Bourbon & Chai: A Slow Burn Forbidden Romance Novel, Set in Philadelphia.

by Leah Kay

  Isha never left his thoughts on the flight back home. A week with her felt blissful, almost giving him a glimpse into what life could be like with her. Her wit, charm, and drive combined with an incredible sense of humor make him feel alive again. Together, he feels as though they could be unstoppable. An ambitious hope has taken life inside of him, serving as a promise that happiness is just around the corner and by no means is it deterred by the moral complications surrounding it.

  Hearing footsteps behind him, he turns around and notices Sarah walking towards him.

  Muting the TV, Nathan sits up on the couch making room for her. “I am sorry if I was too loud.”

  “You weren’t. How was your flight?” Sarah takes a seat on the ottoman across from him.

  “Uneventful.” He sips his beer with an air of nonchalance.

  He expected to feel pain seeing Sarah after her last text message to him, which made him question everything about their life together, but sitting across from her tonight he feels nothing.

  “Sorry about asking you for more time.” Sarah speaks out in a rehearsed tone.

  Nathan knew very well a justification was following that statement and, honestly, he didn’t see a need for it. Sarah was right in asking for more time. It is what she wanted all along, a year of separation to walk alone and find herself. Except what he failed to see is that her need for independence stemmed from her wanting to establish a world where she no longer needed him. For the sake of Lily, he desperately hoped he was wrong. But sitting in front of her tonight, he can see how foolish he has been. A father’s love clouded a reasonable man’s sense of judgment.

  “You have nothing to apologize for.” He rises from the couch and walks towards her.

  Kneeling down in front of her with his hand on her knee, he asks, “Is there any hope left for us?” His eyes plead with hers for an honest answer.

  The sincerity in his eyes pierces through her walls of armor. “I don’t think so…” She wipes a lonely tear trailing the corner of her eye.

  Swallowing a painful truth, he leans forward and plants a kiss on her forehead, “Let’s give Lily a semblance of home till she leaves for college, then you can have what you want.”

  Having spent many years drowning in her insecurities, falling further into the darkness, his words tonight give Sarah a flicker of hope towards a rescue. Although unaware of what lies ahead of her, she wishes for peace for both of them from this doomed marriage. And walking away, his years with Sarah flash like a haunting dream in front of Nathan, paralyzing his senses and leaving behind a shred of self-pity for failing so miserably in his life.

  Nathan flies Lily in business class to surprise her and watching her excitement makes it all worth it to him. He carefully reviews her itinerary, and together, they map down the day-to-day activities they wish to do together. As they plan their week, Nathan keeps looking for the most opportune time to introduce Isha to Lily. He feels strongly about introducing them in a casual setting. Memories of his time with Isha in Switzerland have left him feeling hopeful for a future together. Isha may be known for her brains or beauty to many, but to him, she is a brat, a charming brat who could get him to do anything. Like the time, he made up an entirely false story to an unpleasant chef at the Swiss hotel, begging him to make a burrito for his special needs friend, just because she asked.

  It has become increasingly difficult for him not to come to her defense in meetings when Isha faces a tough crowd. Part of being her manager is allowing her to grow by handling difficult personalities on her own. Instead, all he wants to do is to tell them off and protect her. So far, he has been successful at curbing his emotions and allowing her to develop her strengths and hopes to do the same in the future.

  Although his actions with her are completely out of character for him, he feels as though an out of body experience takes over him when he is around her. As someone who is trained to take calculated next steps, his heart wants him to leap into this chapter with Isha. One such impulsive desire led him to ask Isha to meet Lily. Seeing them together could validate his feelings for Isha or it could go south quickly bringing his short-lived wish to an end. Either way, he feels it is essential that he knows before his impulsive moments with her led to any further intimacy that he may come to regret. As sure as he is becoming about his future with Isha, introducing her as anything other than a friend to Lily, could jeopardize the foundation of this unexpected chapter. He hopes Lily’s acceptance of Isha will calm his lingering fears and fill him with courage. When it comes to Isha, Nathan is not interested in making any mistakes. If this truly is his second chance at happiness in life, he has no intentions of wrecking it. Learning that Lily is interested in touring Penn, he wonders if Isha, a Penn alumni, could help with a tour of the campus. Cataloging it as a good idea, Nathan plans to check with Isha first before letting Lily know.

