“Me too,” Zara said.
She said her goodbyes to the two of them and their screens winked off. Sadia took a sip of her lemonade and studied Jia. “Um, do we need to have a talk tonight?”
“A talk about what?”
Sadia cleared her throat. “You know. Birds and bees.”
Jia’s eyes widened. “For crying out loud. I was in medical school, Sadia. And I’ve had internet access forever. I know about the birds and bees.”
Sadia fiddled with her shirt. “But you’ve never . . .”
“I’ve never wanted to,” Jia pointed out. “Don’t worry. I’m looking forward to this and know what to expect.”
“Okay, but . . . if it’s not that great the first time, that’s okay. Sometimes it takes practice to get in the groove of things. And if he’s not that good, but eager to please, you can work with that, as well. There’s toys! And lots of material about—”
Jia nearly threw her tablet away. “Can we stop, please?”
“You’re happy with this, right?”
Jia smiled softly. Everyone was asking her that tonight. “I know it’s sudden, but yes. I’m happy.”
“I’m not worried about it being sudden for you. You always did make faster decisions than anyone. I used to worry about it, but I don’t any longer. You know what you’re doing.” Sadia gave her a warm grin. “Good night. Sneak away and kiss your handsome husband at least once tonight when Mom and Daddy aren’t looking.”
Her handsome husband was going to leave soon to go get Luna’s things, and Jia probably wouldn’t see him until tomorrow. Actually, she probably wouldn’t have a private meeting with him until tomorrow night, after her parents left for the airport. Which was disappointing as heck.
She wasn’t sure what she’d envisioned for her wedding night, but certainly, she’d hoped for at least a kiss. And more.
But that was far too much to explain to Sadia now. “I’ll try,” Jia said cheekily.
She put her tablet away. It was a little bizarre, actually, how little anxiety she felt. She pulled out her phone and navigated to the voice note she’d recorded during a small window of privacy earlier in the day. “Hi Jia,” came her own voice. “Do you regret anything?”
“Nope,” she said.
“Good. That’s what confidence feels like. Memorize this feeling.” The recording ended.
Are you sure you’re confident? He seemed totally fine about running away from you right after the wedding.
She slammed the lid on that box of insecurities. He was a practical man, and Luna needed her stuff. Sure, could he have taken Jia with him? Could they have had a romantic night drive along the PCH, and at least smooched a little here and there, giddy on being young and married?
Sure. Sure. But again, he was practical. He wasn’t too much, like her. He wasn’t too little, either. He was just right.
Chapter Twenty-Six
JIA GLANCED in her rearview mirror at her mother. “Are you crying?”
“No,” Farzana sobbed. Mohammad put his arm around his wife.
“She is having a delayed reaction to yesterday,” her father said. “She’ll be fine once she’s on the plane.”
Farzana wailed. “Soon all my daughters will be gone.”
“Are we dying or getting married?” Jia whispered to her sister and got a poke in return.
Ayesha twisted in her seat. “Mom, please. You can’t cry all the way through LAX.”
Farzana sniffled. “We should have accepted Shweta’s offer to charter a plane for us.”
“She just became family,” Jia said dryly. “Let’s not go taking advantage of the Dixit fortune right away, hmm?”
Farzana glared at Jia, which was better than crying in her back seat. “What a tacky thing to suggest. I would never.”
Jia inched along in the LAX roundabout. The traffic was, as usual, horrendous, but luckily her family was flying out of the first terminal. “Sorry, Mom.”
“You will bring Dev to our home next month, for at least a full week. That way we can all get to know him, and you can spend time with your sisters and we can plan your real wedding,” Mohammad said. There was no arguing with the stern tone in his voice, and Jia didn’t want to. As far as her father was concerned, yesterday’s ceremony had merely been paperwork.
“Of course.”
“Good.”
They pulled up in front of the terminal and said goodbye in a flurry of hugs and kisses. Jia’s mood depressed a little as she left her family and got back in her car.
She placed her hands on the steering wheel, then frowned. Where was she supposed to go? She hadn’t discussed this with Dev before leaving. The house had been so busy, what with her family packing up and saying their goodbyes. She’d only waved at him.
She called Dev as she worked her way out of the airport’s congestion.
He answered on the first ring. “Hello?”
“I dropped them off. I’m leaving LAX now.” She wiped her palms on her pant legs.
“I’m home. Would you . . . would you like to come to my home for dinner? I mean. Our home? The flat?”
Her heart sped up. There was no need to get too excited. She’d been to his home before, and they’d had dinner together.
Never as a married couple, though.
“Sure.”
“Great. See you soon.”
She hung up and made sure she drove as sedately as possible, though she wanted to speed demon all the way there. She’d be so annoyed if she got delayed by a ticket, though.
Dev opened the door before Jia could knock and then looked sheepish. “The guard rang me that you were coming up.”
“Oh, how nice.” She took a step in and gazed up at him.
She wasn’t sure who moved first, but their mouths fused together. Slowly, his arms came around her waist, pulling her tight to him.
For all the suddenness, it was relatively chaste. No tongue, just softly parted lips brushing against each other. Still, this sweet, soft kiss made her feel like the Fourth of July had taken up residence in her belly. Forget butterflies, she had fireworks.
His hand smoothed up and down her back. She wound her arms around his neck and rose up on her tiptoes, but it was still hard to get the right angle, him being so much taller than her.
He made a rough noise against her lips and lifted her abruptly off her feet. The wall came up against her back for support, and he pressed himself against her front, keeping her suspended there. She felt shameless as she wrapped her wobbly legs around his waist for stability.
How could she have wondered if her attraction to Dev was based on anything other than him in real life? This desire ran bone-deep, and it wasn’t for any photo on her phone, but for the flesh-and-blood man.
Dear diary, this is how you kiss a woman.
Everything was new and clumsy, but neither of them cared. His tongue brushed against hers, and the sensation was so delightful she sought it out, chasing his warmth. His hands grew more sure on her waist as they kissed for long minutes, warm, drugging kisses that shoved every other thought out of her head.
He was so warm and strong, and she wanted to crawl inside him and steal some of that warmth for herself. She plastered herself against him tighter.