Page 76 of Since the Night We Met
‘Not when it’s on a kickass woman like you,’ he said, laying a soft kiss on her shoulder. ‘It’s always been only you for me, Siya.’
She didn’t know what to say, so she just held his hand, watching the sun set in comfortable silence. The darkness fell quickly, and when the moon began shining through the clouds, they got up and walked back to his car.
On the drive home, she asked what had been lingering in her mind. ‘Why did you tell me all of this now?’
Abhay glanced at her and said, ‘Because I didn’t say it when it mattered, and I don’t want to make the same mistake again.’
The longing in his eyes, in his voice, was a kind of hunger that went deeper than desire and Siya looked away. Everything she’d learned today made her understand his point of view a little, or maybe that’s exactly what it was intended to do.
Was he still lying to her?
After spending the one evening with him, she’d taken his every word at face value and then paid a heavy price for it. Her father had been always vocal about how the Agrawal familylacked any trace of ethics or remorse for how they overtook other businesses. Was Abhay playing the same tricks on her?
Siya realised with a thud that she’d let her guard down without even realising it, after spending an evening with him, just like four years ago.
By the time they parked his car and rode up the elevator, she decided to keep her distance from him. She needed space to remind herself that whatever softness had begun to bloom between them was temporary, and dangerous, and not hers to keep.
The overhead lights cast a soft golden hue as Abhay flipped on the switch. ‘I could make us some dinner,’ he offered, watching her closely. Her silence was scaring him.
She turned away with a shake of her head. ‘I’m full. I think I'll change and call it a night.’
Siya had barely taken a step up the stairs when a soft click echoed through the living room as the speakers came alive. Music drifted through the air and she immediately recognised the song.
Her breath hitched when she felt his fingers wrap around her wrist as he tugged her around to face him. His eyes were pleading, waiting.
‘Abhi na jaao chhodkar, ke dil abhi bhara nahi…’
‘Abhay…’ she said as he wound his brawny arm around her waist and laced through her fingers with a familiarity that sent a traitorous flutter curling in her chest. Her other hand rested her palm against his chest, right over the steady beat of his heart.
He gently began to sway with her as he whispered against her ear, ‘Shh, just dance with me.’
‘Why?’
‘Because I don’t want to let you go just yet. Let me hold you a little longer.’
Siya tried not to sink into him, but his steady presence, his scent, and his hand on her back dismantled her resistance with painful ease.
When he sang along softly under his breath, it reverberated through her soul. ‘Main thodi der jee toh lun, nashe ke ghunt pi toh lun.’
His eyes shimmered with love and hope, and a tight prickle tingles in her belly. She rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped both arms around her, tucking her under the juncture of his shoulder.
‘Jo khatam ho kisi jagah, ye aisa silsila nahi,’ he sang and placed a soft kiss on her temple. The gravity of those words hit her right in her heart and she held onto him tighter.
In the dimly lit room and the safety of his arms, she admitted to herself that she didn’t want this moment to end. The song faded into silence, but they kept swaying. Abhay held onto her, holding her close, and no matter what her mind screamed at her, she wasn’t ready to let go either.
Chapter 19
Siya paused at her secretary’s desk to check messages and the day’s schedule but no matter how many times she read the notes she couldn’t focus. Her mind buzzed from the memory of last night.
Being in his arms had felt right, like coming home after a long day. She’d spent so long convincing herself that Abhay had used her for rivalry’s sake, that her heart couldn’t take this shift in their dynamic. She had fallen for him the first time he’d kissed her, and all it had taken was one night to remind her that she had never stopped.
She scolded herself, pulling herself out of the spiralling thoughts. She had only an hour until they met with the core investors to present their designs and she had to shake off the need to see him.
Siya shifted toward her cabin, turning the handle, and saw Abhay leaning at her desk, waiting for her. His pale blue suit was sharply tailored but the buttons were left open. His eyes lit up when he saw her, and his cocky smile made her heart skip a beat.
‘Now who’s the one giving me intense looks enough to land in trouble with HR?’ he asked, not hiding his delight.
‘You wish,’ she scoffed but let out a quiet sigh when she turned to close the ornate door.
