Jia chuckled. “Sadia saved him money!” The first time because she eloped, and the second because her husband was wealthy and insisted on paying for everything.
“The elders didn’t.”
“Well, I will.” Jia had felt obligated to post a couple wedding shots on her socials, but she still wanted glamorous photos of her and Dev, big Bollywood sweeping pictures. She even had locations in mind.
But social media and reality were two different things, and she wasn’t about to waste oodles of money and time on a fancy reception, even if her new grandmother-in-law was going to pay for it. She had more important stuff to focus on, like the contracts MakeOut had sent over this morning. They were only nondisclosure agreements so they could talk further, but she’d enjoyed speaking with the executives there so far. She had all her fingers crossed.
“Jia?” Dev’s voice came from the hallway.
“You sound busy,” Ayesha said, again in a singsong voice.
Jia rolled her eyes. “We’re not going to have a sex romp, Ayesha. It’s the middle of the day.”
“Oh. I can’t believe I have to tell you this, old married lady, but I’m pretty sure sex isn’t limited to after the sun goes down.”
Jia ended the call on Ayesha’s laughter and glanced up when Dev appeared in the doorway. Her heart melted a little, just as it did whenever she saw him. His face was bright.
He rarely looked stern anymore, and when he did, it was easy to tease him into a smile. She rose to her feet. “What’s up?”
“Are you busy?”
“Not too busy.”
“I have a surprise for you. Can you come with me?”
“Sure.” Jia eyed Dev as she neared him. He was practically jumping in eagerness. “What’s up with you?”
“Come. Hurry.”
He refused to tell her what was up, even as they left his apartment building and went to the garage. She got in his car when he held her door open for her, moving her skirt when it might otherwise get caught in the door.
“Where are we going?” she asked as they left the garage.
He casually picked up her hand. This one-handed driving had made her nervous in the beginning, but now she liked the self-assured way he drove, and the way he couldn’t seem to keep his hands away from her. “You’ll see.”
How strange. She could tell she wasn’t going to get any more information out of him, so she relaxed back into the seat. They drove through a couple of neighborhoods, then up through the twisting hills, through residential neighborhoods.
“I was thinking, the flat might get too small for us, once Luna and Adil Uncle are back.”
“Oh?” Her heart picked up speed. Okay, good. They were going to discuss what their lives were going to look like, long-term. It would be nice to not live out of a suitcase any longer.
“I’d like for us to have our own place. A proper fresh start, a more permanent one.”
Her smile was slow. “I’d like that.”
“Good. Because I’ve put an offer in on a place.”
Her smile stopped. “You . . . bought a place? Already?”
“I know, it’s not like me. Your impulsivity is rubbing off.” He glanced at her. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“Surprise,” she said weakly. He’d bought their home without even showing it to her?
It’s okay. Don’t rain on his parade. He’s clearly superexcited and proud of this. “I’d like to see it.” That was the understatement of the century. “Is that where we’re going?”
“Yes.”
Anticipation replaced some of her unease when they pulled up in front of an unassuming white house. It was no mansion, and it also wasn’t small. The home was well-kept, the lawn green and the flowers beautiful. Jia stopped outside the gate to the walkway and waited for Dev to open it for her. “It’s cute,” she enthused. Okay, so he should have consulted her first, but this was nice so far.
Her optimism grew when they got inside the vacant house and he showed her each room. There was a large master bedroom with a bathroom attached and two other en suite rooms. Plenty of space for Adil Uncle and Luna, and a guest room to boot for his or her family. The kitchen was charming instead of state of the art, and that suited her fine. In her mind, she began redecorating each room as she walked through, imagining it on social media. She could even document the renovations as they went! Talk about content. “Oh, it’s adorable.”
“You think so? Good.” He cocked his head. “And I haven’t shown you the best part. Come outside.”
Jia followed Dev to the back and breathed in deep at the view. Perched as they were on the hill, they had a clear view of the valley. “Gorgeous.”
“Oh yes, the view. I’m talking about this.” He gestured.
She followed him to a small house and squealed. “A little house?”
“Yes.” He smiled at her excitement and unlocked the door. Inside was a surprisingly spacious one-bedroom, one-bath home.
“I love it.” She brushed her fingers over the white-and-black-checkered countertop.
“I thought it could be yours,” he said quietly.
Like, as her studio? Her fake home for social media? She opened her mouth, to tell him that was perfect, but then he continued, “I thought, instead of bringing a suitcase like you’re doing now, in the beginning at least, you could have your privacy here.”
Jia blinked at him, uncertain if Dev was saying what she thought he was saying. “You want me to live in here? Even though we’re married?”
“For a little while, sure. You could have your independence, and we can slowly get accustomed to living together.”
She squinted at him. What on . . . “So you would live in the main house, and I would live here.”
“Temporarily.” He paced to the window and looked out. “I think this place has a better view than the house, to be honest.”
She didn’t care about the view. Had he lost all his marbles?
He’s sane. He doesn’t want to be with you. Jia closed her eyes. The confidence she’d so carefully cultivated since before her wedding deflated like a sad balloon. She was too much, and he didn’t want to even live in the same house as her after their marriage. She’d annoyed him or frustrated him or she was too needy.
“Jia?”
She opened her eyes. “Hmm.”
“Is everything okay?”
What could she say? No, it wasn’t okay, but there was nothing she could do about that. She couldn’t make him want to spend time with her. “Hmm.”
She wasn’t sure what she said to him after that, only that they drove back to Santa Monica in silence. She stirred when they pulled into the garage. “I have to go to my place,” she said quietly.
“Do you need more clothes?”
Sure. “Yeah. And I need to see Katrina and Rhiannon.” Hopefully they’d be home.
“Jia . . .” Dev held her arm when she would have gotten out. “You don’t seem . . . right. Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Everything’s fine.” You bought me a house and told me you don’t want to live with me in it. After not even being married to me for a week. The honeymoon was most definitely over. “I’ll see you in a little while.” And because she’d somehow fallen for her dense husband, she kissed him on the cheek.