DEV HAD WANTED to be at the house to greet Jia and her family, but his uncle had insisted he go to the market to pick up some items for the dinner he’d seized control of cooking. Since Adil had been uncharacteristically quiet over the past twenty-four hours, Dev hadn’t wanted to deny him his fresh spinach. He’d rushed home as soon as he’d gotten the texts that she’d arrived earlier than planned.
He made a quick stop to drop the groceries off in the kitchen. Adil Uncle greeted him when he entered with a grumbled, “About time.”
Dev didn’t take offense. The older man had cooking stains on his apron and a general frazzled air about him. His uncle might be more nervous than he was, though he wasn’t sure why. “I came as quickly as I could. Is Luna with Aji?”
“Yes.” Adil Uncle peered into the bag of groceries, and gave a satisfied grunt. “Yes, good, you got what I needed.”
“And Jia? Did you meet her and her family?”
“Not yet, though I believe your grandmother did.”
Damn. He’d wished to be here to facilitate that meeting. He hoped his grandmother had checked her imposing nature for a minute. “It would have been better for you to greet her, since you’ve already met,” he murmured.
“I don’t know about that.” Adil Uncle busied himself emptying the bags. “In any case, I believe Pinky showed them to their rooms. I think I saw Jia leave the house a few minutes ago. She was headed for the beach.”
Dev glanced out the window and caught a flash of pink. Protocol dictated he greet her parents immediately, but these were unusual circumstances, and he’d like to see her first.
He’d gotten more nervous as the day went on. He tried to tell himself that her parents were normal people, who did normal people things, but he was still worried. “Thank you.”
Dev pushed his shirt sleeves up as he went outside. He’d dithered over what to wear. He’d gradually relaxed his wardrobe around Jia, but this wasn’t just Jia he was meeting, now was it? So he’d donned slacks and a button-down shirt, despite how warm it was today.
He slowed as he approached Jia. She wore a pink shalwar kameez and matching hijab. Her feet were buried in the sand. “Jia,” he said, but she didn’t turn around.
Perhaps she couldn’t hear him over the sound of the ocean. “Jia,” he said, louder now, and placed his hand lightly on her shoulder.
She stiffened and dropped her hand over his. Dev couldn’t tell the sequence of events of what happened next, except that he flew through the air and landed facedown, the wind knocked out of him. He rolled onto his back, coughing sand out of his mouth.
“Oh my God.” The woman who had sent him airborne crouched down next to him, and now that her face was visible, he could see this was not Jia, but a very good facsimile of her. Ayesha.
She pulled a headphone out of her ear. “Dev? I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to—”
“What on earth is going on?” Jia’s strong voice carried over the beach. He turned his head slightly. She wore a blood-red dress adorned with embroidered flowers.
Since they weren’t alone and since he couldn’t talk yet, he tried to convey comfort and reassurance through his look, though he wasn’t sure if he accomplished that goal. Hard to accomplish anything when one’s lungs had been squeezed flat.
“He startled me,” Ayesha explained.
He placed his hand on his chest and wheezed. “Apologies, I didn’t mean to. I thought you were Jia. I said your name. Uh, Jia’s name.”
Ayesha grimaced. “I was blasting my music kind of loud.”
Dev came to a seated position. The sand was firmer than it looked. “That was an impressive throw.”
“Fun fact, Ayesha’s a black belt.” Jia’s smile was small and apologetic. “It’s a bad idea to startle her.”
“What is happening down here?” An older couple came into view and Dev mentally groaned. So not only had he startled Jia’s sister bad enough that she’d karate tossed him, now he had to meet her parents sprawled on the ground with his clothes all sandy.
Dev came to his feet and dusted off his pants. “You must be Dr. and Dr. Ahmed. I’m Dev Dixit. I apologize for not being here when you arrived.”
“Hmmm.” Her father regarded him with a disapproving frown. “You came home and decided to come play in the sand instead of greeting us?”
“He wasn’t playing in the sand. I accidentally tripped him,” Ayesha said in a rush.
Their mother’s eyes widened. “Ayesha. How could you do that?”
Mischief danced in Jia’s eyes. “Yeah, Ayesha. How could you do that?”
“I startled—” Dev started to explain, but Ayesha cut him off.
“I am very clumsy.”
Mohammad shook his head. His clothes were similar to Dev’s, slacks and a button-down shirt, sans sand. “Apologies on behalf of our daughter, Dev.”
“It was my fault,” he assured them hastily, extending his hand. Then he saw it had sand on it, so he pulled it back and tried to wipe it surreptitiously on his thigh.
“What a gentleman you are,” Farzana crooned as she looked him up and down. He’d been on the receiving end of that calculating look from aunties before, so it didn’t faze him too much. This time, actually, he welcomed it. Her parents liking him would make this all easier on Jia.
“Shall we go inside?” he suggested. “We can relax in the living room until dinner.”
“That would be nice.”
They walked to the house, Jia at his side. So much for talking to her first. He let his pinkie brush against hers, hoping to convey some comfort.
“I understand you parent your niece, Dev,” Mohammad said, and Dev tucked his hand close to his side guiltily. “We would love to meet her and your uncle, as well.”
“I do, yes.” They entered the back door, which led directly into the spacious living room. He gestured to the seats. “Please make yourselves at home. I’ll go fetch them.”
“I’ll come with you,” Jia said, her tone bright.
Her mother frowned and opened her mouth, presumably to stop the two of them from going off alone, but Ayesha spoke up. “Mom, is that a Picasso?”
“Where?”
Ayesha winked at Jia and led their parents to the wall, and Dev smiled. He’d forgive his future sister-in-law for tossing him into the sand if she could keep running interference like this.
Chapter Twenty-One
JIA RELEASED the breath of anxiety she’d been holding as she walked next to Dev. When she’d first come across him lying on the sand at Ayesha’s feet, she’d met his dark gaze for one pregnant moment. She’d never been able to speak with someone in a look like she did with Ayesha, but it was so easy with him.
Are you okay? his look asked, though he was the one vanquished on the ground.
As well as can be.
Don’t worry.
I’ll try.
She stopped walking, and he turned to look at her. She stared at him for a long moment, then launched herself into his arms and buried her face in his neck and inhaled. Dev’s hands smoothed down her back, so his fingertips rested on the curve of her butt.