Priya in Heels (Entangled Embrace)

by Ayesha Patel

  “I know. Try, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “We should start scheduling out some weekends to see each other. You can drive here, if you want to take turns, but I don’t mind driving to Houston, or even Austin.”

  “That makes sense to get to know each other better, huh?”

  “Yeah.” He laughed.

  “We’ll work something out.”

  …

  “Maybe one of these days you’ll let me spend the night.”

  I gawked at Manuk and briefly skimmed over his insinuation.

  He smiled from across the table and sipped wine as dark as blood. “Too forward?”

  “Yes.”

  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “What did you mean?”

  “It’s a long drive, makes for a long day. Crashing on your couch wouldn’t be bad.”

  I swallowed another bite of dinner. “Why don’t you get a hotel room?”

  “I would if you took Saturday off. I’d drive here Friday night or Saturday morning and leave Sunday evening. But when you work Saturdays, too tired to do anything until Sunday, it makes for a short visit.”

  “Residency is harsh. You know that.”

  “You’re still a little old school, huh? Not comfortable with a guy in your apartment, even with Vicki there, even if we’re getting engaged?”

  I forced a smile, hoping it wasn’t sarcastic or calloused.

  “If we meet in Austin, I could spend time with you and your dad. He said I could sleep over. Would you feel more comfortable there? Under the watchful eye of your dad, who wouldn’t let any rumors get started?”

  How to stop this before it went any further? I didn’t know how to protest, not when Papa had already given permission. “I’ll think about it.”

  He wiped his mouth with a cloth napkin. “Our parents have all the preparations ready for the engagement. The priest, the flowers, the ceremonious emblems, and the food. Invitations are out.”

  “This is going fast, isn’t it?”

  “Why wait? Yeah, the wedding will have to wait until after your residency, but why wait for the engagement?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Do you have an outfit?”

  “Yes, a beautiful green lengha.”

  “That’s nice. I’ll wear something to match.”

  “You sound disappointed.”

  “I wanted to pay for something.” He laughed. “Your dad insisted on paying for everything, but my mom put her foot down with the catering. She wants to at least pay for that. I tried to take the expenses from her, but she isn’t hearing any of it. Maybe I’ll be allowed to pay for your wedding lengha and more of the wedding expenses.”

  “I haven’t purchased the wedding dress, but Mummie had one picked out.”

  “Excellent.” He reached across the table and took my hand in his. “I have the engagement ring. You’ll love it. We can shop for the wedding bands together. You can pick your own mangalsutra if you want.”

  I pulled my hand back and rested it on my lap. “I have one.”

  Manuk gave a quizzical look. “Were you married before?”

  “No! Mummie saw one that she thought I’d like. It’s a choker-style one. She knew I didn’t like gaudy jewelry and long necklaces. It’s a simple, one-string mangalsutra choker. I’d like to keep that one, if you don’t mind.”

  He smiled warmly. “Of course. Are you ready? I guess I have a long drive home.”

  Manuk drove a short distance to the apartment, parked, and turned off the engine. He jumped out before I did.

  “You don’t have to walk me upstairs.”

  “I want to see your apartment.”

  “Are you the type of guy who wants to pay my bills and move me into a ritzy place?”

  “Maybe. Come on.”

  He followed me upstairs. We passed Ty’s door just as he opened it, trash bag in hand. Ty did a double take, his gaze moving over me and settling on Manuk.

  Manuk smiled at him as we walked by. Ty’s glare was icy and harsh, but it smoothed over when Manuk spoke.

  “Tyler, right?”

  “Yep. Manuk, is it?”

  “Yes. I remember you from the…” Manuk glanced at me.

  “I’d shake your hand, but it’s not exactly clean.”

  “No problem. Nice seeing you, Tyler,” he said.

  “Likewise.”

  I never stopped walking and had my door opened by the time Manuk cocked his head at Ty. I avoided Ty’s glare and walked inside while Manuk followed.

  He looked around and nodded with approval. “Very nice place. Spacious, good layout, open, great flooring and cabinets.”

