Moments (IPKKND Secret Romance #2) (aka Our Moments)

Chapter 2: Arnav

21st November

The day after Aakash and Payal's engagement, Di had cornered him at dinner, pouting in that way of hers as she'd asked him to chauffeur Khushi to Shantivan every morning so they could plan the wedding.

"Your office is being remodelled and you're working from home," she'd argued.

"I'm not your chauffeur Di," he'd drawled, hiding the quickening of his pulse, "Get Mohan to do it."

But it was a token resistance, offered so his sister didn't think him overeager, and he'd allowed another two minutes to pass before agreeing with a sigh.

This was the fourth morning he'd found himself in Laxmi Nagar at 9:00 sharp, poised to rap his knuckles against her front door. As usual, his knock set off a series of chain reactions.

"Hai re Nand Kishore! He's here, Sanka Devi!" Bua-ji's voice rang out.

Seconds later, Khushi's voice floated through the locked wooden doors as she yelled goodbyes to her family. A delicious anticipation coursed through him at the soft scrape of the lock, his pulse quickening as he waited for his first glimpse of her. She was breathless when she swung open the doors, having apparently run from the other side of the house, and the smile she gave him in greeting caused his own breath to stall.

"Ready?" the slight catch in his voice went unnoticed by her.

She nodded and followed him to the car, where he opened the passenger door and helped her in before making his way to the driver's side.

Three days of silence is enough. We need to talk.

Khushi fiddled with her dupatta as he eased onto the highway, stealing glances at him when she thought he wouldn't see. Arnav cleared his throat before opening with the ice-breaker he'd practised this morning.

"A car maintenance manual? You got me a car maintenance manual as a present?"

Khushi didn't follow his script - When has she ever, Arnav? asked the voice in his mind - reacting not with the tinkling laughter he'd expected but with a tremble. Realising that she'd mistaken his curiosity for anger, he breathed a curse before launching into a clumsy reassurance.

"I um ... I liked it. Very funny, Khushi ... Kumari ... Gupta."

Damn, I love the taste of her name on my tongue.

Arnav's fingers tightened around the steering wheel as the minutes lengthened, stretching the quiet between them until it was painful. Khushi's silence left him hollow. Silence was an anathema to the smiling, bouncing, slip of a girl that lived between his heartbeats.

Say something, baby. Anything, so we can start rebuilding the bridges between us. The engagements are over, done, finished, and this time ... I refuse to back down.

"Arnav-ji?" her soft, hesitant call broke through his thoughts.

Finally.

"Mmmmm?"

"Did you ... did you hear from Lavanya-ji again?"

The cavity in his chest expanded.

Why are you doing this to yourself, baby ... Why are you doing this to us? It will only hurt you.

"Uhh, no. Not since ... not since the day after ..." he trailed off, the sentence needing no other completion.

Khushi nodded, back to nervously toying with her dupatta, and he still hadn't thought of anything to say when he pulled up to his house. Arnav stopped the car and glanced over at her.

She blinked up at him. Time stood still as he drank her in.

The flutter of her eyelashes over her expressive eyes, the quiver of her lush lips, the rosy blush that he inspired with his gaze alone.

"Ar ... nav ... ji ..."

Khushi's halting whisper brought him back. He quickly slid out of the car and opened her door for her, reaching across and undoing her seatbelt when she was too flustered to do it herself. Arnav helped her out of the car, catching Khushi when she stumbled, and made sure to brush her fingers as they walked in silence to the front door.