Did he mean . . . ? Was he talking about . . . ? No, of course not. Dimple blinked, her throat tight. “It’s okay. It would’ve been a disservice to the world if you hadn’t pursued it, you know?”
He smiled, a gentle, soft thing like fading light. “And what about you and your app?”
“Jenny’s been incredible. We’re nearing completion; maybe another month or two.” She adjusted her glasses. “Thank you for doing that for me. I don’t think I was very grateful at the time, and I’m sorry too.”
Rishi nodded slowly, sadly. “Maybe we were both too caught up with other things we needed to sort through.” He took a deep breath. “What are you doing here, by the way?”
Dimple flushed and looked away, hands tightening around the iced coffee cup. “Nothing,” she said quickly. Then she took a breath and tried again. She’d come all this way. She’d wanted a chance to make this right. Well, this was it. This was her chance. Maybe Rishi didn’t feel the same way anymore, but she still owed him an apology. “Actually, the truth is, I, um . . . I went to the airport first. I thought you’d be there.”
Rishi’s heart began to trip along in his chest. She’d gone to the airport to find him? “I wasn’t there,” he said, stupidly.
Dimple smiled a little. “Yeah, I see that. You weren’t going to MIT after all.”
“But why . . . why did you want to find me?” he asked, his breath speeding up. He tried to calm his pulse and was only marginally successful.
“I . . .” She swallowed, an audible gulping sound. She looked into his eyes. “I . . . made a mistake, Rishi.” Laughing a little nervously, she held out the iced coffee. “And if you want to throw this at me, I’ll totally understand.” Then, softly but firmly, she added, “I was a total idiot. I love you.” There was a pause, because Rishi couldn’t think of a single thing to say. His brain had iced over or overheated or something. “I get it if it’s too late,” Dimple hurried to add. “I just wanted to say I was sorry. And that, you know, I should never have said all those things to you. I was afraid, and . . .” She shook her head and looked away, biting her lip like she was afraid she might cry.
Was this real life? Was this really happening? Surely this was a dream. . . . Rishi pinched his forearm, hard. “Ow!”
Dimple frowned and looked back at him. “What the heck are you doing?”
Rishi shook his head a little, still utterly in shock. “Wait, but . . . but I texted you from the lobby of your dorm. And you never texted me back.”
Dimple looked startled. “I . . .” Then she hit her forehead with an open palm. “My phone fell off my seat while I was driving, and I couldn’t get to it, so I left it. It’s on vibrate, so I didn’t even hear it. And when I got here, I was in a hurry to see this place, and I totally forgot.” She smiled suddenly, big and wide and bright, as if she’d just realized what he’d said. “Wait. You waited for me in the lobby of my dorm? Why?”
Rishi stepped toward her, his heart pounding like it was trying to make an escape. He circled his arms around her waist. “Because, Dimple Shah, I am stupidly, idiotically, annoyingly in love with you. You were right about so many things. I was afraid. I was terrified of doing what I wanted and of hurting my parents. I was carrying this huge weight on my shoulders without even realizing it—without even needing to. You’ve made me braver. It’s like you have this paintbrush, dipped in brilliant mauves and teals and golds, and you just totally redid my monochromatic life. I need you; I need your paintbrush.” He pushed a shaky hand through his hair, terrified and exhilarated and breathless. “Wow. I’m not even sure if that made any sense.”
Dimple tipped her head back farther and smiled up at him in a way that made his heart do some very interesting things. “It makes total sense. I was the same way. I said you were cowardly, but I was just as terrified, Rishi.” She shook her head, sunshine glinting on her glasses. “I was so afraid of going down the same path as my parents, of ending up in the same domestic life, that I forgot to consider one thing: This is our life. We get to decide the rules. We get to say what goes and what stays, what matters and what doesn’t. And the only thing I know is that I love you. It hurts too much to be apart from you.” She stopped, her eyes glittering with tears.
Rishi breathed deeply, the loneliness and the doubt and the brilliant pain of the last month finally dissipating. “Same,” he whispered. And then, louder, “I’m sorry it took me the rest of the summer to realize it and come after you. But I’m here now. You’re here now. So what do you say we do this the right way this time around?”
Dimple grinned, her ears pounding with the rhythm of a thousand Bollywood love songs. “Yes, please.”
And she closed the gap between their lips.
This book would never have happened without my amazing editor, Jennifer Ung. Not only is Jen a talented editor with an uncanny ability to mind-meld, she’s also working tirelessly to bring diversity to children’s book publishing, an undertaking near and dear to my heart. And as if that weren’t enough, she’s also the master of sending relevant dog memes via e-mail. Thank you so, so much for all you do. I’m beyond excited that we’re going to be continuing to work together!
To my indefatigable and completely lovely literary agent, Thao Le, thank you for bringing this opportunity to me. I was in a complete writing slump until I got that e-mail from you—on my birthday, of all days.
To the entire Simon Pulse team, from my exceptional designer, Regina Flath, to the publicity and marketing team, and everyone in between—thank you, thank you for this wonderful opportunity. Pulse has been like a warm and welcoming family. I couldn’t have asked for a better house!
To my family, who support me without question and with unbridled enthusiasm always, I want to say, you guys are my lobsters. I love you, and I can’t wait for more mountain adventures!
And last but definitely not least, I want to thank YOU, dear reader. You, who felt moved by Dimple and Rishi’s story, who rejoiced with them through the joyous moments and cried alongside them through the hard ones. I hope you were able to see yourself in this book, no matter who you are or where you come from. I’m pretty sure kismet led you here—and I know Rishi would agree.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sandhya Menon was born and raised in India on a steady diet of Bollywood movies and street food. She blames this upbringing for her obsession with happily ever afters, bad dance moves, and pani puri. Now Sandhya lives in Colorado, where she’s on a mission to (gently) coerce her husband and children to watch all 3,220 Bollywood movies she claims as her favorite. Visit her online at sandhyamenon.com.
Simon Pulse
Simon & Schuster, New York
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This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
SIMON PULSE
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First Simon Pulse hardcover edition May 2017
Text copyright © 2017 by Sandhya Kutty Falls
Jacket photographs copyright © 2017 by Meredith Jenks
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Jacket designed by Regina Flath
Interior designed by Sarah Creech
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Menon, Sandhya, author.
Title: When Dimple Met Rishi / Sandhya Menon.
Description: First Simon Pulse hardcover edition. | New York : Simon Pulse, 2017. |
Summary: When Dimple Shah and Rishi Patel meet at a summer program, Dimple is avoiding her parents’ obsession with “marriage prospects” but Rishi hopes to woo her into accepting an arranged marriage with him.
Identifiers: LCCN 2016023129 (print) | LCCN 2016052543 (eBook) |
ISBN 9781481478687 (hc) | ISBN 9781481478700 (eBook)
Subjects: | CYAC: Arranged marriage—Fiction. | Dating (Social customs)—Fiction. | East Indian Americans—Fiction. | Family life—Fiction.
Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M473 Whe 2017 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.M473 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2016023129
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