  “Did you think I lived in a crappy place in the slums of Houston?”

  “No, no.” He stood in the foyer and was expecting a tour. Indians tended to expect those things, and the host Indian always insisted on showing off their property.

  “So, here’s the balcony.” I opened the blinds.

  Manuk looked out into the city. “Awesome view.”

  “And the bathroom. That’s Vicki’s room, and mine’s over there.”

  He peeked into the bathroom, which I hoped was decent, then into my room.

  “The furniture isn’t important during residency, just functional,” I said, knowing the bedroom furniture was mismatched.

  “Is your bed comfortable?”

  A trickle of anger rose inside me. I thought I’d made myself clear.

  “I remember having a crappy bed in the dorm during college, but it didn’t bother me because I was young, I guess. Sleeping on that type of bed got to me by the time I hit residency. I had to get a decent mattress. My back was killing me.”

  He stepped out of the bedroom and didn’t mention the bed again. The sliver of anger retreated.

  Manuk waited, but when I didn’t suggest crashing, he said, “Well, guess I’d better head back to Dallas.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want to get a hotel?”

  He gave me a look that questioned if I were serious.

  “Okay, drive safe.” I opened the door for him, and before I pulled back, he kissed me.

  Startled, I froze. Thank goodness he didn’t try for something else, things I was not ready to give him.

  But he didn’t notice. Manuk grinned. “Amazing.” Then he left.

  My lips were irritated, ambushed, and singed. The kiss wasn’t foul or slimy, just…unwanted. Manuk’s kiss was nothing like those from Ty. They weren’t soul shattering, belly churning. They didn’t make me want to run through hell and back for another taste.

  I locked the door and leaned against it. Manuk’s kiss was nothing. I felt nothing.

  Vicki appeared in the hallway, turning me into a skittish child. I held a hand to my chest. “Holy crap! You scared me, freaking ninja.”

  “He’s gone, so you can take off the ring.” Vicki crossed her arms and glared at me.

  “Oh shut up. I don’t even have a ring yet. Get over it. I’ve made my decision. Deal with it.”

  “You need to get your head out of your—”

  “Stop.”

  “Manuk is a nice guy who deserves a girl who’ll love him, who wants him. I’m sure there are at least a dozen women who want to marry him. You’re going to die if you go through with this.”

  I groaned and retreated to the solitude of my room.

  “Not buying the BS,” Vicki declared.

  “Not caring.”

  Chapter Thirty-Nine

  Priya

  Driving back and forth between Austin and Houston was exhausting. Maybe, after my residency year ended, I should return to Austin and be with Papa.

  While pondering over my near future, I pulled back the shower curtain and grabbed a towel but accidentally dipped it in the toilet. I pulled it up. Half of it dripped toilet water.

  “Gross. Vicki?” I called out, and then louder, “Vicki!”

  Vicki didn’t respond.

  Crapola. I stepped out and hurried to the door, peering
out. “Vicki!” I screamed.

  Dripping wet, I hurried out into the hallway and opened the linen closet.

  “You okay?”

  That was not Vicki’s voice. I jumped and faced Ty, whose gaze scanned my body, naked and wet, and slowly came back up. His dilated eyes spoke volumes and did wonderful, intoxicating things to me.

  I slapped a forearm across my chest and a hand over my crotch. “Turn around!”

  “You’re going to hate me for this.”

  “What?”

  In a fraction of a second, Ty closed the space between us. My back hit the wall.

  “Reason: I love the taste of your lips.”

  His mouth captured mine in a passionate kiss, a hand on my breast, the other on my slippery waist. He was so decadent to my parched mouth.

  I moaned. My gut tightened. Heat coursed through me as I wrapped my arms around him and gripped his hair. Ty groaned when our tongues met, when my nails dug into his back, when he picked up my leg and wrapped me around him. I was a second away from telling him to take me. God, I wanted him. So. Freaking. Bad.

  He might have carried me to the bedroom and I would have let him had anger not suddenly filled my thoughts. I shoved him away, but I was angrier with myself for giving in and enjoying the kiss.

