“Good. Now, are you seeing this guy again anytime soon?”
“Yeah, tonight.”
“Wow. Isn’t that excessive for a fauxmance?”
“It’s when we both have time. And we do have to learn about each other, or how will we fool my family?” And I want to see him again.
“Hmm. Yes, of course. There are no other ways to get to know each other.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means I’m worried about this convoluted plan of yours,” her roommate said gently.
“It’s not convoluted! It’s very luted.”
“That’s not a word.”
“It’ll all work out fine. I trust Dev.”
“Why?”
Jia opened her mouth, then closed it again. Why did she trust Dev? It was the same question he’d asked her, and she still couldn’t come up with a perfect answer. The first time she’d met him, he’d cracked her heart, and the second time he’d tried to pay her off.
“Jia?” Rhiannon prompted.
“I have a good feeling about him. It’s weird, I feel like . . . like I know him.”
Rhiannon’s lips thinned. “But you don’t.”
“Oh, I know.”
“Do you? Or are you getting confused because you talked to someone with his face for a couple months?” She pointed her finger. “It seems like this whole thing is an excuse to keep him around.”
Jia shifted. It was nicer when Rhiannon and Katrina played her friends and not her big sisters. She had enough of those, and they made her feel foolish on a regular basis. She didn’t need her friends to do the same. “I know you think I don’t have very good judgment, but this catfishing incident notwithstanding, I think my instincts have served me pretty well.”
Rhiannon looked immediately apologetic, which made Jia feel a little bad. “Of course. It’s not that I think you have bad instincts, only that you’re a little sheltered and naïve when it comes to men.”
Jia nodded. “That’s probably true. But I suppose the best way to learn is to try and to fail, right? It’s like peach blush.”
“What?”
“Peach blush. It was the it color for last summer, right? So I kept trying to make it work. Only it made me look sallow and I finally learned.” Jia snapped her fingers. “But I wouldn’t know peach blush was bad for me if I hadn’t tried it and failed. Does that make sense?”
Rhiannon laughed. “Only you would compare men to blush palettes.”
“It was a shade, not a palette,” Jia corrected gently. It wouldn’t do to have her roommate out there spreading misinformation.
Rhiannon’s lips twitched. “Gotcha.”
“Anyway, I have to head to my studio. Got some filming to do.” And she had to brainstorm some more content, maybe something she could do with perky little Harley to pull in the youths.
“It’s all about the views.”
Right. Which was what she was going to remember, no matter how much she trusted Dev. It was all about the views, and her future. A future that didn’t include a man she barely knew, even if he made her tummy flutter when he said her name.
Chapter Twelve
JIA HADN’T really registered much about Dev’s home when she’d dropped him off, but now that she wasn’t rushing to get him home to his sick niece, she could see it wasn’t nearly as nice a place as she imagined a Bollywood dynasty member might live in. Oh, it was a good location and had decent security, but given what she knew about his family, he could probably easily afford a Malibu mansion.
She’d considered waiting downstairs or calling to let him know that she was there, but then she remembered how he’d picked her up from her door, and she parked in visitor parking. The security guard took her name and let her up with a smile and directions.
She knocked, then realized there was a doorbell. She started to reach for it when the door swung open.
The picture hadn’t done Dev’s niece justice. The young teen was taller than Jia, and wildly beautiful. Her hair was shorter now than it had been in the photo, and the look suited her, made her riotous curls pop. She wore black jeans and a T-shirt, both ripped and ragged looking, but in that way only expensive rips and ragged hems could look. Her skin was a deep, dark brown and glowed from health and good genes. Her lashes were naturally long, her face round and sweet.
Jia shifted when the girl continued to stare at her in silence, her mouth slightly agape. “Hi. I’m Jia. I take it you’re Luna?”
The child swallowed. “Yes. You know who I am?”
“Sure thing. Your uncle showed me a picture.” Jia had originally started vlogging for the twentysomethings like herself, but her demographic spanned from ages ten to eighty-three. It had been odd in the beginning, meeting people who watched the nonsense she performed in her bedroom, but now that it was more like a business, it was less weird.
Still, her hands were a little sweaty, meeting Dev’s niece, though she wasn’t sure why. When they continued to stand there, Jia took control. “May I come in?”
Luna shook her head. “Oh. Oh yes! Of course.” She took a step back.
“Thank you.” Jia slipped her shoes off without being asked to, next to the other two pairs that were right by the door.
“Luna? Did you get the door?” An older man came into view. He stopped when he saw her. “Oh.”
Jia inclined her head. “Hello.”
“You must be Jia.” A smile split his still smooth face. “I am Dev’s uncle, Adil.”
Jia’s shoulders immediately relaxed. There was something so kind and welcoming about Dev’s uncle’s manner. “Assalamu Alaikum, Uncle.”
He placed his hand on his chest. “Walaikum Assalam. Come in, come in. Dev is getting dressed, but please come wait in the kitchen. Luna, why don’t you go tell your kaka his friend is here?”
Luna nodded and left, casting inscrutable glances over her shoulder at Jia. Jia scoped out the place while she trailed behind Adil. She only caught a glimpse of the living room before she entered the kitchen. “You’ve really decorated in the little time you’ve been here,” she remarked to Adil.
“It came furnished,” he said. “I am hoping Dev finds a more permanent place soon. This kitchen is fine, but I would prefer more counter space.”
Jia glanced around the kitchen. It was as generic as her staged apartment’s kitchen, but here there was the delicious smell of food cooking, as well as reminders and recipes tacked up on the stainless steel fridge. It was a family kitchen. “It’s nice.”
“Are you hungry? Luna asked for rotis.”
“No, thank you. There will be food at this event.”
Adil nodded. “Please, sit down. Would you like a drink? Let me get you a glass of water.”
Since he’d said it as a statement, not a question, she figured she’d get that water whether she wanted it or not. She took the seat he indicated, at the high countertop, and accepted the water. “Dev didn’t mention that his uncle lived with him.” She immediately wondered if that had come out wrong, but Adil only smiled cheerfully.
Adil returned to his floured work surface and rolled a section of dough into a ball. “I only came to live with him when his brother passed. My wife is gone, as well. It made sense, for two bachelors to be together. Besides, he needed help with Luna. His shooting schedule can be wild.”