by Dana Delamar
I looked around the packed reception at the utterly gorgeous Gibson Hall, trying not to mentally tally up how much this was all costing me, then caught a glimpse of Aahna’s glowing face and smiled.
Fuck it. It was just money. And if my parents had invited oh, maybe an extra hundred people without mentioning it, I could handle it. Aahna’s happiness was what mattered.
She and Raj looked overjoyed, the two of them arm in arm, Aahna every inch the bejeweled princess in her red and gold sari, Raj a worthy prince beside her in his gold and red embroidered sherwani.
Someone tugged on my arm. Kalini, Raj’s cousin, who his parents (and my parents) thought would be perfect for me. She was pre-med, top of her class, and I actually liked her. She’d been a lively and sympathetic companion these last seven days.
And she’d made it more than clear that she had no interest in marrying me. But she was happy to pretend for now, for the duration of the wedding festivities. Apparently, she had her eye on someone else. A white boy in her class. Someone her parents wouldn’t approve of.
“Story of my life,” I’d told her. Though that was minimizing things just a bit.
Kalini handed me a plate of chapatis. “You haven’t eaten a thing all day,” she said.
I took the plate, though I had no appetite. “Thanks.”
She looked me in the eye and said, “Can I ask you something?”
“Anything.”
“I saw the videos of King’s Cross in Tahiti. It looked to me like…” She blushed prettily, then continued. “It looked to me like there was something between you and Rod and that girl, Sky.” She met my gaze again. “Or did I read that wrong? Is it just him and her?”
My heart pounded wildly. Could I trust her with this? Then again, hadn’t I come to this wedding with the intention of telling my family, my parents, the truth today?
This would be good practice for later. And if Kalini had a big mouth?
Well, she’d save me the trouble of coming out on my own.
I nodded. “You read that right.”
Her pretty mouth formed an O. “So, you and Sky and Rod?” When I nodded again, she laughed, putting her hand over her mouth, her eyes sparkling. “Lucky girl!”
“We’re all lucky. Being together the way we are.” I could see Kalini wanted to ask the question, so I saved her the bother. “Yes, we’re all together.”
She raised an eyebrow. “You like both men and women?”
Now I was the one who was blushing. “Yeah.” Just one word, so hard to say, but so good to admit. “Yeah, I’m bi.”
She elbowed me. “You are a dark horse, Devkinandan.” Then she grew serious. “I take it your parents, and Raj’s, don’t know.”
I shook my head. “I’m planning to tell them today.” My palms started sweating at the thought, and I dried them on my sherwani. “I actually meant to do it already, before Sky and Rod got here. But…”
I didn’t have to fill in the blanks for her. “You don’t want to wreck your sister’s wedding.”
I nodded. “And I’m a little concerned about how Raj’s parents will take it. Dad is all excited about going into business with the Guptas, and I don’t want to mess that up by springing that on everyone in public.”
She patted my hand. “I get it. You can tell them right after.”
“That’s what I was thinking.”
She squeezed my arm, and a grin lit up her face. “If it’s any consolation, you’ll be helping me. After this, my parents won’t be too appalled when I tell them my news.”
I grinned at her. “He’s a lucky man, Kalini. Truly.”
She sobered. “I hope your family will take it well.”
I swallowed hard, a stone forming in my stomach. “They won’t. But I can’t live a lie forever.”
Her eyes misted. “None of us can. I’ve waited long enough to be honest with my family, and my news isn’t nearly so… surprising.”
She could’ve chosen a dozen other words that would be more accurate, but yeah, it was going to be a hell of a surprise.
I just hoped it wouldn’t be the end of my relationship with my family.
ROD
The limo snaked through the streets of Bishopsgate toward Gibson Hall where the final reception to Dev’s sister’s wedding was being held. My stomach burned, and I hadn’t been able to eat much of anything all day.
