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‘Personally,I’dlook for his little red hat first,’ saidFrancesca, who was sitting on a stone bench and finishing up a plate of vegetarian curry.
‘Haha,’ saidKrish, cracking a wide smile. ‘Noreally?’
‘Hewent to the toilet.’
Krishtook a seat next to her. ‘How’sthe footage looking?’Helet his knee fall towards her so that it brushed her leg.Shedidn’t move away.Wasthat a good sign?Orwas she just too tired to bother?Betweenthe heat and the constant challenges from the couple, five hours seemed like twenty.
‘Great, actually.Thefootage with those zebras...’
‘Iknow.Crazy.’Ishani’sfather kept a herd, and they’d done some close-up shots with one of the tamer zebras.
‘You’vegot to see this one clip.’Sheput down her paper plate and picked up her camera from the bench next to her.Krishleaned towards her to get a better view.Thefact that it brought his upper body into contact with her and he could smell her sweet shampoo was just an added bonus.Hecould hear her breathe.Shealways breathed a little heavier when she was concentrating.Andwhen they used to make love, she concentrateda lot.Krishfought the urge to nuzzle her hair with his nose.
Completelyunaware of his jangled emotions, she scrolled through the clips on her memory card and hit play on one where the zebra butted his head againstParamjeet’sbottom, making him step into a pile of soft dung.
Theyboth laughed, indulging in some mutual schadenfreude.
Francescaplayed it again. ‘Itprobably won’t make it into the final f—’
‘Goldie?!Whatare you doing here?’
Avoice cut through their conversation, andKrishlooked up to see a tall man with a chiselled jaw and short, gelled hair.Hewore a loose turquoise kurta pyjama edged in gold, paired with tan trousers and matching slippers.
Shepractically threw her camera intoKrish’slap and ran over to the man, launching herself into his arms so her feet dangled off the ground.Francesca?Huggingvoluntarily?Krishsat up straighter.
‘Jaiveer!’ she cried out happily. ‘Whatareyoudoing here?’
Jaiveer?Asin the mysteryboyfriend,Jaiveer?Asour ball formed inKrish’sgut.
‘Ichoreographed the dances for theSangeetand for tomorrow, of course,’ he said, returning the hug and adding in a kiss on her cheek.
‘I’mfilming the wedding!’ she said.Jaiveerdropped her to the ground and they both jumped up and down with excitement.
Seriously,Krishwondered.Whathad happened toFrancesca?Hehad never seen her like this with anyone else: playful, fun, and silly.Somethinginside of him ripped, knowing that another man had brought this out in her.Krishwanted to be the one to light her up.
Steppingback, she ran her eyes up and downJaiveer’sbody in a way that madeKrishclench his jaw. ‘Ididn’t realise you had clothes that weren’t black.’Shegiggled.Francescaactuallygiggled.
Ha.Ha.Bloodyha, thoughtKrish.Personally, he wouldn’t trust a man who didn’t have some colour in his wardrobe.
‘ThisisKrish,’ she said, proffering her hand in his direction.Hecaught the pointed look that passed between them.So, she’d toldJaiveerabout him.Didshe mention the kiss?Orjust that he was her ex?Hesuddenly wanted to know, quite badly.
‘Niceto meet you.’Jaiveerheld out his hand, andKrishshook it.Annoyingly, it was a good handshake.Ifit had been too weak or too hard, at least he could have inferred something from it.Butthis was the handshake of someone who wasn’t trying to prove anything and didn’t feel threatened.Atall.
ToFrancesca,Jaiveersaid, ‘Doyou know whereParamjeetis?’
‘Upstairs, trying to solve world hunger and figure out the plastic crisis.’
‘Soundslike him.’Theyshared a chuckle. ‘I’llsee you later.’Hekissed her on the cheek again and trotted into the house.Krishgritted his teeth.
‘What?’ saidFrancescawhen she caughtKrish’seyes on her.
Heshrugged, struggling to look nonchalant while his insides raged. ‘Nothing.Heseems nice.’
‘Yeah, he’s great.Andsuch a talented choreographer.Hewon aFanfareaward, you know.’
Hewon aFanfareaward,Krishrepeated in a childish voice in his head, knowing it was beneath him and doing it anyway.Henarrowed his eyes.So,Francescahadn’t made upJaiveer.Hewas a living, breathing person.Sheseemedcomfortable in his company, and heseemedlike a nice guy.
Thatbeing said, something didn’t add up.
