Risha smiled as Vikram slipped into the chair next to Nidhi and fist-bumped her before bending down to remove his pads. For some reason today, Risha felt just a tad less envious of them.
Arjun walked into the grand ballroom of the Oberoi Hotel and greeted his grandmother, pressing a chaste kiss to her cheek.
‘Kuch sharam kar[51],’ Nani said huffily, ignoring his greeting.
Arjun glanced at his watch, mistakenly assuming the reason for her cold response was his fifteen-minute delay. ‘It’s only 7.45, I’m not that late.’
‘All your fault,’ Nani grumbled.
Arjun sighed. ‘What did I do now?’
‘We lost thee match because you diddunt play. Khanna family ki izzat mitti mein mila di[52]!’ Nani accused.
‘Nani, I’ve never played cricket. Not even in school,’ Arjun said, in a fruitless attempt to defend himself.
‘Cricket is in your blood. You are Indian, and on top of that you have Patialvi genes,’ Nani said matter-of-factly.
Arjun sincerely hoped she was referring to her own genes and not the maharaja’s. Foreseeing the futility of arguing Nani’s infallible logic, he nodded absently.
Nani narrowed her eyes. ‘Why are you looking idhar udhar[53]?’
Arjun turned to her with a charming smile. ‘I’m looking at your beautiful face, Nani. Have I mentioned you look particularly radiant tonight?’
Nani laughed.
‘I’m serious.’
‘I know. I was laughing at something Candy said earlier,’ she explained.
Candy. The reason he had been looking ‘idhar udhar’.
‘What did she say?’ he asked casually.
‘She was telling me about thee last wedding she photograafed. Thee whole week thee groom’s mausa[54] kept calling her “irritant”, and only at thee end of thee wedding did she realize that he meant “radiant”,’ Nani chuckled, savouring the anecdote.
Arjun smiled. He hadn’t heard that one before. Apparently, there was a lot about Risha he didn’t know. Like why she followed those primitive rules set by her parents. Or why she looked away every time he gave her a compliment. Or where she was right now.
Arjun glanced around the room quickly, trying to spot her.
‘Why diddunt you attend thee match?’ Nani persisted.
Arjun had received more bad news this morning. The supplier had confirmed that the sand supplies wouldn’t arrive for another three weeks. So even if the strike was called off, the slab-laying work would have to be held off until the raw material arrived. Arjun was beginning to think the bloody property was jinxed.
Reading his pensive look, Nani said, ‘Itna kaam mat kiya kar[55]. Go get yourself a drink.’
Arjun nodded and headed to the bar, thinking that he really did need a drink. Or five. He grabbed a glass of wine and headed back towards Nani’s table, but a flash of yellow caught his eye, bringing him to an abrupt halt.
Dressed in a yellow anarkali suit, with a brocade bodice tapering at the waist, and gold gota vines dancing on sheer sleeves, was Risha. With her hair tied in a side bun and her dupatta hanging daintily off one shoulder, she was quite the vision in yellow. The colour of sunflowers and yellow sapphires. No, sapphires were hard and Risha was soft. Like butter. Hell, butter was yellow, too.
As soon as she spotted him, she walked up to him with a warm smile. ‘Mr Khanna.’
‘You look stunning,’ Arjun said simply.
Risha flushed at the unexpected compliment. Oddly enough, she had been thinking that, dressed in a crisp black three-piece suit, a light stubble on his chiselled jaw, Arjun was the one who looked stunning. He looked, in fact, like he belonged on the cover of GQ, rather than the business page of News Today.
‘You don’t look so bad yourself,’ Risha said, casually raising her camera and snapping a picture.
Arjun lifted an accusing brow and she gave him a guilty smile.
‘Have a drink with me,’ he said.
‘You know I can’t. I’m—’
‘Working. Yes, I know,’ he said impatiently.
‘You’re distracting me,’ she said, repeating his words from the last night.
‘How can I be distracting you already? I just got here.’
Because you’ve been the only thing on my mind all day.