Except for Sky’s pussy. I could eat her out anytime, even on my deathbed. My cock pulsed in my tuxedo trousers. I placed Sky’s hand on my crotch, waiting to see if she’d take advantage of my dick’s decision to wake up. She gave me a light squeeze and turned to me, an amused expression on her pretty face. “And here I thought you were worried.”
“Contrary to popular opinion, I can walk and chew gum at the same time.”
Sky smiled, then it slipped off her face. Her arm wrapped around her midsection. “Have you heard anything more?”
I pulled my mobile out and reread Dev’s last message. I’m fine. Can’t wait to see you both. “Nothing new.”
“Call him?”
I dialed his number. After what seemed like forever, he picked up. “Dev?” I asked.
“Rod?”
“Dev?”
There was so much noise I could hardly make out what he was saying. “How are things?”
“What?” he asked. “I can’t hear you.”
“We’re almost there.”
“What? When are you coming?” he asked.
Clearly, he couldn’t hear me. I sighed and ended the call. I shoved the mobile into my pocket. When I looked up, Sky was watching me. I shrugged. “I don’t know why, but I’m worried.”
She snuggled against me. “I’m worried too. You’ve known Dev’s family a long time, right?”
“Since we were boys.”
“What are they like?”
I rubbed my jaw. “That’s hard to say. It’s strange because, growing up, I always thought they liked me. But Dev told me last week that they think I was a bad influence on him.”
Sky threaded her fingers through mine and held our hands on her lap. “My guess is they’re looking for someone to blame for Dev not snapping into the life they have mapped out for him.”
“And now they’ll have even more reason to hate me.” I dropped my head onto the leather seat back. I’d never much cared what other people thought of me. This hurt though, and I wasn’t certain why. Perhaps, because for me, the Prakeshes had always represented stability, continuity, security. Things that had been lacking in my own life.
But if they didn’t accept Dev for who he was, then they were the ones lacking. Dev was an amazing person and a devoted son, and if they couldn’t see that, then they could fuck off.
Still, I didn’t want to muck things up for him if he had managed to tell his parents and things had gone well. I was wearing a dark gray suit with a black waistcoat and a button-down shirt in a lighter shade of gray. My tie was a shiny slate. All in all, rather respectable for me, until you noticed the rhinestones running along the leg seams of my trousers and lining the lapels and cuffs of my jacket. I had skipped the eyeliner and nail varnish today though. “Do you think this outfit is over the top for an Indian wedding?”
Sky smiled. “You look amazing.”
“Maybe I should have gone with something less flashy.”
“But the fingerless black leather gloves and the heeled black and white boots make the suit.” Sky winked and straightened my tie.
“Now you’re just taking the piss,” I grumbled.
She leaned into my side and kissed my cheek. “You’re a rock star, Rod, and you’ll look like one regardless of the clothes you wear.”
I ran a finger along the edge of her jaw. “And you look every inch the successful, confident, and dead sexy woman you are.”
Her smile lightened my mood, until my thoughts returned to Dev and the multitude of things that could have gone wrong with his coming out to his parents. If they’d hurt him in any way… My fists clenched. I presse
d the call button on the console beside me.
Tony answered in his deep voice. “Yes?”
“Any news about Dev?”
“Should there be?”
“Text Hugh, ask him how things are going.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hugh was Dev’s bodyguard. He’d know if Dev was in trouble.
A moment later, Tony said, “Hugh says everything’s cool.”
“Thanks, mate.”
“No worries.”
Sky peered through the darkened windows. “I think we’re there.”
“Thank fuck,” I muttered, taking her hand in mine.
As soon as the limo pulled up in front, we scooted out and entered the reception hall. Dev had really pulled out all the stops. The rhythmic thump of Indian pop music filled the air, and mountains of food in warming pans filled the outer hallway. People milled about eating and talking. The doors to the main reception room opened, affording us a look inside. Multicolored lights bounced over a packed dance floor, where men and women danced with their arms in the air.
I tugged on Sky’s hand, and we crossed the lobby. As we approached the open door, I spotted Dev dancing with a pretty Indian girl. His face glowed, probably from sweat, and a big grin split his face.