  At first Ty looked stunned, his eyes wide and his beautiful lips swollen. Then his eyes narrowed. With a muttered curse, he walked away.

  No. No, he didn’t have the right to be mad here. I ran to my room and donned sweats and a hooded sweatshirt over my still wet body. I trudged into the living room as Vicki walked in through the front door.

  “Sorry!” she told Ty. “I had to get that mail out before the postman came.”

  “What the hell was that?” I snapped.

  “A mistake, obviously,” he shot back.

  “Don’t try that crap on me again.”

  He took a step forward. “You kissed back, so don’t go yelling at me. I’m the one who should be mad. Not you.”

  I looked at Vicki. “Stop trying to make me feel bad about my decision, my duty. Stop trying to get us together, and stop trying to put it into Ty’s head that we’re better off together.”

  “Right, because your fiancé knows about you sleeping with me and is okay with it, right?” Ty shot. “Spare us all your judgmental BS about tradition from your lofty position way up there. But don’t tell us you have to marry him because of whatever crap your family fed you. You don’t give a rat’s ass about tradition and family honor. Because if you did, you wouldn’t have had sex with the white guy down the hall. I won’t tell the dentist because I’m not that guy, but I hope he finds out soon and dumps you so you can be on the receiving end.”

  I clenched my fists at my sides, controlling the need to hit him. “I already told him. Now get out.”

  He looked at Vicki, and his expression and tone softened. “She’s right. Please stop trying to get us together. I can’t tolerate two-faced whores.”

  That did it, the nail in my coffin. The ringing sound of my palm slapping his face made all three of us stop. Vicki’s jaw dropped. Ty froze. I fumed.

  “Next time you say something like that about me, it’ll be my fist breaking your nose.”

  Ty was in my face before I dropped my last syllable. “I won’t be saying anything to you or about you, Pree. You are not worth my effort anymore.”

  He nodded at Vicki and slammed the door behind him. I stormed back to my room and slammed the door.

  “What?” I barked when Vicki knocked.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Whatever.” I pulled back my hair, not even trying to dry it or myself before getting into bed.

  “What happened? I left for two minutes and walked into a tornado.”

  “It doesn’t matter what happened, Vicki. Enough games. This isn’t fair.”

  “Love isn’t fair.”

  “Screw love.”

  “Whoa.”

  “‘Whoa’ is right. Love is a stupid, fake emotion perpetuated by movies and western culture. Sensible people marry based on logical choices, not whirlwind affairs. This feeling for Ty wrecks my judgment. I do stupid things around him, things that aren’t me, things that hurt my family, things that aren’t worth their suffering. That man down the hall is a walking piece of destruction who doesn’t believe in marriage as a lifelong commitment, so why should I give up a perfectly fine marriage with a man who does believe in it?”

  Vicki sighed. “You’re in pain because you know marrying Manuk is the wrong decision.”

  “Think of it this way: you go to law school because you’re good at it, your parents made your life fortunate enough to even go through law school, worked their fingers to the bone and put up with so much crap to pay for school. You know becoming a lawyer benefits you in the long run even though your secret passion is moving to New York to become a professional musician. The first path is mapped out, logical, reasonable, promising, and almost guaranteed, whereas the second path is shaky, broken, with no real hopes. The former will make your parents proud, the latter will destroy them. You don’t throw everything away for a fevered dream that has a ten percent chance of working out.”

  I looked at Vicki. “Which path would you choose?”

  Vicki nibbled on her top lip.

  “Law school, am I right?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “I’m in pain, but I’m also a grown woman. If I really believed in Ty, I could tell my dad and break the engagement. The truth is, I don’t believe in an ‘us’ when us involves Tyler O’Connor. Do you understand?”

  She nodded. Her eyes glistened. She hugged me as though she were the one going through this. “I want things to work out for you, Priya, and I want things to be okay between us.”

  “We’ll always be okay.”

