Sophia almost rolled her eyes at the typical gesture except she was too surprised.
What was going on?
“It’s alright, man. This was bound to happen someday. Sooner rather than later.”
“Still.”
Nakul sighed. Felt the grief cloud his eyes, his head, and his heart. He wasn’t lying when he’d told Sophia he missed dad. He did. He had for a long, long time.
Sophia made a sound. A strangled huffing of breath. And Nakul glanced at her. She raised her hands in a wild gesture.
“What is going on?”
“Pechu, I can explain.”
“What the fuck is going on?”
“I can explain too,” Bharat said.
~~~~~
He finally allowed himself to look at her. At the woman who haunted his dreams. Sophia.
She looked faintly ridiculous with her messy hair and that faded yellow salwar kurti which did not constrain her boobs at all. She looked pretty and female.
Sophia’s hands rose again. “I don’t understand. What is going on?” she repeated as she skewered them both with a killer, hot glance.
Nakul and Bharat exchanged a manly glance and it seemed to make her madder than ever. “Are you two friends now? What the fuck. I can’t even… The panditji is coming in fifteen minutes. I have to shower and boil the milk and…”
Bharat reached out and held her hand. He clamped her mouth shut with his other hand.
Her eyes rounded. First with shock and then with indignation. She mumphed against his hand. And he cupped his fingers tighter against her jaw.
~~~~
“I am going to allow you two some privacy to…whatever,” Nakul murmured.
He dropped an absent kiss on his sister’s temple and then went to call the pandit to postpone coming for the pujan by an hour. As he looked at his Pechu’s furious face, and Bharat’s earnest expression he decided to make it two.
Nakul grinned.
He might have screwed up big time with his kid sister. But he was her big brother. He could fix things too. It was his job, after all.
~~~~~
Bharat felt like smiling. It was inappropriate given the circumstances but his lips twitched anyway.
Sophia’s expression was priceless. Indignant and angry and adorable all at the same time. He’d forgotten that. Forgotten that Sophia could never hide how she felt. She wasn’t built like that.
“If I remove my hand will you consider not screaming at me?”
Her eyes flamed but she nodded stiffly. He removed his hand cautiously but she kept her word. She did not scream at him. In fact, she said nothing at all.
“Hello, Sophia,” he said. “It’s nice to see you.”
She cocked her head to the side. “I am dreaming, aren’t I? I am dreaming. And you’re not really here and this is some very vivid hallucination I am having to cope with what has happened.”
“You’re not dreaming. I really am here,” he said simply.
~~~~
“I don’t believe you,” she whispered.
A flood of tears constricted her throat. Oh god. She wasn’t going to be that woman and weep all over him. She was made of stronger stuff than that. This was ridiculous. It was a dream.
But it was such a nice dream…
“I could punch you. Would dream Bharat do that?” he offered casually. He raised her hot palm to his lips and pressed a small kiss on the cove between fingers and palm.
Her eyes rounded even more. Her breath hitched.
“Yeah,” Sophia answered, finally. “He definitely would. I deserve it.”
“Well then, there’s just one thing I can do, right? To prove this is not a dream?”
“What?” She had only formed the syllable when his lips descended on hers and he kissed her. Her eyes bugged out.
He ended it far too quickly, just a chaste peck on her lips. She put trembling fingers against them.
“Bharat.” She could not make her voice, her spine strong. She was melting. “I am so sorry. I am so sorry.”
He wiped the tears streaking down her cheeks. “I know. It’s okay, Sophie.”
She cried harder, holding onto his wrists. Missing him all the more now that he was here. This was the most bizarre way she had ever imagined seeing him again but what the hell. If this was a dream. She didn’t want to wake up.
“It’s not okay. I was awful to you. I said such awful things to you.”
“You did. You were really awful to me.”
“I love you.” It was such a bald statement. “I am sorry…I didn’t mean to say that.” It was a stilted segue. And her hundredth apology to him. The ten thousandth, if you counted all the mental ones she made every day.
It rushed out and she closed her eyes in abject agony and humiliation. There was utter silence between them. When she opened her eyes, Bharat slipped his hands away from her face.
He stepped back and watched her. Nothing to read on his poker face. “Why? Do you not mean it?”
“I...don’t understand.” Sophia put a hand to her aching head. “What are you asking?”
“I am asking, do you not mean that you love me? It’s a simple enough question, right?”
Her lips trembled. And her heart pounded like the pulse between her ears. An ocean roar. He was tall and loomed before her. The last man on earth she could love.
“Yes. I mean it.” There it was. The last of her dignity at his feet. She had not only cried all over him, she had become a needy, clingy person who could not keep her mouth shut.
“And you loved me when you called me an orphan who did not understand the concept of family? When you took payment for…us?”
Sophia’s fists clenched inside her palms. But she forced herself to meet his gaze. “Yes, I did. I was wrong. And stupid. And so monumentally egotistical to do it. I won’t apologize for it because there aren’t enough words in the world that…”
“But you just said sorry. You said it twice. You said sorry multiple times in that email you sent me,” Bharat reminded her gently.
She gulped. “I did. Obviously I will apologize for it all. If you need me to.”