  Landing in Philadelphia late in the night, Nathan and Lily take a cab to his place in Old City. Lily falls instantly in love with the cobblestone streets, bustling neighborhoods and the feel of crisp fall air as they make their way through the city. Stepping out of the cab, she notices a street performer playing at the corner of the street with a lively crowd surrounding him, swaying to his music. Nathan enjoys the look in his daughter’s eyes as she takes in the sights around her. She is the reason he chose this neighborhood, and he feels mighty pleased with himself for making the right choice. Lily’s excitement continues as she tours his place and loves the view of the city from his loft-sized windows. Walking into the living room, she notices a picture of them together from years ago, taken at a school play, hung neatly above his desk. And in that picture her arms are wrapped around his neck as they grin from ear-to-ear.

  With misty eyes, she turns around and hugs her dad. “This place is beautiful, Dad.”

  Holding her tightly, he kisses her head. “I am so happy you are here.”

  After unpacking their suitcases, he makes them each a bowl of ice cream sundae, and they enjoy it together on the rooftop garden to a beautiful view of Penn’s Landing.

  Experiencing pure joy, he takes his phone to reach out to the one person who could make this moment complete. “Hi She-Hulk, would you care to accompany Lily and me on a tour of Penn campus? Any help from a former alumnus would be very much appreciated.”

  Minutes later, Isha responds. “Welcome back.”

  His sweet request tugs on her heart strings as she’s spent the last few days exhausting all possible reasons for her connection to Nathan. She has kept herself occupied with volunteering, gardening and chores, but that has done very little in the way of keeping Nathan away from her thoughts. It amazes her how productive she can be even with a major distraction on her mind, quickly learning boredom has very little to do with her closeness to Nathan.

  Having ruled out boredom, she tries to think of anyone who has elicited such an emotional pulse in her since she has been with Liam. Recalling the futile attempts of many wonderful men who have shown interest in her in many ways, she realizes her connection to Nathan is more than just a jaded woman’s play for attention. Nathan has become a part of her since the dream; a connection she has been trying to sever for all the right reasons has now grown its roots so strong that Isha struggles to understand the meaning behind it. Since returning home from Lucerne, her moral and ethical compass has been pointing due south. However, she manages to compartmentalize her strong feelings for Nathan, those that, when let loose, call into question the fundamental principles that define her.

  Isha knows how much Lily means to him and is over the moon with his request. But she is also scared to her core. “I am scared, Nathan,” she replies honestly.

  Nathan understands the magnitude of his request and has questioned it himself repeatedly to be absolutely certain.

  Having no intentions of pressuring her into anything she isn’t comfortable doing, he replies genuinely, “I have no doubt in my mind unless you
would rather wait?”

  “I’d like to wait.” She fights with her instincts that are coaxing her to just say yes.

  Thoroughly disappointed with her response, he replies, “I understand.”

  Reading his response makes her feel sad and she wants to take it back immediately, but her newfound strength remains unyielding to his blues.

  Nathan tries to lighten the mood. “I am out of the office this week, but a text from you once in a while would be totally okay.”

  “I don’t know. My boss is a tyrant. He doesn’t like me texting at work.” She joins his attempts.

  “I will ask him to make an exception for you,” Nathan banters with her.

  “Have fun with Lily.”

  Putting her phone away, Isha oscillates between feeling great for sticking to her guns and feeling awful for letting him down. She struggles to comprehend her existence in a world of pride and misery at the same time. Losing her mind, she chooses to go to the one person who will know exactly what to say.

