The Sari Shop Widow

by Shobhan Bantwal

“You’d do that for me, Rishi?”

  “I’d do that and a hell of a lot more. I’d even move here if I could, but the bulk of my business is in London. Besides, the U.S. government makes it nearly impossible to gain permanent domicile in the States.” He paused, giving her a moment for thought. “On the other hand, living in London as a British citizen’s wife won’t be a problem for you.”

  “I suppose so,” she said, chewing on her lower lip. She’d known this relationship was complicated right from the beginning. It wouldn’t come without its obstacles. No relationship was simple.

  “I love you,” he repeated. “I’m offering marriage, so you’ll be my partner in every way. We can make your dream of having a chain of Silk & Sapphires boutiques come true. You and I,” he said, drawing her close. “We can do everything you ever wanted to do.” One suggestive eyebrow climbed up. “We could even…make a baby.”

  “Oh.” Her wildest dreams could come true. And all of that was being offered by the man she was in love with. “Did you say baby?”

  “I did.”

  “How are we going to make a baby at our age, much less raise it?”

  “Like other parents in the world. Like your own parents.” He pushed the hair off her face. “Did you ever think about having children?”

  “Yes. Vik and I thought we’d get around to it when we had some money saved. We were young; we had plenty of time to have children. Or so we thought.” She looked away. “Pipe dreams.”

  “This time around it needn’t be. We could have a child right away. I know you’d make a superb mum.”

  “What do you base that on?”

  “I’ve watched you interact with Nilesh and Sejal…and children in general. Didn’t you tell me you took care of your brother often when he was a baby?”

  A smile tilted her mouth. “I’ve done diaper and bottle duty quite a bit. He was a cute little devil despite spitting up and peeing on me. Nilesh is like a fungus: he grows on you eventually.”

  Rishi laughed. “He’s grown into a rather likeable mushroom.” He tweaked her nose. “You, on the other hand, darling, I happen to love.”

  “You’re sure what you feel for me isn’t lust?” she asked.

  “Positive.”

  “Going for weeks without sex could make a man mistake one for the other, you know.”

  “No mistake here. I know you don’t return my sentiments, but I jolly well plan to make you fall in love with me. I know this is egotistical on my part, but I’m a hard worker and I almost always get what I want.”

  She threw her arm around his neck. “You don’t have to work hard; I’m already there.”

  “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

  She tugged his head down to touch hers. “That’s what I’m saying.”

  “Then will you please say it clearly, for mercy’s sake?”

  “I love you.”

  He gave her a mock frown. “And when exactly were you planning to tell me?”

  “Never, if you didn’t reciprocate my feelings. No point in humiliating myself.”

  He kissed the tip of her nose. “You should know by now how I feel about you. I wouldn’t have made love to you if I didn’t care deeply. Sleeping with you isn’t a casual pastime for me.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  “So, what’s your answer, Miss Kapadia? I wouldn’t mind if you decided to keep your maiden name like you did the first time. You’ll have all the independence you want if you marry me.”

  “Sounds like a dream life…”

  “Do I hear a but there?”

  She gave him a helpless shrug. “This is all going too fast for me. I’m not prepared for this. Until two hours ago I was only thinking about how I was going to organize tomorrow’s workload at the store. Now I have a marriage proposal. I have too many things on my plate…too many complications.”

  “Don’t worry; I’ll think of a way around those. It’s my job to solve business problems. People pay me handsomely to do it.” He surprised her when he said in perfect Gujarati, “Jaynoo kaam thaynoo thhaai.” Leave it to the expert.

  Perhaps because she continued to look overwhelmed, he said, “Haven’t I kept my promises so far?”

  “You have, but…there’s still…you know…Samantha.”

  “I made a clean break with Samantha.”

  She paused. “I’ll accept that. However—”

  “For now, just think about my proposal. You don’t have to give me an instant answer.”

