It was time to go home.
Ethan was not real. He was a fantasy, just like her singing career. What would life be like as a singer? It would be like the last four days. Going from one place to another, with no tether to home. Having to dance onstage wearing skimpy clothes. Maybe she’d been pursuing the wrong goals. She’d thought that knowing she had done something on her own, a success her parents hadn’t bought for her, would be enough. It would fulfill her, close the hole she’d felt in her soul. But then why did she still feel so empty? Why were her thoughts full of an American man with bright blue eyes and sandy-brown hair who owned a house down the street from his parents? A world away from everyone she loved. She lay on the bed but hardly slept.
She was not going to be the woman who would make the dark, empty, redbrick house a home for him.
Fourteen
Ethan rolled his shoulders and stretched his back. The old couch had lived its life. He was tempted to order a new one, but Divya’s words came back to him.
“Coffee, hon?”
He nodded to his mother, who poured him a cup and set it on the small kitchen table. It was still early in the morning, but his father had already left for work. His mother was in her diner uniform and Ethan bit his tongue to keep from asking when she’d quit.
“You know the old McPherson house?”
She looked at him, puzzled, and sat at the table, after putting a plate with eggs, toast and bacon in front of him. She’d gotten up earlier than usual to make him breakfast.
“I bought it.”
She gasped. “That was you? The neighbors were wondering who the mysterious buyer was. Why didn’t you tell us?”
He shrugged. “I felt silly, buying that big old house for just me. I thought I’d tell you about it when I was ready to start a family.”
Marilyn hugged her son. “You don’t need a woman to start a family. We are your family.”
“Then, why does is feel like I can’t do anything right lately?” He reached out and took his mom’s hands and she squeezed his.
She smiled sadly at him. “Oh Ethan, we love you so much. We’re still getting used to your money. I guess we don’t want to take advantage of your generosity. Your dad and I have always provided for our children, and we’re not used to the idea of our children taking responsibility for our needs.”
“There’s something I want to tell you,” Ethan started. It was time he told his mother what he knew. “Right after Matt was born, I went to see Wade, in our old apartment.”
His mother froze, but he continued. “I needed to know why he gave me up so easily. I know he wasn’t a good man, but I was his son.” He paused and took a sip of his coffee. “He told me that Bill only agreed to adopt me because you made it a condition of your marriage.”
His mother gasped audibly. “That awful man. How dare he say something like that to you?” She grabbed Ethan’s hand. “Is that what you’ve thought all these years? Why didn’t you say something?” She shook her head. “It’s not true. I never asked Bill to take you in. He fell in love with you the first time he met you. Remember that day I took you to the park?”
Ethan did remember the day. Bill had shown him how to ride his bike without the training wheels on.
“Bill proposed to me the next day. I still joke with him that he only married me because he wanted you. Oh honey, I wish you hadn’t kept this in your heart all these years.” His mother leaned over and gave him a hug and he hugged her back.
They sat in silence for a while, eating breakfast, then his mother turned to him. “I guess I could use a new car.”
His heart soared, but before he could say something, she held up a finger. “But, I want to go down to the used car lot and pick out something safe and sturdy.” Her eyes softened. “I’m sure the Lexus is amazing, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable in it.”
He nodded. “Anything you want, Mom. How about I pick you up when you get your break between shifts, and we’ll go down together.”
She stood and put her coffee cup in the sink. “About Divya...”
He stared at his plate, ready to hear the litany of things that were wrong with her. “That girl has a good head on her shoulders. She’s a keeper.”
He looked at his mother in surprise. She came over to him and kissed him on the head. “But prepare yourself, my boy. She’s going to break your heart.”
There it was. The alarm that had been blaring in his mind, that he kept silencing.
He poured a second cup of coffee and went to wake Divya. He knocked on his bedroom door, but there was no answer. He opened it to see her curled up in his bed, her dark hair across her face.
She is so beautiful.
He imagined the master bedroom in the redbrick house and waking up next to her each morning, and he couldn’t. She didn’t belong in that house. She didn’t want the life he did.
She stirred and he brushed her hair from her face. Her eyes blinked open. “Hey there, handsome.”
He smiled. “Morning, beautiful.”
“Did I sleep in late?”
He shook his head, then bent down to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around him and he inhaled her smell. He moved his mouth to her ear, then her throat and then worked his way down her body.
“Wait. Your parents!”
He had made his way down to her stomach and started taking her pajamas off. “They’re gone. The house is empty. You’re mine,” he growled.
He made love to her slowly, savoring every inch of her body, enjoying the way she responded to him, her moans music to his ears.
When they were done, he lay down beside her and pulled her close. “Well, you can wake me up that way anytime,” she murmured as she laid her head on his chest.
“Can I?”
She turned her head so she could face him. “Can you what?”
“Can I wake you this way not just for the next few days but for longer?”
She sat up, grabbed a pillow and smacked him in the chest. He sat up, startled. “Did I or did I not tell you not to fall for me?” she said indignantly.
