, “All the top actresses have had that hair cut at one point or the other because it’s so fashionable.” Ticking the names off one finger, she said, “Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra, Bipasha Basu, Deepika Padukone, and even Jennifer Aniston who I think is gorgeous, by the way.”
“Me too.” Pooja chimed in enthusiastically. Raising his eyebrows, Krish watched the two interact. He doubted the brat had any clue who Jennifer Aniston was. Absently accepting the bowl Mr. Sheridan gave him, he let their conversation swirl around him. As he ate, he watched his sister relax, smile and chatter like she used to. She was examining Max’s earrings at the moment. Shaped like a fairy in mid-flight, the earring was handed over for a trial and Pooja bounced over to a tiny mirror on the wall to admire herself.
A tiny smile played over Max’s lips as she spooned up another bite of caramel custard and watched Pooja preen. She wasn’t beautiful or even sexy but there was something about her that drew the eye. His eye. He couldn’t stop looking at her. At the bright vitality of her eyes, the affectionate grin, the casual warmth she showed his sister. It all made for a very attractive picture.
Attractive? Was he losing his mind? He was sitting in a stranger’s home ogling a girl, eight years his junior who was also quite possibly his younger brother’s latest arm candy. Putting his empty bowl down, he cleared his throat. “We should leave. It’s getting late.”
Feeling like the worst kind of scum when Pooja’s smile dimmed, he stood and held out his hand for her to hold. Sighing when she refused to take it, he let it fall back by his side and said, “It was a pleasure meeting you Mr. Sheridan.”
“Please call me Brian.”
“Brian.” He acknowledged. “I hope we meet again someday.”
“I have a feeling we will.”
“We could if you hire Max.”
“I’m sorry?” Looking down, he saw Pooja slip her tiny hand into Max’s slender one. Squaring her shoulders defiantly, she eyed him challengingly. She would rather hold a stranger’s hand than his. He knew he hadn’t concealed the flash of hurt when his eyes met Max’s sympathetic ones. Patting Pooja’s hand, she gently disentangled her own and knelt next to her.
“I’ll come visit sometime. I’m friends with your brother, Aditya.”
“You could come and take a look at the car and give me your opinion on the work that needs to be done. After that we can talk about the time and money.” He watched the delight spill across Pooja’s face and knew he’d done the right thing. The MG might have been his father’s pride and joy but he’d loved nothing and no one more than his children. If this helped Pooja find her way back to them, then so be it.
The motivation behind his sudden change of heart didn’t escape her. Exchanging a subtle glance with her father, Max straightened from her crouch. Meeting his eyes, she murmured, “I’ll come and see the car and give you my opinion and I’ll also refer a couple of people who can do the same. You can picksomeone you’re comfortable with. I think that should work well for everyone concerned.”
Appreciating and accepting the out she offered him, Krish nodded. “Thank you. Does tomorrow at six work for you? I’ll be at the office till about five and with peak hour traffic, it takes me an easy hour to get home.”
“Six is fine. I’ll be there.” Affectionately running a hand over Pooja’s detested hair, she gave her a hug and walked them to the door. Thanking Brian one last time for the unexpected dinner and wishing him goodnight, Krish followed.
Letting Pooja skip out ahead of him, he turned towards Max who was framed in the doorway. Framed by the yellow lamplight spilling from the corridor behind her, he had the most irrational thought that she looked like home or what home should mean.
“Thank you.”
“I haven’t done anything yet.”
Watching Pooja add a little hop and twirl to her progress to the gate, he murmured, “Your father and you have done quite a bit. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
With a final nod in her direction, he followed his sister out.
CHAPTER 5
Aloud crash from the other side of the door had Max’s hand hovering over the doorbell. Wondering if it was safe to ring it, she took a cautious step back. A string of curses followed by a howl of pain had her quickly making up her mind and pressing the bell. If someone was in pain, she could help. She hoped. When no one responded immediately, she rang again.
“Hold on. I’m coming.” The growled response from inside had her reconsidering her decision to help. Chewing on her lip apprehensively, she was about to turn away when the door was yanked open.
“What?” The snarl on his lips and the expression that said he looked like he wanted to bean her didn’t in any way take away from the man’s startling good looks. Topping off at around six feet, he had the lean, rangy build of a runner, wavy dark hair that was just long enough to be scooped into a pony tail if he was in the mood and a chiseled face that would have made fairies sigh in their sleep. Scowl notwithstanding.
“You’re the missing brother?” she guessed.
“Am I?” The scowl faded to be replaced by interest. “And you would be?”
Grinning, she extended a hand, “Max. The mechanic.”
“I didn’t know mechanics looked like you.”
