Page 41 of Playing By her Rules

Rohan greeted his dad with a warm hug.

“You’ve outdone yourself this year,” his dad praised. “This event is spectacular. Everyone I meet is raving about it.”

He acknowledged his father’s words with a nod.

“Did you meet Jiya and Akash?” his father asked. “I sent them the invites for today. They’re both quite excited to be here, and you have to guide them on which horses to bet on.”

“Jiya’s a lovely girl,” his mother added. “Do you know I’d met her when she was a teenager?”

“Is it?” So that’s how his mom knew her. He should have expected it, considering how close his brother was to Jiya’s sister.

“Yes,” his mom continued. “I’d gone to meet Rithwik in Mumbai, and Raashi and Jiya had accompanied him. Gosh! That was so long ago. She’s grown to be so beautiful.”

His eyes returned to Jiya, and she wasn’t by the fence anymore. He spotted her a little distance ahead, walking in the direction of the betting booths, obviously to place a bet on a horse.

His parents were soon caught up with people they knew, and he excused himself to go after Jiya. He followed her, trying to catch up to her.

She halted. He observed her from a short distance away. She was scanning the race card in her hand, studying it carefully. Her brow marred, and she pouted as if unable to make a decision. Then she shut her eyes, her finger going up and down the list of horse names. She paused on a name and popped her eyes open. She tapped the name again as if that was the one she was going to place her money on. His lips curved in amusement—a familiar reaction to her. Only her. She was too cute.

“Are you going to bet on a horse on a guess?” he asked from her side.

Surprise reflected on her face as she looked at him. “Maybe.”

He chuckled. “May I suggest that you place a bet on horse number three in the last race?”

“Why that one?”

“Because he’s going to win. And he’s mine.”

Her lips quirked. “Overconfidence much?”

“Not overconfidence. It’s a plain fact. Xerxes will win.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t bet at all.” She chewed her lower lip, thinking. “Yep, decision made. I’m not betting at all. I have zero knowledge of racing, and I haven’t even seen this horse to bet on him.”

She was quite adorable in the way she voiced out all her thoughts aloud. Being with her was refreshing, like she added a dash of delight to his rather mundane days. Already he felt as if he was less alone than he was a moment ago.

“Would you like to meet him?” he asked, not wanting to put an end to their conversation, and to be honest, he wanted to be alone with her for a bit. His mind warned him that it wasn’t a good idea. That she was a siren luring him into a delicious web. That each moment he spent alone with her would only entangle him further, until even getting out of her web would be impossible. But he shut those thoughts out.

Her eyes rounded. “I can meet him? Is that possible?”

“Sure. Perhaps that will help you change your mind about betting on him.”

Her expression brightened even further. “We will see about that.”

He splayed his hand to the left, and she stepped to his side as he took her in the direction of the stables.

“So, where’s your date?”

He gave her a sideways glance. “Where’s yours?”

She frowned. “Oh, you mean Akash?! He got tied up with a work call. And he’s not my date.”

“He isn’t?”

Jiya rocked back. “Please don’t tell me you think Akash and I have a thing going on.”

He arched a brow. “He’s very physically affectionate towards you.”

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