“You and Nakul, you are okay?” He switched gears so fast, she couldn’t keep up. “Last time I saw you, you were running after him and then when he found me, he didn’t know where you were. Don’t do that to your brother, Sophie. Don’t give him a heart attack.”
Her brows crinkled. “Huh? What?” she asked stupidly. “When did Nakul come to see you?”
Bharat shrugged. “Three days after I left Sydney. I couldn’t stay there…after…”
“Right.” She hugged her suddenly cold body. And his eyes went to her straining chest and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Of course. I am sorry about that too.”
“It’s alright. Caliban survived the trainwreck you created. Well, we created. We are now going into production with an AI that talks to people. And understands them. And gives that information to brands so they can advertise to them, without infringing on their privacy.”
“Oh.” Sophia wished she could hear him properly over the roar of her heart. But it was enough to see him. He was here.
That mattered.
Bharat’s eyes sobered and he touched her wrist again. “I am sorry, Sophie. About your dad. I came as soon as I heard.”
She tried to smile bravely. It slipped in the end. “That’s alright. I had a few good days with him. It was enough.”
“Alright.”
There was a heavy charged silence between them. One that Sophia wanted to break but didn’t know how to. She couldn’t ask him what she wanted to ask the most in the world.
Do you still love me? Have I fucked it up so badly that you can’t love me anymore?
But she didn’t. If this was her dream, then she didn’t want to know how he felt. Silence was better than the truth.
“You look okay,” Bharat said, at last.
She tucked wayward hair behind her hair, acutely aware of how not okay she was. She had c
hipped toe nail-paint, for crying out loud. “Thanks, I guess.”
“I didn’t mean that you didn’t before…I meant…”
“Yeah?” Sophia raised her chin. “What do you mean?”
“I just thought, from what Nakul told me that you were pining,” Bharat muttered, unable to meet her eyes. “Wasting away for me. Evidently, he was lying.”
“Evidently,” she murmured. “Evidently, there will be two Kulasreshthas buried shortly.”
“Hey, I think he was trying to help. Let’s not kill him yet.” He gave her hand a quick squeeze and this time she grabbed it.
“What is happening, Bharat? You’re suddenly besties with my brother. The guy who broke your nose. You are actually defending him? Is this upside down day? Because nothing is making sense, right now.”
“It’s simple, really. Your brother came to see me a month ago. And we talked things out. Nakul cashed the check I gave you. The check I should never have given you even if you asked me for it. The day I should have fought for you. Fought for us.”
Her breath started hitching, her head started swimming at his fantastic, magical words.
“And he started winding the business up. Because he is coming to work with me,” Bharat finished gently.
Sophia’s jaw dropped. “What? What?”
He nodded. “We need an experienced numbers man. Someone who can be both CEO and CFO. I am stepping back and taking over as CTO. It’s the position best suited for me.”
“Nakul is moving to America. To work with you. You’re hiring him. I need to sit down.” Her voice was blank as she sat right down on the marbled floor.
~~~~
Bharat shot one glace at the couch not twenty feet away and sat down beside her. He also put a cautious arm around her shoulder. Pulled her closer.
Sophia didn’t resist.
“But there’s a catch,” Bharat said slowly.
“There’s a catch,” she parroted after him.
“He won’t come without you.”
“Won’t come where?”
“To America. To work with me. He won’t come without you. His family. And I agree,” he spoke softly. “You should come. With him.”
Sophia shook her head and her hair tickled his nose and he felt a blessed sense of …homecoming. Like this was how it was meant to be. “You’re not making any sense at all.”
“I am making perfect sense and you know it. I love you. You should move to America so your brother will come work for me. And run my company while I run around with you. Because I love you. And we need to date properly before I marry you.”
She shook her head again but this time peeked up to look at him. Her nose was tomato red and her eyes were swimming again.
“I love you, Sophia. I didn’t stop either. Even though I wanted to. You’re a terrible person.” Bharat glared at her.
She sniffed, even as long buried feelings, numbed feelings stretched their legs and started coming to life. “I know!” she wailed. “I can’t ever forgive myself for everything I did. I don’t really expect you to…I mean…I never did.”
“But you forgave Nakul for everything he said, right? You forgave him?”
She nodded. “Yeah. He is an idiot, but he is my idiot brother. Family forgives.”
“So, I guess I have to forgive you too. Because family forgives and you’re mine, you know. And you are an idiot too.”
Sophia started crying in earnest now. “I hoped you’d say that. I hoped every day. Every night. I hoped. I was going to call you next week. I didn’t know how or why. But I was going to call you and tell you I miss you so much and…”
Bharat leaned down and kissed her. Her tears mingling with love and forgiveness.
And he said, “It’s a good thing I am a gambling sort of man. I need a lot of reforming.”
“Yeah. That’s okay.” Sophia hiccupped. “I don’t have anything going on for the rest of my life.”
He smiled at her. They had put each other through hell. Crossed oceans to reach here. And it wasn’t perfect. Far from it.
But as Sophia put her arms around Bharat’s neck and he reached out and pulled her across his lap and they kissed properly, starving for each other.
