Uncharted (Jersey Girls Book 3)

by Lisa-Marie Cabrelli

  50

  Nandita – The Dream

  Nandita let out a sob as Ravi gathered her to him. She couldn’t help it. With his confession she’d realized that all of this was her fault. If only she had never stopped writing to him when they were children, if she'd never run away, if she'd never doubted him when she found that photo, if she'd only listened to Satish and asked him for an explanation, none of this would have happened. She thought of the wasted weeks, sleepless nights, and stress that Ravi must have suffered through, and she sobbed again. He lifted her face to his and kissed her gently through her tears.

  His voice shook. “What’s the matter, Nandita? Do you not feel the same?”

  She laughed, then, and shook her head. “What you just told me made me the happiest person on the planet, Ravi. I would be the luckiest woman alive if I got to spend my life with you. How can you still love me, though, after everything I’ve put you through?”

  He took her by the shoulders and kissed her again, the force of his lips taking her by surprise. She was even more surprised when he plunged his hands into her hair and pulled her toward him greedily. He broke the kiss and held her face close to his; his breath tickled her lips as he spoke, “You put me through one of the most exciting, passionate things that has ever happened to me. You woke me up, Nan. I have changed because of you, and you have taught me so much. I love you! You took control of the decisions that should have been yours to make from the beginning. No one can fault you for that.”

  “I’ve let everyone down, though.” She buried her head in his chest. “It’s been horrible since you disappeared.” He took her glass from her and moved it to the coffee table as she pulled back and her eyes burned into his. “I realized how selfish I have been about everything. I’ve let everyone down because of my obsession with winning. My father, Satish, Claire, and even Sally. I—”

  “No one here is free of blame, Nan,” Ravi interrupted. “Your father is a bad man beyond saving. I was wrong to go along with him, and Satish was wrong to be so hard on you. Sally was wrong for that pathetically stupid green card marriage idea. We’re all learning as we go—every one of us. The important part is that you recognize your mistakes and do everything you can to fix them. That’s why I’m here. I’ve made mistakes, and now I need to prove I can be the kind of man you deserve. Your family loves you so much. If they felt you had let them down, would they have done all of this for you?”

  “All of what?” Nandita sniffled.

  “Why do you think I am sitting here, right now?” She shook her head, still confused about how all of this had happened. He took her hands back into his own. “I went to Satish and confessed to everything. I told him how I felt about you and I asked him if he could forgive me and if he would help me. I asked him if he could tell me the one thing I could do to make you happy—something that would help you forgive me for everything I'd done. Do you know what he said?”

  “No.”

  “He said to get you your mother, so I did. I got your mother, I stole her away, and I brought her here for you.”

  Nandita reached for his face and cupped it with her tiny, soft hand. “I’ve missed you, Ravi. You didn’t have to do anything more than to just come back to me. I’ve been looking for you since you left. Every day, I walked by your house, hoping I would see Sandy popping out of the door on a leash for her run with you right behind her. I’ve dreamed about you every night, Ravi, and I’ve dreamed about you all day. I love you. I think I’ve loved you from the day you came to my door and kissed me as though I already belonged to you. Will you do it again?”

  “Gladly,” he said, and his voice had deepened with emotion. He pulled her into him firmly and placed his mouth over her full lips, kissing her. It was the same, and her body lit up with gratitude as he whispered into her ear, “Thank you for loving me. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. I have no idea how a man like me could be lucky enough to have you in my arms.”

  51

  Claire – The Ever After

  One Year Later.

  “Shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot, shoot,” groaned Claire as she stared at the message in her email inbox.

  “What’s the matter, sweets?” Satish had come up behind her and kissed her neck. Claire pushed him away gently and read the email message again in disbelief.

  “The caterer’s going to be late! What do we do?” Satish laughed, and she whipped around to tell him off for not taking things seriously, but he drew her into a kiss, making her swallow her words. It was impossible to be irritated with him.

  “Don’t worry, wife,” he said. “Remember who our guests are and you have the solution: just serve more drinks!” Claire laughed and marveled, not for the first time, at how relaxed Satish was since he had left the high-stress environment of Telco.

  Stephen had invited him to join his growing app company as the CEO, and after a torrid few months during which he explained to Claire daily why it would be irresponsible of him to leave such an established company as Telco, he finally accepted the role and hadn’t looked back. Maureen was thrilled to be once again working with her idol, and Stephen was thrilled with the company results. Claire was just thrilled that Satish was happy.

