Page 62 of Don't Date Your Nemesis

I bent down to her height. “How would you know?”

“I know because my moms look at each other like that. And Ethan looks at Kiara like that.” She took another bite. “And you look at Deepika like that.”

I blinked at her and ignored the way my stomach felt warm.

I grabbed the spoon from her plate and fed her a bite before she could continue. “Don’t say this to anyone else, or I won’t get you that Barbie house for your birthday.”

Her eyes went wide as she said with her mouth, “The big one? With the elevator?”

“The biggest one.”

She nodded seriously, her mouth full.

Phew. Crisis averted.

If Ethan knew about this, he would go full Dad-mode on me and demand that I end it.

As if.

Xavier was finally happy with the sponsors I was getting, and my image looked stable for the first time in years. And it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be spending my days with her.

It wasn’t like I purposely stayed up late to wait for her and make sure she ate whatever my cook had made before she went to bed or anything like that. Nuh-uh. I was just making sure she stayed healthy and fit.

For her career. Yes. That’s it. Nothing else.

The drive back to my place was quiet as Deepika dozed in the passenger seat, head tilted against the window.

I couldn’t stop looking at her.

The wedding planning had been intense. We were trying to coordinate two ceremonies, one in Napa Valley which would be the white wedding. And another one in San Diego for the traditional Indian wedding that would last a full week.

Kiara had insisted the white wedding come first because she didn’t want henna showing in her photos in the white wedding.

Deepika had taken notes even though there were three wedding planners present and offered opinions, laughing at Ethan’s terrible suggestions.

She fit in as if she had always been there. I felt so stupid to try to antagonize her when we were kids, thinking she was stealing my friends.

I pulled my jacket from the backseat and draped it over her when she shivered. She made a small noise but didn’t wake.

God, she’s so fucking cute.

Stop smiling, you doofus!

When we got home (when had I started thinking of it as a home for both of us?), I parked in the garage and sat there for a moment, watching her sleep and feeling my lips curl at the sight. After a few moments, I got out of the car, walked around, and lifted her into my arms.

She stirred when I was walking upstairs with her cuddling my neck. I didn’t want to wake her up, but her warm breath tickled my neck, and I was trying my best not to laugh.

“What are you doing?”

“Being a decent human being.”

“Wow. So surprising,” she said, her words slurred with sleep. “Are you the real Liam or his doppelgänger?”

I sighed and dropped her.

She screamed, then sighed in relief when she bounced on her bed.

“Asshole.”