  Claire paces back and forth in the empty yoga studio on the 2nd floor at Genex trying to digest Isha’s revelations about Nathan while Isha squats on the floor in the corner with her head resting on her knees.

  “So you like him?” Claire stops in front of her.

  Lifting her droopy eyes to meet Claire’s, Isha cries, “I think so…”

  “Could this be just an innocent attraction?” Claire squats in front of her.

  Wiping her tears, she spews her wrath upon herself. “How could this possibly be innocent? I think of him all the time. I care for him so much. I swing from being happy when he is around me to gloomy when he isn’t. And he asked me to meet his daughter! I am an evil woman. What is wrong with me?”

  Rising back to her feet, Claire paces across the room again. “This could just be empathy. He is going through a rough time and you are helping him carry his burden.”

  “What has empathy got to do with meeting his daughter?” Isha sobs.

  “Are you attracted to him?” Claire covers her face in fear of Isha’s answer.

  Shoving her face into her knees, Isha replies in a muffled tone, “I do! I have since the dream and it only got worse.”

  “Do you want to be with him?” Claire holds her breath waiting for her answer.

  “I DON’T KNOW!” Isha enunciates.

  “Okay… Do you love him?” Claire is really trying to get to the bottom of this.

  “I don’t think so…” Isha looks confused trying to figure out if she does.

  “Do you love Liam?”

  “I do, I really do…” Isha weeps at the thought of Liam.

  Relieved to hear that, Claire lectures her. “Alright, you are just getting sucked into Nathan’s roller coaster of a life and reading into things far more than needed. As long as you love Liam, you can still care for Nathan. Heck, I care for Nathan too. He is a good guy and I want him to be happy. Stop trying to make this black and white.”

  Rising to her feet, Isha asks, “What about the daughter?”

  “Wouldn’t you do that for a friend’s daughter? Why would Nathan or Lily be any different? He is asking you to join them on a college tour, for crying out loud, not a meet and greet before an arranged marriage.” Claire sounds certain about her argument.

  Her words partially clear the clouds of doubt and distress in Isha’s mind. “I am just overreacting then?” she sniffles.

  “Sort of. Perhaps talk to him about this. And if he is falling for you, help him fall out of it. Truth be told, he has every reason to lean on you, but you can be strong for him without jeopardizing your marriage.”

  Claire wraps her arms around Isha to soothe her while Isha starts to regain some perspective on her situation.

  Later in the day, Lily and Nathan grab a quick bite at the Market Café in the high street and walk towards the Independence Visitor Center to purchase tickets for the famous Philly hop-on-hop-off bus tours that make several stops throughout the city allowing them to take their time exploring individual sights.

  Getting a three-day pass, they start the tour with Independence National Historical Park, known as the birthplace of American democracy. Later, they make their way to The Liberty Bell Center to see the famously fractured bronze bell and sneak a view of The Independence Hall through the glass windows. Walking past the Carpenters Hall, Lily pauses to check out Betsy Ross House, where the seamstress and flag maker Betsy Ross lived when she sewed the first American flag. After touring the house, they walk past the Christ Church burial ground to see Ben Franklin’s resting place.

  Lily thoroughly enjoys spending time with her dad in this beautiful city. Around noon, Nathan takes her to Sonny’s Famous Steaks for Lily’s first ever Philadelphia cheesesteak. Placing their order for two cheesesteaks with onions, hot peppers, whiz and soda, Nathan grabs a table for them outside.

  Taking a seat across from Lily, Nathan places her food in front of her. “Alright, Lil, are you ready for your first ever Philadelphia cheesesteak?”

  Rubbing her hands together, she exclaims, “Yes!”

  Her mouth waters as she unwraps her cheesesteak and very carefully takes a meaty bite.

  Lily pauses as if nothing around her matters anymore. “Oh my GOD! This is amazing!”

  Nathan playfully shrugs as if he knew she would love it all along. As they continue to enjoy their lunch, he notices a text message from Isha on his phone. His eyes light up so warmly looking at his phone that Lily can’t help but notice how happy her dad looks right now.

