Page 32 of The Royal Contract

Who would ever guess the Prince of Devaraya to be so simplistic?

Lost in thought, it took her a bit to realize the man she was gawking at was now looking right back at her. Her cheeks heated up as she looked away, and as if she could not face him anymore, she quickly walked into the house, unable to bite back the smile on her face.

“Sanjana, where have you been?” She heard the distressed voice of her sister and stopped at the foot of the stairs.

“I was just at Dhanisha’s place,” she said, trying to wipe her cheeks so her sister didn’t see how flushed they were.

“Really?” Deepika laughed. “I have a feeling you just made out with your husband somewhere in the fields.”

Sanjana’s eyes widened. “What the crap are you talking about?”

“I’m kidding. In fact, that was my plan, but I can’t get my husband out of the friggin’ room. He says there are too many bugs or it’s too hot or there’s water on the bathroom floor.”

“What?” Sanjana was surprised to hear her sister complain about her new husband.

“Yes, I know. I am just realizing he is high maintenance and a snob.” Deepika laughed.

“Where is he now? We should probably give him a tour of the village before it gets too dark.” Sanjana knew her sister was feeling bad about not being with her husband. “Is he still in your room?”

“Maybe on the topmost floor, hunting for a cell phone signal.” Deepika laughed and added, “I’ll go get him. Where is Jai? We should take him too.”

She had to give him a tour too?

“Oh! I don’t know if he’ll want to go.” She had to avoid him that evening at any cost so she didn’t have to face him after being caught staring at him.

“Ask him first,” Deepika was insistent. “We can’t leave him with the crazies here and go. Where is he?”

“Um… I don’t know.” Sanjana knew her sister would be even more upset about her husband being indoors while Jai was enjoying his time.

“Let me ask Surya to come down here, and then we can go find Jai.” Deepika walked to the intercom unit and spoke to Surya. Sanjana hoped Jai was not playing street cricket by the time they stepped outside, so she didn’t have to take him on the tour.

Please don’t be there, she chanted in her mind as they walked to the side door with Deepika and Surya. “We should look for Jai before we—” Deepika’s voice was lost in a squeal when she spotted Jai at the far end of the open space in his fielding position.

“I can’t believe it. He is playing cricket with the kids!” She started waving her arms at him until he excused himself and jogged over to where they stood.

“Hey, you guys. How’s it going?” Jai was casual.

Deepika seemed to still be processing her surprise. “I can’t believe you are playing cricket.”

Jai chuckled. “I played all through school and college.”

“Oh yeah, is that how you know the cricket star, Siddhant Vastav?” Surya asked.

“That’s right, he is a childhood friend.” Jai smiled and added, “You guys headed out?”

“Yes, we are going to walk through the village. Come join us.” Sanjana secretly hoped he would want to go back to playing the game, but to her utter disappointment, he nodded and excused himself to talk to his team.

Moments later, he joined them, and Sanjana clung to her sister, who walked next to Surya. Minutes into the tour, Deepika leaned closer and said, “Doyou mind giving my husband and I some space? Go hang out with your cool cricket-playing prince.” She winked.

“Whatever,” she said, rolling her eyes and cutting in front of her sister and brother-in-law to walk close to Jai. “Happy? Is this enough space?”

Deepika laughed, getting a kick out of Sanjana’s annoyed expression. The next thing she knew, her hand was being slipped into a large one even as he walked a foot away. The heat crept right back up like it never left, and she bit back a smile.

Why was she smiling like a fool?

They walked hand in hand toward the village center, where a group was gathered, and Sanjana spotted her father and his colleagues. They seemed to be in deep discussion with the village heads, and as if they sensed the presence of newcomers, they all looked up.

The four walked toward the group when they were gestured to join them. After the congratulatory messages, the village president looked at Jai and Surya. “Our daughters are lucky to have you as their husbands. Please take care of them as they only intend to do good to our region.” The older man looked at Deepika and smiled, “One girl is already serving us through the government, and our little Sanjana will start soon.”

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