CHAPTER 1

01/05/2020

TWO YEARS LATER

"Happy Birthday, Nandani!"

A few dozen faces greeted her as she descended the stairs. She smiled and tried to ignore the number of fire code violations they were probably committing by having this many people here.

Nandani's shared house near the college campus in San Francisco was small but new. The hardwood, granite, and stainless steel were added perks. The fact that it didn't reek of pot (Marijuana) had been the real deal-maker.

As Nandani glanced across the room she spotted the one thing guaranteed to ruin any birthday.

Aryaman Khurana, laughing in the middle with a circle of guys and girls sprawled on her living room furniture.

Every muscle in Nandani's body tightened.

It was nice to see familiar faces, but the dull ache in her chest reminded her that many were mutual friends of Aryaman and her's. She had gotten Mukti and their roommates in the breakup at the start of the summer. It wasn't clear where the others fell.

It was the first time that Nandani had seen Aryaman after three months, and as much as she hated to admit it, he looked good.

His short, brown hair, on a hard body earned from playing football at a school that worshipped sports and expected the world from its heroes.

Aryaman was that 'first crush' guy that made heads spin and all other girls send jealous looks because he smiled at you. He had been the perfect boyfriend, right through junior years of college.

Right up until he had dumped Nandani out of the blue.

She could still remember Aryaman's voice down the line when she had called to tell him about the summer advertising internship she had won. He had said, "That is great, babe. Listen... you are going to New York is a good thing. I have been thinking lately that we are going in different directions, you know?"

She didn't know. Actually, she couldn't have been more surprised if he had declared that he was actually gay.

Given this was Nandani's twenty-first birthday, and an almost four-year relationship was a big deal.

Basically, nineteen percent of her life had been spent holding hands, making out, with Aryaman Khurana.

She had not expected to get over him instantly, but watching him laugh now lead her to have chest tightening. She didn't want to be with Aryaman anymore, but she also didn't want him to flirt with other girls in front of her or her house.

She looked around for a distraction. Her eyes landed on the kitchen table. Sitting in the center was a round purple cake made to look tufted with the help of fondant and pearls.

An impressive collection of mini-kegs, bottles, and cans surrounded the cake. She then reached for some hard drink.

"Nandani! Oh my God. I haven't seen you in ages! When did you get back from New York?" Nandani's roommate Alya descended, folding her in her toned arms.

"This afternoon. The party is a surprise for me," Nandani said to Alya. "Though a nice one," she added on seeing Alya's crestfallen face. She had but made a mental note to kill Mukti.

Then the blinding smile was back on Alya's face. "Good! Did I tell you I met Aryaman Khurana running a half marathon this summer?"

Nandani listened attentively to her story, reaching across the table to pour herself a fresh drink.

"That sound's epic. I am sure I would have stalked him too, though I am pretty sure trying to slip your phone into his pocket so you can track him is illegal." Nandani then extricated herself, making a beeline for the bathroom under the basement stairs.

She wished she had checked her appearance once more after putting on the short black skirt and a strappy tank top. Maybe she should have done something to her hair beyond leaving it down. But with ten minutes' notice, she didn't have much choice. She could smile, laugh, and show everyone she was doing just fine. With luck, the crowd would clear off early, maybe move to the bar down the street. She might even get a chance to work on her study schedule for the semester that started on Monday.

Winding her way through the crowd and rounding the corner, she collided with a tall form coming from the other direction. Big hands reached out to her shoulders to steady her as she stumbled backward.

Nandani had to tilt her chin up to meet a pair of startled brown eyes. Eyes she hadn't really seen in the last two years since they had locked with hers across a dark patio.

"Nandani?" Manik Malhotra's gaze warmed slightly as recognition set in.

"I almost didn't recognize you," Nandani said to Manik. He was taller. He had put on some weight, too, his red polo displaying muscles she definitely hadn't noticed two years back.

"Yeah, I am all grown up now," he drawled. "Just shifted here. One year in Houston was enough for me." Manik grinned. "I start civil engineering here next week. I am fulfilling the Malhotra complement of gender stereotypes. Mukti sews, I build."

Nandani had to tilt her head back for her eyes to connect with his. It gave her an excuse to really look at him. "Well, consider me dazzled by your scholastic aptitude," Nandani told him.

Her comment elicited a slow grin on Manik's face, designed to make teenage girls lose their undergarments. Why do good-looking people get all the assets? Nandani wondered.

Manik and his sister Mukti had both been effortlessly popular. But Manik had then fallen off the map.

He would have looked right at home on any movie or TV set. Though he was too pretty to play the bad boy. His jaw was too perfect. Add the long dark lashes framing chocolate eyes, and the well-sculpted mouth...not to be mentioned.

"How was your summer?" Manik asked, cutting off her musings. Mukti said you spent it in Miami."

"New York. I was doing an internship for a magazine publishing house," Nandani replied.

"Yeah, my geography was always shit. Miami is closer to New York, though," he replied.

"Very close." Nandani nodded. "New York's the one with the park. And the statue."

Alcohol seemed to melt the filter that came between her thoughts and her words. Manik's mouth twitched. "Alright, smart girl. Miami doesn't have parks or statues?"

"Nothing near eight hundred and forty-three acres or three hundred and five feet tall," Nandani replied.

"Noted." Manik cocked his head, a full-fledged smile gracing his mouth. "You have been saving that one up, haven't you?" he asked.

Nandani could not answer him, because of that smile? Yeah, it did great things for him, she felt.

"The internship sounds cool," he commented, pushing aside a chunk of dark hair that had fallen onto his face.

"The gig was great. I was one of the best interns ever to grace Manhattan publishing. After three months of practice there, I could run a Starbucks order for a department of twenty from that experience," Nandani replied.

"I don't believe you. They would have to be idiots to have a girl like you running coffee all day. What else did you do?" His deep brown eyes bored into hers. He was one of those guys whose intensity made someone feel like they were the center of his entire world.

Manik seemed genuinely interested, though she hadn't the slightest idea why. Her grateful brain clicked out of party mode for the time being.

"Actually, I got to assist with some major accounts and a campaign. It was way closer to real stuff than I thought I would be doing," she replied.

He scratched his head. "You and Mukti are still planning on that clothing business thing, right? The connections in this field must be pretty important, though."

The fact that he remembered at all was unexpected. That he was thinking about what Nandani's internship meant for Nandani and Mukti's business was something else...