“You should have seen his performance, Tina.” One of the inebriated guests interrupted, looping his arms around Dev’s shoulders. “It was stunning. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. The grief! The pain! You could see him descend into madness.”
Madness. Her breath lodged in her throat as she stared at Dev. She jerked out of his hold as if his touch burned her. She knew all about grief and madness. She had been surrounded by it. At times she thought it had engulfed her.
“I’m serious, Tina,” the guest said, unaware of the maelstrom of emotions whipping between them. “It was chilling.”
“I’m sure it was.” She forced the words out as her chest squeezed her lungs. It hurt to breathe. To stand tall when she wanted to fold into a heap. “I’m sorry,” Tina said to their guest as she pressed her hand against her head. “But my jet lag is getting worse.”
“You should lie down,” Dev said. “I’ll come with you.”
Tina ignored his outstretched hand. She was tempted to wrap her arms tightly around her body to protect herself. She didn’t want Dev to touch her or be close to her.
“No need. I’ll just get some water. I’ll be right back,” she lied as she hurried away. “Stay here.”
* * *
Early next morning Dev glanced up from skimming the newspaper when he heard the chime of Tina’s bangles. Finally. She had escaped the party last night and he wondered if she was going to hide upstairs all day.
He set down the newspaper as he waited for her to arrive at the breakfast table. Dev grimaced when he heard her hesitant footsteps. Was she considering another escape plan? That was not part of the deal. He wanted—demanded—a devoted wife and he was going to have it even if it meant he had to hunt her down and drag her to the table.
Tina appeared barefoot at the doorway, wearing a pale pink shalwar kameez. The tunic and drawstring pants hid her curves. She looked incredibly innocent and feminine, nothing like the seductress roles she played in her movies. But Dev knew Tina was not one or the other. She was an irresistible mix of sweet and spice.
Dev immediately stood up and pulled out a seat for her. “I expected you to sleep all morning.”
She gave a little bobble of her head. “I would have but the jet lag has a strange effect on my sleep.”
“And on your sense of direction?” Dev asked as he watched her pass the chair he held out for her. “I found you sleeping in one of the guest rooms.”
She dipped her head and hurriedly sat down across the table from him. “I crashed in the first bed I found.”
He didn’t believe it. Tina was avoiding their marriage bed again. Avoiding him. “That was not our agreement.” He had gone so far as to gather her in his arms last night, intent on carrying her back to their bed. He had expected her to kick and lash out. Instead she had snuggled against his chest and given a sigh that had almost brought him to his knees. He had known he wouldn’t be able to sleep next to her, not with his willpower in shreds. Dev had reluctantly returned her to her bed, tucked the sheets around her and left her in peace.
Dev sat back down as Tina added vegetables and eggs to her plate. Her eyes lit up at a serving platter that was covered with a towel. “Are those pooris?” she said in a whisper.
“The cook made these in honor of your return,” Dev said and saw a smile curve on her lips. It was the first time since she’d arrived that he’d seen her happy. It had been even longer since he’d seen her show excitement.
She grabbed for the hot fried bread. “It feels like I haven’t had these in forever.”
He watched as she reverently broke the poori with her fingers. She inhaled the fragrant steam before she scooped up the lightly spiced potatoes with it. She popped the morsel in her mouth and her face softened. Tina closed her eyes and groaned with pleasure.
The sound stabbed at his chest. Dev’s body tightened as the desire heated his blood. It took effort for him to lean back in his chair and study his wife instead of reaching for the pooris and feeding her. She was a sensual woman who enjoyed her food. She loved to cook as much as she loved to eat. But this was different. He was watching a homecoming.
“You missed pooris,” he murmured.
Tina blushed and covered her mouth with her hand. “I missed spicy food. Indian food. Good food.”
She missed that more than she had missed him. “Why didn’t you make it yourself?”
Tina stilled. “It’s better at home.”
She wasn’t telling him the truth. The woman who found it satisfying to cook, who found pleasure in cooking for her loved ones, hadn’t prepared a meal in months. Yet, she hadn’t starved. In fact, she had regained the weight she couldn’t afford to lose.
But why hadn’t she cooked? Or danced? When they had socialized with their guests at the party, he had noticed that her command of the English language had greatly improved. Where had she been all this time? What had she been doing? And with whom?
Tina bent her head as if the food on her plate required all of her concentration. “Why are you at home, Dev? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
He glanced at his watch. He needed to go to the Arjun Studios and decided to take Tina with him. It may be too soon to reintroduce her to work, but what if she disappeared while he was away? There had been no hint, no discussion, when she had suddenly left him in Los Angeles. He couldn’t shake the feeling that she would do it again.
She wouldn’t, Dev decided. Her career was too important to her and dangling his connections was just the right bait to keep her near. “I will this morning and you will come with me.” He raised his hand to stop her complaint. “You want my connections? This is the best way for directors and producers to get to know you. And we have special guests waiting for us there.”
“Who?” She stopped chewing and glanced up at him. The pleasure fled from her face as resignation set in. “Your parents?”
She didn’t know. Dev stared into her eyes and knew she wasn’t pretending. How could she not have known? It had been international news months ago. Even if she were in America she would have seen the headlines.
“No,” he said gruffly. “Your family will be there.”
“My family—my mother is at Arjun Studios?” Tina bolted from her seat. “Why? When?”
Dev thought Tina would have been happy with the news. He hadn’t expected this level of panic. He had only met her family a handful of times as Tina had made an effort to keep her family away. He hadn’t thought much about it until now. “What’s wrong?”
She paused and bit her lip. “How did they contact you? Do they know that I’m back?”
“I contacted them. In fact, I’ve been in touch with them since you were missing.”
She winced. “Oh, you have no idea what you’ve done.” Tina clapped her palms against her cheeks as she began to pace. “What did you tell them?”
“What I told everyone. That you were recuperating from your miscarriage. They had no idea where you were. Why couldn’t you trust your mother with the truth?” What had she been hiding that was so horrible she couldn’t even tell her family?
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