She took a sudden step back at the unwarranted thought, but recovered with a smile. ‘How about I go take some photos of the happy couple’s dance performance before your sister fires me?’
‘Fine,’ he conceded reluctantly. ‘But after you’re done, I want your undivided attention.’
‘What for?’ she asked innocently.
Arjun fought the urge to push her up against the wall and answer her question right there. Instead he said, ‘I’m thinking of installing a large frame in my living room and I need your help taking the photograph.’
‘Sure, what do you have in mind?’ she asked.
‘A life-size portrait of Priye Ma.’
Risha burst out laughing and Arjun felt his chest constrict at the sound.
‘Decagon of Definitely!’ she said with a wink.
He grinned, then leaned his head back against the wall and watched her disappear into the crowd.
Careful, Khanna. Careful.
Risha entered her hotel room, exhausted from the day’s events. She carefully placed her camera on the table and changed out of her formal clothes. She’d been hoping to hang out with Arjun, but he had constantly been surrounded by his family. Not wanting to interrupt his quality time with his sister, Risha had quietly slipped out of the ballroom. May as well get some shut-eye, she thought, sliding into her ‘Po the panda’ pyjamas.
She scrubbed off her make-up and brushed her teeth before getting into bed. She was sifting through her Instagram feed, a standard bedtime ritual, when she heard a soft knock on her door. She sat up abruptly, flung aside the covers and darted to the door. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and came face-to-face with Pinku.
‘Candyji,’ he said nervously. ‘Sorry if I am awaking you.’
His breath smelled like whisky, his speech was slurred and he seemed... anxious.
‘Is everything okay, Pinku?’
‘Pankaj,’ he corrected. ‘Myself Pankaj Sabharwal.’
Myself going to kick your butt.
‘Is everything okay, Pankaj?’ Risha emphasized.
‘Yes, yes, everything is fine,’ he said, craning his neck to peek into her room.
Trying her best to keep calm, she asked slowly, ‘Then what are you doing here?’
‘I, uh, just wanted to ask if you can took my photo with Vikram sir tomorrow? In sherwani?’
Was he kidding? It was 2.30 a.m.!
‘I can absolutely took it,’ she said in a flat tone. ‘Now may I go back to bed?’
‘Yes, yes. Thank you, Candyji,’ he said with a toothy grin.
Risha nodded and shut the door with a soft click. A few minutes later, there was another knock on the door.
‘Candyji?’ said a muffled voice through the door.
What now? Colour-coordinating his outfit with Vikram?
Risha opened the door with a sigh. ‘What is it?’
‘Actually I want to talk to you about something important.’
‘Can it wait till morning?’ Risha asked through gritted teeth.
He hesitated, glancing into her room.
Risha wondered if she could get fired for slamming the door in his face.
‘It’s about my business “Salwar Hi Salwar”.’
‘You want me to take pictures?’ she guessed.
Pinku nodded emphatically, seeming relieved.
‘Why don’t we discuss it later?’ Risha evaded.
He gave her a happy smile. ‘Are you shaadi-shuda[56]?’
That was the last straw. ‘Goodnight, Pinku.’
He opened his mouth to correct her. ‘Myself—’
But Risha had already shut the door.
She was nearly asleep a few minutes later when s
he heard another knock on her door. She groaned and buried her head under her pillow. Maybe if she pretended to be asleep, he would go away.
There was another knock, this time louder.
With the last shred of professional courtesy she had left in her body, Risha dragged herself out of bed, purposefully knotting her hair in a bun and clenching her fists at her side. Bride’s cousin or not, Risha was going to give this guy a piece of her mind.
‘It’s 3 a.m., Pankaj!’ she yelled, opening the door.
Except the person at the door wasn’t Pankaj.
‘Already forgotten my name?’ Arjun said, the corners of his mouth lifting in a teasing smile.
‘Oh, hi,’ Risha jerked back in surprise, and the movement sent her hair tumbling down her shoulders in long, flowing waves.
Arjun jolted back in shock. ‘Shit,’ he whispered, his mouth agape.
‘What?’
‘Your hair,’ he rasped.