  “I am all set to take Lily on a campus tour on Thursday. Please hold the day open for me.”

  Giddy with excitement over their meetup, he teases her. “You made my day! Now get back to work.”

  “Meh, my boss isn’t at work. So it doesn’t matter.”

  “Woman! Get to work!” Nathan laughs replying to her.

  Putting his phone away, he casually asks, “Lily, you are all set for a tour of the Penn campus.”

  Lily has a hunch he was texting Isha. “Great!”

  Nathan tries to remain calm and not let his excitement show. “A friend of mine went there, and she is happy to help us.”

  Lily hopes its Looney Tunes. This way she doesn’t have to come up with a plan on her own.

  “That’s nice of her, Dad. Is it anyone I know?”

  “You remember Isha?” Nathan asks, avoiding all eye contact with his daughter.

  Her heart does a little skip. “You mean Looney Tunes?” Lily can barely contain her excitement.

  Nathan completely forgets that he refers to Isha as Looney Tunes with Lily.

  “Yes, that’s her. And, Lily, you can’t call her that when you meet her,” Nathan pleads with her.

  “I won’t, it’s our little secret,” Lily assures her dad.

  Later in the day, Claire meets up with Liam at a neighborhood Starbucks, a few blocks from Genex.

  “Thanks for meeting me here.” Liam welcomes her with a hug

  “Of course, Liam. Told Isha I had a quick errand to run.” Claire takes a seat next to him.

  “Alright, here’s what I have planned so far for her birthday.” Liam pulls up his notes on his phone and places it in front of her.

  Isha’s birthday is this Friday, and Liam wants to surprise her with a party at their place with some close friends of theirs. To make sure everything goes perfectly, he has enlisted Claire for her help.

  Claire goes through his notes and gives him her nod of approval. Liam plans to have all of their close friends at their place by 6:00 p.m. on Friday. He needs Claire’s help in keeping Isha from coming home early to give him enough time to make all the arrangements.

  “Well, if you think of anything else I can help with, just shoot me a text,” Claire adds, walking out with him.

  Before exiting the coffee shop, Liam can’t help but a
sk, “Claire, have you noticed anything odd with Isha recently?”

  Having no intentions of outing her friend and trusting Isha’s ability to do the right thing, Claire replies, “She is alright, why?”

  “She has been off lately and I wanted to see if something is bothering her.” Liam expresses his concerns.

  “I will keep an eye out, Liam, don’t worry.” Claire tries to alleviate his concerns but is left feeling bothered by what she’s learned today, both from Isha and Liam. She mentally cycles through her interactions with Nathan and Isha and slowly pieces things together. In retrospect, what she perceived to be an innocent friendship was actually so much more than that. A fear that Isha’s dream might after all come true leaves a sinking feeling inside her. Although, she often pegged Liam to be an immature sweetheart, she doesn’t want him to bear the pain of losing Isha. She sincerely hopes for Liam to turn things around before it’s too late. Walking back into work, she cannot shake off the intuition that Nathan and Isha belonged together, if only the timing were right.

  Chapter 15

  Butterflies

  With a million butterflies in her stomach, Isha waits at the Penn bookstore at 9:00 a.m. You’d do this for a friend. You’d do this for a friend.

  Thanks to her social media stalking, Lily spots Isha immediately walking towards the bookstore with her dad. Dressed in blush pink chiffon A-line dress and nude pumps with gorgeous long hair, swooped to one side, Lily notices her dad light up at the sight of her. He waves to her and crosses the street with Lily to introduce them.

  “Isha, this is Lily,” Nathan introduces Lily with an arm around her shoulder.

  Extending her hand, Isha introduces herself. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Lily. I have heard amazing things about you.”

  Lily likes her instantly. It is true that she doesn’t know much about her, but she finds her endearing.

  “Thank you for spending the day with us.” Lily shakes her hand.