They realized the same thing.
Love was the greatest gamble of all. And the payoff was happily ever after.
The portrait of Rajeev Kulashreshtha smiled down at the sight of his daughter and his protégé laughing and crying and holding each other. Forever.
THE END
If you enjoyed Bharat and Sophia’s story, please do leave a review on Goodreads and Amazon.
Liked this Geeks of Caltech romance, you can also check out the first three books in the series – Still Not Over You, Crossing Lines, and The Heart of You
The Billionaire Next Door: An Amnesia Romance
He can't forget her...
Australian billionaire tycoon Gabriel De Rossi lost his new American wife Alyssa, the day he couldn't choose her over his business. He's been paying for it, ever since.
All he wants is to find the woman he lost and prove to her she is all that matters.
... And she can't remember anything.
A horrific car accident has left free-spirited artist Alyssa Harper with no memory of the last six months.
She wants answers to her past. And to escape her stern and mysterious protector, Porterfield.
When she meets the devastatingly handsome Gabriel De Rossi she is instantly attracted to him.
But The Billionaire Next Door is hiding secrets that could destroy Alyssa when she discovers them...
When I Remember You: A Rockstar Amnesia Romance
Commercial pilot Siobhan Davis dreams of flying planes with her father, Harvey, and taking care of her grandparents in Ireland.
She also has an unrequited crush on her very handsome, very famous, very married boss - rockstar classical pianist Adrian Renaud.
When a devastating tragedy tears their lives apart, Adrian loses his memory and can't remember the last one year... Or his new wife.
In order to save all that she loves including Adrian, Siobhan is forced to live a lie.
Pretend to be Adrian's wife. It is her heaven and hell..,Because, when Adrian remembers the life and love he lost, he will know Siobhan for the fraud she is. Won't he?
When I Remember You is an aching, passionate, amnesiac romance in the vein of the best Mills and Boon stories.
The Wilful Princess: Royals of Stellangård Book 2
Coming Soon
“Being a princess sucks, Lex,” Princess Isabella Helena Penelope Heinrickson said sweetly as she brushed noses with the baby cooing in her arms. “Nothing sucks more.”
Lex’s mom, Crown Princess Daria Heinrickson gave a wan smile to aunty and nephew. “Do not listen to your aunt, Lex. Princesses are given wonderful opportunities that the rest of the world can only dream about.”
“Yes, they are,” Lena agreed wryly. “Ribbon cuttings. Speech making. Outfit coordinating months in advance. Oh, let’s not forget. Princesses can never, ever cross their legs without it making international headlines.” She winked at the baby who batted at the ends of her chopped off hair. “Such wonderful opportunities.”
“You flashed a little more than your legs, you know,” Daria said mildly as she picked up a giraffe pattern onesie from the carved marble chest that held Prince Gunnar Alexander Heinrickson’s royal outfits. The chest had been a gift from the princess of Japan before she abdicated her throne to marry the love of her life.
“So I did, didn’t I?” Lena grinned unabashedly as she remembered the headline in that particular tabloid – Party Girl Princess’s Flashworthy Moment. A large X had dominated half the page where they’d caught her with nothing but a nude thong and a skintight black Dolce number. She couldn’t even remember where she’d been when the paparazzo had taken the highly scandalous picture.
She did remember the consequence of the headline – her father had hauled her back home and cut off her shopping
money for six months. A lifetime for Princess Lena, five years ago.
Daria competently took the diapered baby from Lena and placed him on his dressing corner. “I’m glad those days are behind you.”
“Much to my everlasting regret.” One of the benefits of being nearly thirty, was the despondent realization that she couldn’t play the role of Party Girl Princess with the same enthusiasm as she had when she had a decade ago. At the same time, she wasn’t ready to become what her father and older brother desperately wanted her to be.
Respectable.
As a result, Lena spent most of her time in a kind of limbo state. She attended the mind-numbing events and public appearances as dictated by her position and partied hard in between. Not that the partying brought her the same kind of high it had, even a month ago.
Yeah, being a princess totally sucked.
Lena tapped coral tipped nails against her crossed knees and looked on in wonder at her sister-in-law outfitting her nephew. Most women in Daria’s position would leave these little rituals – diaper changing, bathing and changing outfits – to the many, many staff that Castle Stellan employed. But not Daria.
No, she carved time out of her day to attend to her son. To play with him and read with him and feed him his mashed applesauce. She was a mom.
In the same way Lena’s own mother Margaret Heinrickson had been for her children. Although, Princess Margaret had drawn the line at changing smelly diapers. She’d always tried to be a mom first and a princess second. At least to two of her children, Xander and Lena.
Maybe that was why, two of her children were more impacted by Princess Margaret’s untimely death than the Crown Prince. Although, Lena knew she was being vastly unjust in thinking so. Even in the privacy of her own neurotic head.
Michael, Daria’s husband, Lena’s eldest brother and the Crown Princess of their fair state, had grieved. His eyes burning with unshed tears for days after they had laid the burned and charred corpse of Princess Margaret to rest. He still grieved, even though he never spoke of it.
Against All Odds Page 21