  “All right.” Her stomach was bunched up in a tight ball.

  “Come on, let’s eat something first,” he suggested. “Maybe some food will mellow your thoughts about marriage.”

  “I doubt that. I’m not even hungry.”

  “We’ve just had a fantastic workout and you haven’t eaten a thing all day. I’m going to order something to be brought up.” He picked up the leather-bound menu from the nightstand and handed it to her. “I’m going to have their broiled swordfish. What about you?” He smiled. “Should I think optimistically and order a bottle of champagne?”

  “Not yet.” She studied the menu. “I’ll have a grilled cheese sandwich and decaf coffee.”

  “We’ll forget the champagne for now.” He put the menu back on the nightstand, all the while studying her expression. “Take all the time you want to think about my proposal. I don’t want to rush you.” “Okay.” She badly needed some private time to digest his proposal and reflect. She couldn’t think straight when he was too close. So she slid out of bed and dragged the T-shirt he had lent her over her head. “Mind if I grab a quick shower?”

  “Go right ahead. It’ll be a while before our food arrives,” he said, picking up the room phone.

  She could feel his eyes following her. What was going through his mind? Was he wondering why she’d behaved the way she had? What woman on the wrong side of thirty-five would turn down such a dream of a man and the added fantasy of a business she’d always wanted?

  While the hot water rained over her, she kept going over and over what Rishi had just said, but she couldn’t think of a way to accept his proposal and still remain active in the business. London was too damn far, and he was constantly on the move. She had her own work. Ironically, Silk & Sapphires, the thing that had brought them together, would likely be the very thing to keep them apart.

  And then there was that other matter—as troublesome as the first, if not more. Although he’d said his affair with Samantha was over, it was unclear whether or not Samantha still had a place in his life. Was she still living in his house? Would their business relationship continue in the unforeseen future? He hadn’t said a word about it when he’d proposed.

  It had all happened so abruptly that it had caught her by surprise, making it impossible to ask the more practical questions. Now, very slowly, the relevant issues were beginning to surface. And Samantha was a significant relevant issue.

  Minutes later, when she came out with a towel tucked around herself and her hair still damp, she found him in the sitting room, talking on his cell phone. She stood behind the partly open bedroom door and observed him. He had his trousers on but no shirt. He was pacing the floor in bare feet.

  She was tempted to sneak up from behind and throw her arms around him, but the conversation sounded like business, so she refrained from following through on her impulse. He had on that familiar intense look and his tone was crisp and authoritative. He was all business when he was like that.

  Her stomach rumbled, reminding her she was hungry after all. She wondered if their food had arrived yet. A quick glance around the sitting room through the crack in the door showed no sign of it.

  She turned around and went back to the bathroom to dry her hair and fix her face. After putting on her slightly rumpled pantsuit and sandals, she returned to the door and opened it fully this time. He was still on the phone. But he noticed her presence and motioned to her to sit on the couch. He joined her there and hooked an arm around her while he talked.
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  She knew it was his way of including her in his life. His conversation continued for several more minutes. She waited patiently—understood the pressures of work.

  He handled work with the same calm efficiency he reserved for everything else. She had yet to see him go completely berserk over any situation. Even when his most valued employee had taken ill unexpectedly and Rishi had to rush to take care of the emergency, he’d gone about it in the most rational manner.

  When the conversation finally ended, he put the phone on the coffee table and turned to her. “Sorry, love, but that was important.” He explained to her about the new consulting project in California. “I’ll have to fly out to the West Coast very soon. I’ll be gone for two or three days.”

  “I completely understand.”

  “That’s another reason why I think you’re so good for me. You understand the demands of business.” He nuzzled her neck. “Smells nice. It’s not your usual scent, but it’ll do for now.”

  “I had to manage with the hotel’s supplies.”

  “But you look just as beautiful.” He wiggled his brows at her. “Want to go back to bed?”