He caught the pillow and pulled her toward him. “Didn’t we discuss the fact that I have a knack for falling for unavailable women?”
Her smiled faltered. “You know we’re all wrong for each other.”
He took the pillow from her hand and kissed her. “I know. But that’s why it feels so right between us.”
She put her cheek on his naked chest. “I want to be with you,” she said softly. “Can you give me some time to figure things out?”
It was the best he was going to get, and he was going to take it.
* * *
He took Divya on a riverboat ride in the morning, then dropped her at the main street in Stillwater so she could explore the antiques shops. He picked up his mom at the diner during her break and convinced her to buy a fairly new Honda Accord at the used-car dealer.
Then he went to collect Divya.
“Let’s have lunch at your mother’s diner,” Divya suggested.
“You know what? It’s a great idea.” He’d never brought anyone he was dating to the diner; he usually took them to the fancier restaurants in Minneapolis.
The look in his mother’s eyes when he sat down in her section with Divya made his heart burst. She didn’t have to say it. She’d been waiting for him to make this move for years. His mother introduced him with pride to the regular customers, who had no idea who he was. This was the working class of Stillwater, not the people who lived in the mansions. He shook hands, listened to advice about how to be a good son and admonishments that his mother was too old to work at the diner and he should help out more. He smiled and nodded, and his mother beamed with pride.
“What should we do with the kids this afternoon?” Divya asked when they were done with lunch.
“Let’s not plan anything. We can ask them w
hat they want to do.”
They picked up the kids from school and Jake asked if they could go to Teddy Bear Park. Allie rolled her eyes, but once they got to the park, Ethan noticed her climbing the giant teddy bear while he and Divya chased Jake around the obstacle course. They all climbed on the bear when it was time to leave and had someone take a picture of them.
After dinner, they bought giant ice-cream cones and made a mess trying to finish them before they melted. Ethan savored every second of the day.
When they dropped off the kids, they hugged Divya for a long time. “You’ll come back, won’t you, Divya? You won’t be like that Poo lady?” Jake asked in a voice so sweet that Ethan’s heart lurched.
Divya got on her knees so she was eye to eye with Jake. “I’m going to do my best, little man, but I can’t make any promises. Remember, I live in India, that country far away.”
Tears sprung to Jake’s eyes. “So this is the last time we’ll see each other?” He put his little arms around Divya and buried his face in her neck.
She looked at Ethan helplessly. The kids had fallen in love with Divya, just as he had. “Jake, how about I promise that we will video chat? And I can’t promise when, but one day, I’ll come see you.”
He held out his hand and she shook it. “It’s a deal,” Jake said, nodding importantly.
Ethan’s throat closed. When she didn’t come back, it wouldn’t be just his heart that was broken.
When they got back to his brother’s house, Ethan asked to have a private word with Matt and Heather. Divya volunteered to tuck the kids into bed. He sat with his brother and sister-in-law for a long time, and Divya waited patiently. Once he was done, he drove Divya to the riverfront and they walked along the bank, enjoying the cool air. He held her hand. “Thank you, Divya,” he said.
She turned to him surprised. “What for?”
“For showing me what I’m really looking for in a woman. All my life, I’ve been chasing women who do things the way I do, who think the way I do, who want the things I want. But that’s not what I need. I need someone who tells me what I’m doing wrong. Who shows me a better way.”
She leaned over and kissed him. “Is your plane available tomorrow?”
He smiled. “At your service. Where do you want to go? What’s next on your bucket list?”
“No more bucket list. It’s time for me to return to my family.”
Fifteen
His face crumpled. Should I let him suffer? She leaned over and whispered in his ear. “I want you to come with me. I think you should meet my family.”
“Did I hear you correctly?” he asked breathlessly.
She’d made the decision to go home last night. She’d been afraid of what she’d be facing when she returned, of going back to a life she didn’t want. But then she thought about jumping out of the plane. Of the raw fear she’d experienced standing on the edge. If she could do that, couldn’t she tell her parents that she didn’t want the life that they’d chosen for her?
She’d fallen asleep thinking about how to tell Ethan that she was ready to return. And extract a promise from him that they’d continue seeing each other. Not as friends but as lovers. But then she’d spent the whole night imagining herself in her bed at home, alone. It wasn’t fair to him, or to her. If she wasn’t willing to give him up, then she had to go all in. She had to see whether their love could withstand the ultimate test: her parents.
She bit his ear playfully. “Yes, Ethan Connors. Look, I’m not saying I’m ready for a permanent commitment.”
“Then, what are you saying?”
“I’m saying that I am willing to admit to my parents that I’ve fallen in love with a most unsuitable boy. I’m willing to see where things go with us. But I’m not ready to move into a redbrick house and have three-point-five kids. Can you accept that?”
His eyes shone and her chest constricted. “We can negotiate the number. I’d be happy with two-point-two-five kids.”
