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“At a target on the wall.” Raashi grinned at Veda’s expression.
“You throw axes at a wall.”
“I’m brilliant at it,” Raashi bragged.
“Of course you are,” Harsh muttered as he walked past. “Sounds right up a Rottweiler’s alley.”
Raashi glowered at his back and Veda bit back a smile. Agastya returned, looking calm and in control, like always. If you missed the hand that was tapping out a rhythm on the side table beside them. Veda didn’t miss anything when it came to Agastya.
“All okay?” she asked him, still leaning into Raashi’s hug.
“Yes.” He smiled briefly at the two of them before turning to listen to something his aide whispered in his ear.
“Is he going to work through the wedding too?” Raashi asked acerbically, not bothering to lower her voice.
“Raash!” Veda hushed her, darting an embarrassed look towards Agastya. He didn’t look towards them so maybe he hadn’t heard.
Agastya’s mother came towards them followed by some more elderly ladies. Raashi gave her one last squeeze and then slipped away. Veda watched her vanish longingly before turning to greet Agastya’s relatives. They’d just started pinching her cheeks and asking how many children she wanted to have when she saw Agastya slip away again, tapping away at a different phone.
Ire sparked within her as she watched him escape the third-degree interrogation she was undergoing.
“Athama,” she whispered and saw Agastya’s mother jump at the form of address. She supposed it was the first time she’d used it so maybe it was bound to startle the older woman.
“Yes?” his mother said, looking at her suspiciously.
For God’s sake, Veda thought. It wasn’t like she’d called her a witch or something that sounded like it. What was with the reaction?
“What is it?” his mother asked, still staring at her like she was a cuckoo who’d landed in her nest.
“I need to pee.”
His mother drew back, shock on her face. Veda scanned the outraged faces around her soon-to-be mother-in-law and realised she’d goofed badly.
“I mean, I-I-I,” she stuttered.
“Go down the hall and take a right,” Agastya’s mother cut in tersely. “There is a guest bathroom there.”
Veda fled, ignoring the burst of conversation that erupted behind her. Flushed and flustered, she walked down the corridor his mother had pointed out, randomly opening doors until she found the guest bathroom.
She also found Agastya, leaning against a wall and talking in hushed, furious whispers. Veda darted into the bathroom and shut the door behind her, leaning against it.
“What the-“ Startled, Agastya pushed away from the wall and came towards her. “I’ll call you back,” he told whoever was on the phone and disconnected without waiting for an answer.
“Are you okay?” His worried, tired eyes scanned her face looking for a hint of why she was barging in on his private conversation in a bathroom. All of which was weird but Veda was struck only by how tired he looked.
“Are you okay?” she asked in return.
Agastya didn’t answer. He just stood there, looking at her. So close, and yet, so far. His hand went up to curl around a stray tendril of hair that had escaped her bun and he twined it around his finger. Veda stared at that long, blunt finger with her hair slipping around it and felt a bolt of lust slam through her.
“I told your mother I had to pee,” she blurted out.
Startled, his hand fell to his side releasing her hair. “What?”
“Pee,” she hissed. “I said pee in front of all those ladies to your mom.”
A loud, bark of laughter escaped him. Veda started to giggle. Agastya was chortling now, tears of laughter streaming down his cheeks and Veda couldn’t help but join him.
A sudden banging on the door had them both stilling, swallowing hoarse chuckles that sounded a lot like pigs snorting.