  “I wanted Nan’s engagement party to be perfect, though!” she whined.

  She heard a ripple of laughter behind her and turned to find Nandita and Ravi, arms entwined, headed into the kitchen. “Claire, it’s perfect, already, and it hasn’t even started,” she said. “Babe, do you want to help me make some daiquiris?” she asked Ravi.

  “Gladly,” he said, “but you’re not allowed to eat all the cherries!” Turning to Claire and pointing at a laughing Nandita, he said, “This girl and maraschinos! I can’t keep her away from them.”

  She smiled at her little sister and Ravi. They reminded her of her early days with Satish, not that she wished for those days back. Unlike the heady, lusty rush of that first year, the depth of feeling that had grown, and continued to grow, between them was unshakeable. Ravi and Nandita couldn’t keep their hands off each other—a fact that drove Satish to the edge of embarrassment whenever they were around them, but which made his mother giggle with pleasure.

  What a blessing Mrs. Bhatt had turned out to be! When Ravi had appeared the day before the wedding with only Satish’s mother on his arm, Satish had been worried his father would find a way to punish her for leaving. She had claimed instantly that she had no desire to return to India, and especially no wish to return to his father, and that had scared him in so many ways. How would his father react? He’d asked her how would she deal with the sudden absence of the man she’d been married to for forty years, but it turned out that neither of these things were worth the worry. When Satish had finally spoken to his father—it had taken a long time for him to return calls—he claimed he didn't want her back in his house. He was a bitter, angry man, lost in his work and business and, according to the family housekeeper, spending his evenings drinking and moping. Claire had tremendous empathy toward all people less fortunate than her, but she had trouble digging up an ounce of sympathy for him. He had treated others atrociously throughout his entire life, and now the chickens had come home to roost.

  Satish’s mother was instantly at home in Hoboken, and more importantly, in Claire’s boutique. Her skills were unmatched by any employee she had ever had in the shop, and the delicate hand-embroidery skills, honed through years of practice and the wisdom passed down through generations before her, had become a particular benefit to Claire’s designs. The custom embroidered dresses were flying off the shelves faster than she could stock them. Claire also enjoyed her mother-in-law's company immensely. The stories she told of Satish’s early childhood and life in India had kept her mesmerized for hours as they worked, and the days flew by. She’d insisted she couldn't live with them, so they'd found her a small apartment close to the boutique. She loved living alone after so many years with such an oppressive and controlling husband, but Claire thought she felt the boutique was her r
eal home. She had given her mother-in-law a key of her own, and some days Claire wandered in at 6am, bleary-eyed and ready for coffee, to find Mrs. Bhatt with fine silks running through her hands and out the other side as a creation of exceptional beauty, as though she were a printing press.

  Nandita tore herself away from Ravi’s side—it was difficult, Claire could tell—and came to stand next to Claire, nudging her hip with her own. “Everything I need to celebrate our engagement is already here, Claire.” She smiled and looked around the small, tidy backyard of the townhouse. She followed Nandita’s gaze.

  Tod and Sally had parked themselves at the picnic table in the shade of the large elm that had claimed the corner many years ago. Tod had Clairedita on his lap and was doing his best version of peek-a-boo with the eight-month-old. Dita, as she was most commonly called, collapsed into fits of uncontrollable giggles every time his flushed and happy face popped out from between his hands. Sally was watching them and smiling, her face serene and satisfied. She looked like she had just eaten a good meal with a particularly decadent desert, and she looked like that pretty much all the time now. Tod had stopped traveling so they could focus on growing the local business, and the gallery was booming. Dita was the biggest star; Sally took her in every day, and the customers ate her up. Tod had moved his studio down into the gallery, so he could be closer to his family. It wasn’t unusual to find Sally closing on a huge sale while Clairedita played on a giant blanket behind the register and Tod painted away in the back.

  Maureen and Stephen lounged on a blanket spread across the rear of the lawn. They were laughing at something Stephen had just said, and Maureen leaned in to tickle his side. Stephen’s ticklishness was legendary, and he jumped away from her with a look of such betrayal on his face that Nandita and Claire shared a look and burst out laughing. They had announced their engagement a few months ago, and the wedding would be next summer in the Bahamas at Water’s Edge. They were all looking forward to it.

