Harlequin Desire January 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 Maisey Yates (sad books to read .txt) 📖

But that’s how it is. If he had been Indian, he wouldn’t have taken offense like that, he would have understood where we were coming from.”

Divya sighed. Why was she even having this conversation with Gauri? It’s not as though she and Ethan were together or that she was even thinking about him in any serious capacity. Yet she felt an anger inside her and wanted to defend the idea that they could have something real.

Gauri touched her arm. “I’m just saying think about things carefully. Your parents will forgive you. Vivek still wants to marry you. The story came out that Ethan was dating some other Indian girl, so they know you didn’t really run away with him. They all know it was cold feet and will forgive you. Take it from me. I couldn’t wait to get away from my parents. Now I miss them every day. We only get to go to India once or twice a year and I savor every visit with them. You don’t know what you’re missing until you don’t have it anymore.”

Divya murmured a platitude, gave her friend a hug and said goodbye. Gauri hadn’t said anything that Divya hadn’t thought herself, but now every fiber of her being wanted to disagree with her friend, to prove her wrong.

When she returned to the room, Ethan was sitting on the couch with his feet up and his laptop open. She went and sat in a chair across from him. She owed him an explanation. To his credit, he didn’t ask.

“I didn’t want to tell them about the singing.”

“It’s something that’s yours. You don’t have to share it until you’re ready.”

And just like that, he struck a chord in her heart and she wanted to run back down and tell Gauri that this American, the one who didn’t know her culture or speak her language and had known her for all of two minutes, understood her better than anybody else.

“Gauri didn’t mean to offend you. She was just being blunt.” Divya kept her voice light.

“She wasn’t blunt enough. What she meant to tell you is that you’re ruining your life by running around with me.”

“You were a little forceful too.”

“How did you expect me to react?”

“With some patience. If my brother finds out that Rajiv lied to him, it’ll jeopardize their lifelong friendship. He’s stuck his neck out for me. You could have been a little more polite.”

“So it’s okay for them to be rude to me?”

“They weren’t being rude. They were asking a genuine question.”

“Which was what exactly?”

“Why you’re still here. You aren’t romantically interested in me, and yet you’re buying me guitars and making wishes come true. Why?”

He looked away from her, but she wasn’t going to let him off the hook. She stepped to him, bent down and kissed him hard on the lips. He opened his mouth and kissed her back with the same hot intensity. This time, she broke the kiss.

“You’re lying to me and yourself if you still think there isn’t something between us,” she said, then walked into the bedroom and closed the door.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Divya dressed for dinner in an off-the-shoulder black dress she had bought that morning and comfortable flats. It wasn’t the look for a fashionista, but with her hair curled in stylish waves and her eyes rimmed with dark eyeliner, she knew she looked good. As she stepped into the common area of their shared hotel room, Ethan gazed at her with darkened eyes. “How many looks do you have, woman?”

Divya had avoided him for the rest of the afternoon. She’d heard him moving around but had kept her bedroom door firmly shut, spending the time tuning her new guitar and practicing her songs. She’d made her move, now it was his turn.

He offered his arm and she took it, noticing the clean scent of his soap and aftershave. She resisted the urge to lean into him so she could breathe him in. They took a pedicab, and she was somewhat surprised when they pulled up to a food stand outside Madison Square Garden. The city was alive with the sounds of honking cars and people bustling everywhere. The air was thick with the smell of exhaust fumes and cooking food.

“This is our big dinner out?” she quipped, tucking her hand into his arm.

“This place has the best hot dogs ever. And then I have a surprise for you.”

They ate the hot dogs, standing on the sidewalk, watching the crowds flow out of Penn Station and stream into Madison Square Garden. There was a show on tonight and the headliner was a popular hip-hop artist.

“Have you ever been to a show here?”

Divya shook her head. Ethan pulled two tickets from his jeans and Divya’s eyes widened. They made their way into the arena. Ethan’s tickets were on the floor, toward the middle. When the opening act was introduced, Divya realized why Ethan had brought her here.

“Tina Roy. She’s an Indian artist who mixes Indian and Western music,” Ethan whispered to Divya.

The music was fantastic, and the crowd ate it up. Divya watched Tina dance around onstage, wearing a short fringed skirt and a tube top. She pictured her parents sitting in the audience, watching this woman grind with the male backup dancers and thrust her hips to the beat of the music. Her family wouldn’t be proud; they’d be embarrassed. Her mother didn’t even like Divya wearing skirts around the house. Appearances are important, Divya. What will the staff think of you parading around with bare legs?

Her mother would have a coronary if Divya ever wore an outfit like Tina Roy’s, let alone performed onstage in it. Her cheeks reddened at the thought of her dad seeing her in such skimpy clothes.

Tina started her second number. The music, the clothes, the special effects were all designed to rile people up and Divya could feel the crowd practically vibrating. She closed her eyes and pictured herself on the stage at Café Underground, the energy