  Chapter Forty

  Priya

  It was a full moon, which meant all the crazies were about to come out. The ED was packed. Worse, L&D was full on my second rotation through. All the rooms had laboring women. Triage patients had to go to PACU and use the gurneys. The best thing about being super busy, aside from making time go by faster and keeping my attention, was that I had a reliable excuse to avoid Vicki, who was still mad at me.

  Because of the mess in my personal life, I was experiencing telltale signs of anxiety. Little by little, my observations had waned and I was not paying enough attention. Like today, right now, when the alarms went off because of fetal distress. In a blurry rush, the OB/GYN called a crash C-section and the problems didn’t stop there.

  I was messing up on things that I’d mastered months ago. It was like being thrown back to square one, except this meant life or death. The OB/GYN wasn’t having any of it and told me to step aside. The worst feeling next to being kicked out. I would get yelled at later.

  I backed away and let the surgeons work.

  They had a difficult time getting the baby out, and he didn’t breathe on his own for two minutes. Then there was a gurgle and a squeaky cry. When I looked over at the doctor to tell him the good news, he glared at me. I turned immobile, petrified. I’d made a huge mistake, and it could’ve killed two people.

  Making mistakes only caused me to lose confidence in my skills and direction as a doctor. Shaken more by every subsequent mistake, like ordering the wrong medication, almost injecting saline instead of lidocaine, and missing symptoms, I drew closer to my wits’ end.

  Maybe I shouldn’t be a physician.

  I felt worse than crap, but I still didn’t want to go home. I had to at some point, and when I did, Vicki would not leave me alone about Ty. She could tell things were bad at work, but I didn’t tell her everything. No one needed to know that I was one incident away from a complete catastrophe.

  As soon as my work stretch ended, I didn’t have time to rest. No, I had to drive to Austin.

  Between stressing over Ty and messing up at work, I had to fit in the engagement at Papa’s house where family and friends waited and giggled and enjoyed the f
estivities, oblivious to my inner turmoil.

  Vicki hugged me. “I’m sorry if I’ve been a witch. But I truly believe that you and Ty belong together.”

  I sighed. Not this again. Not here, not now. Before I could protest, Vicki went on, “I’m your best friend who’s going to be here for you. You already know what I think about this sham, but whatever. If you want to pretend to be happy and plaster on a fake smile for the world, I’ll make it pretty with lipstick.”

  “Um, thanks?”

  She smirked. We hid in my old bedroom, which hadn’t changed since high school. Mummie wasn’t around to dust or clean every month, but I’d left it tidy. Manuk slept in one of the three extra bedrooms and his family in another spare room. The house was full.

  The girls seemed happy enough. They chatted and giggled and upped the antics when Manuk’s female family members arrived: his cousins Neha, Zera, and Heena, his sisters-in-law. To my surprise and dismay, my female cousins and aunts arrived shortly after. Women crowded my room. Within half an hour, the older generation went downstairs to cook after pinching my cheeks, except the fois, who didn’t stay around me for more than a few seconds to offer congratulations.

  “I think you’re making the right, and wise, decision,” Jeeta whispered as she combed my hair. “Our worlds are too different from Americans, at least for those of us who want to keep our culture and tradition. You’re lucky, you know?”

  I sure didn’t feel lucky.

  “You didn’t get beaten or killed or kicked out or married off to the first guy who’d take you. You didn’t get pregnant or dumped, and word never got out about Tyler, so your reputation isn’t sullied. Most of all, you’re making your parents proud and marrying a good, successful man. It’s just icing that he looks nice.”

  I had a lot to be grateful for.

  Jeeta curled my hair and sprayed it with an ungodly amount of hairspray. I choked on the fumes and fanned it away from my face. “Warn me next time!”

  “Sorry, yaar.”

  The conversations around me muddled as I struggled to focus on any one of them. Average girl talk swept through about the latest fashions, seasonal colors, college, and gossip. At least the gossip wasn’t negative. So-and-so was engaged, so-and-so was pregnant, or so-and-so planned to travel Europe. I should’ve done that, traveled across Europe. Maybe I would after residency, before the wedding, just to have some last-minute single time…or to prolong my single life.