‘I know,’ Risha said with a helpless smile, raking her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten it. ‘It’s a mess.’
‘No, I just meant that it’s... longer than I expected,’ he explained, his awestruck gaze still riveted on her hair.
Risha suddenly felt very self-conscious. And very awake.
‘Uh, yeah, it's pretty long,’ she said, feigning a casual yawn.
‘Do you want to go back to sleep?’ he asked gently.
‘No!’ she exclaimed.
Arjun smiled and took her hand. ‘Then come with me.’
‘But I’m in my pyjamas,’ she protested, grabbing her phone and key card before he pulled her into the corridor.
‘You’re fine,’ he said, walking to a room diagonally across the hall.
‘Whose room is this?’ Risha asked.
‘Mine.’
‘Oh,’ she said, following him inside. ‘Isn’t the immediate family staying on another floor?’ she wondered out loud.
Arjun slid off his jacket and hung it on a chair. ‘They are, but I traded rooms with one of my cousins.’
‘I see,’ Risha said, watching Arjun yank off his tie and toss it on a chair. Still wearing the waistcoat of his three-piece suit, he rolled up his sleeves, and the movement sent a delicious ripple up his biceps.
Is he going to take off the waistcoat next?
Risha absently twisted a strand of hair around her finger.
And his shirt after that?
She wrung her hands in her lap.
What if his pants follow?
Panic rose in her throat.
And then—
‘Risha?’
She jumped at the sound of his voice.
Arjun scanned her face worriedly, it was white as a sheet. Which is why, even though it wasn’t the whole truth, he said softly, ‘I just want to talk, okay?’
She nodded.
‘Would you like to sit?’ he asked, then frowned as she sat down stiffly on the sofa in the far corner of the room.
The Risha he knew was independent and self-assured, ever ready with a jibe or a quip. The Risha he knew was not scared or anxious. And she certainly wasn’t the type to back away into a corner.
Arjun took a seat next to her, carefully leaving some distance between them. Observing her rigid posture, he asked, ‘Do you want to tell me what’s bothering you?’
What’s bothering me is that you’re the most handsome man I’ve seen in my life. What’s bothering me is that you’re kind and chivalrous and funny. What’s bothering me is the deep concern etched on your face right now. What’s bothering me is that you’ve probably had sex on a plane!
‘I’m not very good at this,’ Risha said, gesturing to the space between them.
Arjun seriously doubted that, but he gave her an understanding nod and waited for her to continue.
‘I’m... I’m a little nervous,’ she admitted.
Arjun felt an involuntary stab of emotion. She looked so frightened, so fragile, that he desperately wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her. But he sensed that would only make her more anxious, so he gave her a reassuring smile instead. ‘I just want to spend time with you, that’s all.’
‘Me too,’ she said softly.
Arjun brought up a topic he knew would help calm her down. ‘I hear the match today was a real cliffhanger?’
Risha scoffed. ‘If you call losing by thirty runs a cliffhanger!’
‘Did you get some good pictures?’
Suddenly her entire body relaxed and she animatedly shared details of her day. Arjun watched the way her eyes lit up and the myriad emotions that played across her face as she described the cricket match.
‘It’s weird how on a cricket field, they were all equals,’ she said in amazement.
He chuckled at her enthusiasm. ‘Maybe you should diversify into sports photography.’
‘Maybe I will,’ she said.
‘Is that something you would seriously consider?’ he asked.
‘I don’t know, maybe someday. Right now, I’m happy with just wedding photography.’
She hesitated.
‘Go on,’ Arjun prompted.
‘To be honest, handling two jobs simultaneously is too much. Sometimes I don’t get sleep for days.’
‘Tell me about it,’ he muttered under his breath.
‘What?’ she asked.
‘Just wondering why you don’t do photography full-time. You’re clearly very passionate about it, and it seems to make you happy,’ he said.
‘If it takes off, I’ll do it full-time,’ she said.
‘If you do it full-time, it will take off,’ he challenged.
‘You don’t know that.’
‘You’re obviously very good at what you do. But you need to put yourself out there completely, hold nothing back. Not having a safety net is often what keeps you from falling.’