The sodding prat was having a grand fucking time while I’ve been losing my shit in the limo?
Sky scooted closer to me. “Is she one of Dev’s sisters?”
“No, she fucking isn’t. And don’t they look cozy?”
Seeing Dev with Sky turned me on. Seeing Dev with this woman enraged me.
What. The. Fuck?
I took a step toward him, and that’s when my arrival was noticed. Squeals and shouts of “Hot Rod!” peppered the air. Within moments, we were swarmed. “Shit,” I grumbled as I tried to keep Sky by my side, but the throng was too thick and she stepped back.
Tony stood to my left, keeping a watchful eye over the young fans who were begging for my autograph and for selfies. The only way they’d leave me in peace was if I cooperated, so I smiled and became Hot Rod.
“Oh my God, it’s Rod Taylor! I love King’s Cross,” a young woman, maybe eighteen, exclaimed.
“Thank you, darling,” I said.
“Can I have a photo with you?”
“Of course, anything for a beauty like you.” I winked and she, very predictably, squealed. Damon would have had a field day with this one. Not me though. The only woman I wanted was Sky. My eyes searched her out in the crowd, and my shoulders relaxed when I spotted her standing off to the side with Dev.
Dev sent me a big smile, and the knot in my gut unwound a bit. Maybe things really were okay, and my worrying had all been for naught.
There was a shuffling in the crowd and then Patag, Dev’s younger brother, stood in front of me.
“Hi Rod.” His eyes were bright with excitement.
“Look at you all grown up and shit.” I grabbed him around the neck and pulled him to me in a hug. “The girls must be falling all over themselves to get a piece of you.”
He blushed and ducked his head. “Starting uni this autumn.”
“Fucking brilliant, mate. Dev says you want to be a barrister? You’ll be amazing.” Patag was a sweet kid, like Jonah but without the hard shell.
His blush deepened. “Nah. Not as amazing as you lot. I watched the videos from your gig in Papeete. The new album is going to be a smash. I just know it.” He held up his mobile. “Mind if we get a shot together?”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I threw my arm around his shoulder and ruffled his hair. “You’re Dev’s brother. That makes you mine as well.”
Patag beamed. He held up his mobile. “Cheers.”
“Cheers,” I said as he snapped a selfie.
When he stepped away. I squeezed his arm and looked straight into his eyes. “You ever need something, I’m just a ring away, aren’t I?” I knew how difficult Dev’s parents could be, and although Patag had Dev on his side, I wanted him to know he had me too.
“Thanks, mate.” Patag nodded his head. “That means a lot.”
A girl shouldered in front of him, and it was back to work for me.
By the time I finished up with the fans, Dev and Sky had moved into the lobby, where it was quieter. They were walking along the line of food warmers, and Dev was piling delicious looking food onto a plate for her. Sky smiled at him like he’d hung the moon.
Something fluttered in my belly, and I was once again hit by how much I loved these two. Of course, it didn’t hurt that Dev looked exceptionally striking in his black sherwani with gold buttons, or that Sky was radiant in her classy red dress that was just tight enough and short enough to tantalize.
And was I tantalized. Very tantalized.
I walked over to them. With each step closer, my heart lifted. My future was these two wonderful people, and the future was now. I stopped in front of Dev and smiled. “Hi.”
For the first time in my life, I was secure in the knowledge that we were solid. That we’d made it through the storm and had come out not only intact, but victorious.
I bent to kiss him.
Almost frantically, Dev pulled away.
The light in my chest extinguished, and I closed my eyes. This can’t be fucking happening again.
Chapter 14
DEV
I recoiled from Rod’s kiss, my eyes darting around to see who was watching, who had noticed the near-miss, my heart going twenty to the dozen.
I was a coward. A horrible, horrible coward, and I didn’t deserve Rod or Sky. I didn’t deserve Sky’s soft hand on my arm or the sympathetic look on Kalini’s face.
But I sure as hell deserved the scowl on Rod’s.