  “We’re so lucky, aren’t we?” Nandita whispered. “We are so lucky to have so many people who love us.”

  Claire turned to her and smiled. “Yes, we are, sweetie. We are.”

  Satish came up behind her as she surveyed the scene and wrapped his arms around her waist, leaning his head on her shoulder. “Look at that little Clairedita. She’s unbearably adorable. Can we have one?” She turned to Satish’s mouth and cut off his question with a kiss. She was enjoying him way too much to think about kids yet, but they were definitely in their future. She wanted five. “Soon, babe, soon.”

  She looked over at Mrs. Bhatt, who was sitting just outside the kitchen door, chatting with Claire’s father and surveying the scene as though it were their own private theater. She waved at them and they waved back.

  “Can you believe this all started in Phil’s cube five years ago?” Satish said. “Who would’ve thought Phil was such an expert matchmaker?” Claire giggled at a sudden image of the man poring over stacks of matchmaking applications instead of lines of code. “I knew the moment I saw you that you would change my life. I love you, Claire.”

  “I love you, Satish.” He spun her in his arms and kissed her discreetly—he still wasn’t one-hundred percent comfortable with public displays of affection. There was a whistle from Stephen, and Claire glimpsed Maureen reaching out for a tickle again; he dodged quickly and pounced on her. Nandita and Ravi had moved outside and were leaning against the tall brick wall bordering the garden, heads together, whispering.

  Nandita was right: why was she worried about the stupid caterers? They had everything they needed right here. How lucky they truly were.

  “Now,” said Claire, “let’s go celebrate an engagement.”

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  The Lit Chicks

  Thank you so much for reading Uncharted!

  Next up, a new series about life in a small Italian mountain village called Borgotaro. Love, laughs and lots of happily ever afters. You get a FREE pre-publication version of the first book in the series when you join the Lit Chick Group. *Offer expires February, 2018.

  I hope you enjoyed Nandita and Ravi’s story. If you haven’t read the rest of the Jersey Girl’s series you can find out how Satish and Claire found love in Book 1, Unraveled, and how Maureen found herself, and Stephen in Book 2, Unstoppable.

  If you’d like to get access to the VIP Vault which holds exclusive short stories and bonuses. If you’d like free book offers and the chance to be an ARC reader. You can join Lisa-Marie’s Lit Chick Group by clicking here.

  Reviews mean everything to new authors. If you enjoyed Uncharted, please consider leaving a review to help other readers find my books!

  Also by Lisa-Marie Cabrelli

  Unraveled - Click here to purchase

  Unstoppable - Click here to purchase

  Acknowledgments

  If anyone had told me last September that in a year’s time I would have published three books, I would never have believed them. Ever.

  I could never have reached my goal without help from the following people.

  To the Beta Babes…

  Developmental Readers: Michelle Marte (s) (both of them, my sister and her sister-in-law), Katie Pavey, Megan Hayes, Going Belen, Barbara Hackel, Lorinda Cartwright

  Proofreaders: Katie Pavey, Ruth Nagele, Viki Battaglia, Stephanie Smith, Kate Schieber

  All errors are most definitely my own.

  My editor Mikaela and cover designer Mariah

  I had the pleasure of meeting an amazing group of wonderful authors at the Smarter Artist Summit this year and a bunch of us created a killer Mastermind Group. To Julie (who sprinted with me), Lori, Jami, Kate and all the rest of you inspirational women… thank you. I’m constantly amazed at the generosity and humility of the author community.

  I have the most supportive husband in the world. Thank you Mark. And the most inspirational daughter. Thank you Em.

  The greatest gift my parents ever gave me was a love of stories. My Mum is an avid reader and read to us nightly as children, as well as making up stories (Johnny And His Magic Car). My Dad was always reading a book (and often made us fetch it for him). Books were revered, respected and treasured. Thanks Mum and Dad.

  About the Author

  Lisa-Marie Cabrelli is an author, entrepreneur and coach. She lives a laptop life with her husband Mark and is struggling with empty-nest syndrome as her daughter recently left for college. Writing stories keeps her head in the clouds but her feet firmly on solid ground, wherever that ground may be.

  She loves to hear from readers!

  www.laptoplifelisa.com

  lisa@laptoplifelisa.com

  Copyright © 2017 by Galahad Press, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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  Cover Design: Mariah Sinclair

  Editor: Mikaela Peterson

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