  “You have a one-track mind, Rishi Shah.”

  “That’s why you love me.” He grinned at her, the dimple appearing in his cheek. He was irresistible when he looked like that.

  “You’re such a good bullshitter. No wonder you manage to charm the tusks off those Indian elephants.”

  He laughed. “And those elephants aren’t exactly congenial, I’ll have you know.” In an instant his expression turned nostalgic. “That reminds me of something. I should take you on a safari to Gir Forest in Gujarat.”

  “Safari?”

  “Seeing the wild cats in their natural habitat is an extraordinary experience. There’s nothing like it in the world.”

  “I can see you still love Gujarat very much.”

  “It’s my childhood home. I go back to the farm and spend time with Jeevan-kaka and Chandrika-kaki whenever I get a chance. I know you’ll come to love it, too.” He studied her face. “Did you think about what I said earlier?”

  “Hmm.”

  “I had a feeling you wanted a little time to yourself. It’s the only reason I didn’t join you in the shower.”

  “I’m still deliberating.”

  In response he curled a hand around the nape of her neck and kissed her, thoroughly and competently. “That ought to help in making a decision,” he murmured against her mouth. “By the way, they say a Gir safari can be an incredible honeymoon adventure.”

  She chuckled. “Lions and leopards wandering into the honeymoon suite.”

  His cell phone started to ring, interrupting them. Rishi apologized to her again and picked it up.

  His voice came out in a surprised murmur. “Samantha!”

  Chapter 27

  Anjali stiffened and pulled away from Rishi the instant she realized it was his girlfriend on the phone. It had the effect of ice cubes sliding down her back.

  His expression told her Samantha’s call was important. He’d told Anjali he had made a clean break, and yet his girlfriend was calling him at this hour of the night?

  Rishi rose to his feet and paced in his usual fashion as he listened and spoke into the phone by turns. “So you got over your temper tantrum…I’m glad…No, Samantha, I mean that…I understand that part as well…” He paused. “Where are you now?” He waited to let Samantha speak. “Don’t be silly. Of course I care,” he said at one point.

  Ah, so Samantha had thrown an angry fit, had she? Anjali mused. Interesting. Rishi had made it sound casual, like he and Samantha had separated on amicable terms. And he’d just admitted he cared.

  “How critical, Samantha?” he asked. He listened for a long minute to Samantha’s explanation of whatever it was.

  Wishing she could hear both ends of the conversation, Anjali sat in her corner, watching Rishi’s expression—knitted brows, eyes on the floor, as he walked up and down again and again. That was the look he usually had when he was on a business call. And yet something in his concerned, soothing tone told Anjali this was personal. Very personal.

  The call lasted over ten minutes. It obviously had something to do with money. And Anjali began to wonder about it. If Rishi had truly broken off with his girlfriend like he claimed, why was he discussing her private finances? Why was he so solicitous in his attitude?

  The jolt of jealousy that ripped through her was startling. She’d never considered herself the catty type. She’d had plenty of doubts for sure. What normal woman in love wouldn’t? But corrosive jealousy? Was she capable of it?

  “I’ll ask my accountant and solicitor to look into it,” he told Samantha. “You’ll probably hear from them in a day or two.”

  Finally he shut off the phone and turned to Anjali. “Sorry, sweetheart. I had to take the call.”

  “Of course you did,” she said. “It’s your girlfriend.”

  He gave her a measured look. “Ex-girlfriend.”

  “Same thing.”

  “Definitely not.”

  “Former girlfriends don’t usually call at nearly two in the morning.”

  “It’s nearly seven in London,” he reminded her.

  “Still a bit early to call an ex-boyfriend, don’t you think?” Anjali’s eyebrows rose. “Unless of course she called to say she’s missing you.”

  His silence said it all.

  “Are you missing her, too?”

  “Don’t tell me you’re—” His eyes widened. “Are you actually…jealous, Anju?”

  “What do you think?”