What the fuck was I doing?
Hurting the man I loved. Rejecting him. Telling him once again that he wasn’t enough. That he didn’t matter enough.
Well, fuck that. I was done. I was done denying who I was.
And I was done denying what Rod meant to me.
Rod’s eyes were shining bright, too bright, his body so stiff he could have been made of granite. He stepped back, his arm going to Sky’s waist, and I couldn’t stop myself.
I lunged for him like he was drowning.
But I was the one who was floundering. I was the one who couldn’t breathe.
Until our lips met, until his mouth started moving against mine, until he wrapped his arms around me and let me kiss him for all I was worth.
My whole body felt like it was on fire, every inch of my skin burning, hundreds of eyes on us, the collective gasps and exclamations of what seemed like the entire Indian community almost overpowering the music that still blared from the speakers.
But none of that mattered. Only Rod did. Only Sky did.
I blindly reached out a hand for her, my mouth still joined to Rod’s, and when her soft palm met mine, her fingers gently squeezing my own, my heart leapt. I broke the kiss and pulled her to us, Rod and I enveloping her in our arms, both of us kissing her too.
And then a hand on my shoulder wrenched me from that warm embrace. “What is the meaning of this, Devkinandan?” my father bellowed, his voice deeper and harsher than I’d ever heard it.
His face had flushed so dark I feared for his heart.
Mum raced to his side. I expected her to try to soothe him. But she turned to me, her own face similarly dark. “How could you shame us this way? With this… perversion?”
“I love them.” They were the only words I could think of. The only words that mattered.
“These people are more important than your family?”
“They are my family too. They mean everything.”
My father tapped his own chest. “You come here, you shame us, you ruin our name. Is this all a game to you?”
My throat tightened to the point where I was afraid I couldn’t speak, and hot tears stung my eyes. I looked away, right into Aahna’s shocked gaze. Raj had his arm around her, his stare hard as he looked at me.
I’d ruined my si
ster’s wedding. “I’m sorry, Aahna,” I said. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
Indira, Patag, and Geena had just reached us. “What’s going on?” Geena asked. She looked at me, at Rod, at Sky. “I heard something… something that cannot be true.”
“It is true,” I said. “I’m in love with Sky… and Rod. The three of us are together.”
Geena gasped and took Aahna’s free hand. “You cannot mean that.” But she was stepping away even as she said it.
Hands took mine from either side, one delicate and feminine, the other large and masculine. But it wasn’t Sky and Rod who were flanking me. It was Indira and Patag. The lump in my throat came back. “We’re with you,” Indira whispered, and Patag squeezed my hand.
Raj’s parents stepped out of the crowd, and his father spoke. “Our son cannot be part of a family that allows such deviance.”
Aahna’s mouth dropped open, horror on her features. To his credit, Raj pulled her closer and shook his head. I had to fix this. Now.
I looked at my father, my heart thundering in my chest, my knees weak. I’d always known it would come to this, hadn’t I? “Do what you know has to be done, Dad.”
His lips pressed into a thin line, and he shook his head. Was he going to take my side after all? A spark of hope lit in my chest.
He finally spoke. “You are no longer a son of ours.” His voice grew hoarse. “You are no longer a Prakesh.”
Gasps and exclamations filled the air around us. I looked at Mum, and her eyes dropped to the floor, her hand tightening on my father’s arm, and he pulled her close.
Indira and Patag both leaned into me, silently giving me their support, support I desperately needed.
My stomach knotting so hard I thought I’d vomit, I turned my gaze to Aahna. Her eyes were blazing, Geena’s too. “I’m so, so sorry, Aahna.” She looked away, as if I didn’t exist.
I forced myself to address Raj’s parents. “All of the shame falls on me, not my sister. Not my parents.” Then I turned my focus to Raj. “If my sister isn’t the happiest bride ever, I will ruin you, and I will ruin your family’s business.” I drew myself up to my full height. “And we both know that as Dev Stone, I have the power to put action behind those words.”