She slapped his chest playfully and he caught her hand. “There’s a lot that I’m willing to do for you, Divya. All those women I chased... I wasn’t going to give up what I wanted for them. I didn’t love them enough.”
She’d come to the same conclusion, but she wasn’t sure if he was really willing to give up his dreams for her, either.
“I took your advice and asked Matt if there was anything the kids needed,” he continued, seeming to change the subject as he brushed an errant hair out of her face. “Heather is pregnant. She’s still early and they haven’t told my parents. It wasn’t planned and they’re freaking out.” A small note of pride crept into his voice at the notion that he’d been trusted with something so personal. “They admitted that their house is getting really small for them. They only have one bathroom upstairs, and it’s getting hard for them to share it with the kids. There’s no bedroom for another child. With the school pick-up and drop-off schedules and after-school activities, and now a baby, Matt can’t go back to work. They’d pay so much in babysitters that it’s not worth it for him. Heather has these massive student loans from college and medical school, and it’ll be a while before she starts making real money. They can’t afford to buy a bigger house right now.”
“I think it’s great that your brother takes on the parenting responsibilities.”
Ethan pulled her closer. “I would do that for you in a heartbeat.” She had no doubt he would.
“So will they take money from you?”
“I’m not giving them money.”
She raised her brows.
“I gave them the redbrick house.”
She gasped. “Your house?”
Ethan took both her hands in his. “It was never my house. It was a dream. It’s not a house you want. It’s not the life you want. And I want you.”
Tears stung her eyes. “I love you, Ethan.” Her voice was thick and her heart swelled in her chest. She didn’t know when or how she’d fallen in love with the most improbable man, but she knew it was true.
He cupped her face. “I love you, Divya. More than anything else in this world.”
The kiss they shared was sweet and salty. She didn’t know if the tears were hers or his.
“Before we go back to your family, can you give me a day?”
She narrowed her eyes. “Only if you tell me what we’re doing. I don’t want to go mountain climbing or helicopter skiing or some other crazy sport.”
“You didn’t enjoy the skydiving?”
She raised her chin. “I didn’t say that.”
He leaned down. “Then, trust me.”
She smirked at him but felt her nerves ignite at the prospect of whatever he had planned and another uncomplicated day with him.
They left early the next morning. Marilyn and Bill both gave Divya a long hug and extracted a promise that she would stay in touch. Ethan slowed down as he passed by the redbrick house but resolutely refused to look at it. Divya’s heart squeezed painfully.
He took them to Los Angeles and her curiosity was peaked. Yet another assistant met them, this time with a limo and driver. “LA traffic can be horrendous, and I want to make the most of our time together.”
Why was he talking as if it was their last day together? He still wouldn’t tell her where they were going, but according to the GPS, the ride would take over an hour, so they chatted about her family.
“Karishma is my partner in crime. She and I are only two years apart, so we’ve always gotten into trouble together. Naina is a little younger, so we usually con her into covering for us, but she’s been getting smarter about wanting to be part of the fun.”
“Did they know you were planning to run?”
“Karishma did. She even tried talking to Vivek for me, but he dismissed her concerns just as he’d ignored mine. She and Naina have both emailed me begging me to come back. Even Hema, who supported this plan
all along, said it’s time to return.”
“Who’s Hema?”
“She’s like an adopted sister. Her parents and mine were close friends. When they died, we took her in. She was actually arranged to be married to Arjun, but he fell in love with Rani and bailed.”
“So running away from an arranged marriage is a family tradition, then?”
She laughed. “I guess it is.”
They finally pulled up to a building with a large fountain in front and an enormous rotating record on the roof. Divya turned to Ethan, wide-eyed. “What did you do?”
“I called in a favor and bought some studio time so you can cut a demo.”
“Ethan!”
“You have a résumé for your career, don’t you? Artists have portfolios. If you decide not to do anything with what you produce, consider it a souvenir of our time together.” Once again, her heart skipped. Why did she get the feeling he was preparing to say goodbye to her? Had he really fallen in love with her or was this like his love for Pooja? Now that things were getting real, was he getting ready to bolt? Was it all about the chase for him?
He hadn’t just bought studio time, he’d also hired one of the best producers in the field, several technicians and background musicians. Ethan had booked her for twelve hours, which seemed ridiculous for recording the two songs she had written. But when they started, she better understood what it really took. It wasn’t just about singing her songs; it was mixing in the music, fine-tuning how background music would be used against her vocals, even touching up her lyrics. The team Ethan had hired were professionals, and they worked hard without a break. Ethan went on food and coffee runs and watched her patiently the whole day. She should’ve been exhausted at the end of the session, but she was on top of the world. The finished masters were her songs, but they now sounded polished and sophisticated. Her voice had been amplified in the right places and the background music added the depth and symphony her guitar alone couldn’t.
Running Away with the Bride--An opposites attract romance with a twist Page 12