  “But you have no reason to be,” he insisted.

  “Oh yeah? Here you are, supposedly proposing marriage to me, and your girlfriend from London calls with some cockamamie excuse just so she can hear your voice first thing in the morning.”

  “That’s absurd. It was a business call.”

  Anger replaced jealousy in an instant. “Don’t insult my intelligence, Rishi.”

  “She’s having some cash flow problems because a few of her large accounts went to her competition recently. She asked if I could help her with her predicament.”

  “Predicament,” she repeated blandly. “Sure.”

  “All right, damn it! Yes, she said she missed me. Is that what you want me to admit? It was just a friendly remark. A friend missing a friend.”

  “I also asked you if you missed her, Rishi.”

  “Not in the least.”

  Anjali pulled in a breath, trying to bring her simmering emotions under control. “Assuming she’s genuinely in financial trouble, can’t she go to a bank for help?”

  “She could, but banks take an awful lot of time to process loans. With me she can get help quicker.”

  “How convenient.” She angled a snide glance at him. “Do you specialize in rescuing women in dire financial straits?”

  He gave a deep sigh. “Look, Anju, you’re exhausted and hungry. You’ll see this differently after you’ve eaten something.” He sat on the couch again and reached for her. “Come here, darling. Let’s talk this over rationally.”

  She scooted away to the far end of the couch. “All this time, while I was considering your proposal, I was pondering mainly whether your work and travel could ever mesh with mine. I certainly spent some time thinking about Samantha as well. But I was more concerned about my responsibilities here in New Jersey.”

  “As you should be,” he allowed.

  “But now I’m beginning to wonder more about your personal life. Every time your former girlfriends call, you’re probably going to run to them?”

  “You’re jumping to conclusions once again. This is an unusual circumstance.”

  “Sure it is.”

  “I can’t just ignore a plea for help from Samantha. We did stay together for a while.”

  “As if I need reminding,” Anjali sniffed. “From what I gather, Samantha is a beautiful, successful woman—”

  “So are you,” he interjected.
/>   “—and yet you’re asking a plain woman like me to marry you. It makes me wonder.”

  “About what?”

  “If you want a real marriage. I could just be the convenient little Indian wife who could give you a child and be a mild asset to you in the merchandising area, while you go around the world and…”

  “Sleep with every attractive woman I come across?” His eyes turned to ice as he completed her sentence. “Is that what you were going to say?”

  She didn’t respond.

  “I’m amazed at you, Anju. Don’t you know me a little better than that by now?”

  “I’ve known you all of four months. During that time, you’ve had one trip back to London. I don’t exactly know what happened between Samantha and you then. As far as I know she’s still shacked up in that townhouse of yours.”

  His jaw tightened visibly, a mark of suppressed anger. “She moved out of the house while I was still in London—right after I told her we had no future together. I didn’t even know where she’d disappeared to until now. She just now informed me she’s staying with a friend while she’s looking for another flat.”

  “Then why is she still calling you?”

  “Like I said, it’s business. She handles all my advertising and public relations.” He leaned back against the sofa cushion and shut his eyes briefly, like he was too tired to argue. “She means nothing to me anymore, Anju.”

  “I find that hard to believe.”

  “I assure you she and I will simply be two individuals who work with each other occasionally.”

  Anjali gave it some thought. Something about Samantha’s call was very troubling. Why had the woman called about business when she knew Rishi would be sleeping, unless she suspected something and had deliberately timed it that way?

  But despite her reservations Anjali wanted to believe him. Earlier, while in the shower, she’d tried to banish the tiny, niggling doubts. Until that phone call she’d almost succeeded, too. But now, Samantha encroaching on their lives had gone from a possibility to a certainty. Instinct told her Samantha wasn’t going to let go of him easily. It wasn’t something Anjali was sure she could handle. And with the kind of magnetic man Rishi was, there would likely be other women in the future.