Something clenched inside her chest and she tried to come up with a witty rejoinder to change the subject, but she couldn’t.
Arjun gave her a long, scrutinizing look.
Wary of the way he was watching her, she blurted, ‘I’m hungry.’
His gaze drifted to her lips and he whispered, ‘So am I.’
Risha snatched up the room-service menu from the table in front of her and started flipping through it voraciously. Arjun chuckled and stood up, picking up the phone on the nightstand. ‘What would you like to eat?’
‘The primal chocolate ganache tart,’ she said, her eyes bright with anticipation.
Of course, he thought with a smile. He repeated her order into the phone, then as an afterthought, added, ‘Actually, make it two.’
She looked at him in surprise. ‘I thought you didn’t like chocolate.’
He slid back into the couch next to her. ‘On the contrary, I love chocolate.’
‘But on the flight you traded your chocolate torte for my mango cheesecake,’ she said, furrowing her brows.
Arjun gave her a wolfish grin.
Realization dawned on her face. ‘Oh.’
Dressed in her Kung Fu Panda pyjamas, with her long hair tousled and a gorgeous blush creeping up her cheeks, Arjun thought Risha was more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen.
His eyes darkened and his voice dropped to a husky whisper. ‘And in the interest of full disclosure, I think you should know where the other tattoo is.’
She peeked at him from lowered lashes. ‘It’s only fair.’
Arjun saw the soft invitation in her eyes and leaned in with such purpose that it made her breath catch in anticipation.
But the kiss that followed surprised her—it was gentle, tender, deliberate. He brushed his lips against hers ever so lightly, taking his time. His hands drifted up and down her arms in a gesture that was both sensual and soothing. Warmth coursed through Risha’s veins as she realized what Arjun was doing. He was easing her into the kiss, inviting her to set the pace, letting her hold the reins.
Risha slid her hands up his muscular chest. The unbridled hammering of his heart
under her palms made Risha positively giddy with power. But the feeling of being in charge didn’t last long, because as her hands made their way up his broad shoulders, Arjun’s soft, teasing kiss became heated, possessive, demanding.
With a muffled groan, he yanked her on to his lap and roughly tangled his hands in her hair. The stormy intensity of his mouth against hers sent a jolt of electricity down her spine, and Risha kissed him back, matching his passion with every fibre of her being, wrapping her arms around his neck, moulding her body to his. And that was all the encouragement Arjun needed.
He slipped one hand under her shirt, caressing her back, tracing the curve of her waist, tenderly running his fingertips against her flat stomach. His hand inched upwards and suddenly Risha gasped, jerking back.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, pulling himself out of a stupor.
‘There’s someone at the door,’ she whispered, wriggling off his lap.
That’s when he heard the knock.
Bloody room service.
Arjun stood up reluctantly. ‘I’ll get it.’ Then he sat back down and said meaningfully, ‘Actually, I think it’s better if you get it.’
Risha leapt off the sofa and fanned her face fervently, letting the server in.
A few minutes later they sat cross-legged on the bed, devouring the remnants of their desserts. ‘Are you sure you’re not sleepy?’ Arjun asked, popping the garnish strawberry into his mouth.
‘Not really. You?’
‘I don’t... I’m not.’
She cocked her head. ‘You don’t what?’
‘I don’t sleep much,’ he confessed.
‘Why?’
‘I just have a lot on my mind. Work-related stuff,’ he said evasively.
‘Earlier today on the phone, you said you were having a bad day. What was that about?’
Arjun hesitated, tempted to make a joke about it. Something on the lines of ‘I missed Vikram Walia’s half-century, of course it was a bad day!’ But for some reason he didn’t feel like lying to Risha. So he poured out the entire story about the ongoing strike, its cost implications and the creeping deadline. He vented for nearly half an hour and Risha listened intently without interrupting. When he finished speaking, she didn’t say anything for a few moments.
‘Too much information?’ he asked.
‘Not at all. But I do have a few questions.’
The Wedding Photographer Page 14