Vegas to Varanasi (Fortytude Series Book 1) (9 page)

Fifteen

Carly sits on the edge of my bed as I pull on a pair of jeans. “So, what are we calling this outing with Kiran? Is it a date?”

“No, it’s not a date. We’re gonna walk through the Shark Reef and grab a cup of coffee afterwards.” I slip on my flip flops.

“Are you sure he doesn’t consider it a date?”

“What does it matter?” I put my hands on my hips. “It’s a date. It’s not a date. We’re just hanging out for a few hours.” It actually
does
matter to me, because labeling it a date significantly heightens my anxiety level.

“Have you heard from David at all?” I ask.

“We’ve texted a few times. It sounds like he likes the new job, in between working on edits for his book.”

“Good.”

“Don’t worry, Mom,” she offers in a soothing tone. “I’ll keep an eye on him.”

My daughter is too perceptive for her own good. She knows I’m still concerned about him. I approach Carly and put my hand on her shoulder. “That’s not your job, sweetie. He’s a grown man.”

“I know... He misses you.”

I pick up my small bag from the bed and drape the strap over my shoulder. “I miss him, too.”

The doorbell rings and Trixie barks. As I walk toward the hallway, Hayden pops his head out from his bedroom door. “Is that Tall Glass?”

“Stop calling him that,” I say with a smirk. “Would you please lock Trixie in your room until we leave so she doesn’t jump all over him?”

“C’mon, Trixie!” he calls.

I hold my stomach and take a deep breath before I open the door.
Calm down, Anna.

“Hi, there!” My greeting is way too exuberant.

“Hi!”

I laugh as we discover we’ve dressed identically in jeans and white t-shirts. And I know I sound like some drippy heroine in a romance novel, but that shirt accentuates his toned physique like nobody’s business. His broad shoulders and the cut muscles of his arms make some very naughty thoughts run through my mind.

“Please, come in, and I’ll introduce you to my kids.”

“Okay,” he says, still holding his keys.

Carly and Hayden have now made their way to the front room. “Mom, did you guys call each other and coordinate outfits?” Carly teases.

“I know. This won’t do,” I say. “I’m gonna have to change my shirt because we can’t be those people who walk around dressed like each other.”

Kiran chuckles. “Sorry.”

“Kiran, this is Carly and this is Hayden.”

He shakes each of their hands. “It’s very nice to meet you both.”

When Kiran’s not looking, Carly turns to me and mouths
Oh. My. God
.

After a minute or two of pleasantries, I excuse myself to change. I was serious about not wanting to dress alike, and replace my white t-shirt with a green one. If that makes me seem weird, so be it.

When I return to the living room, Kiran is talking to the kids about what they’re studying in school.

“I’m going into web design,” Hayden says.

“Very nice.” Kiran nods. “And what about you, Carly? Are you in school?”

“Yeah, but I’m kind of undecided.” Carly plays with her necklace. “I’d like to go into something that’s related to psychology, but my mother keeps reminding me it’s not a viable option.” She uses finger quotations when she says
viable
. “For now, I’m taking pre-med classes, just in case.”

“I see,” Kiran says with a smile. “Sounds like a good plan.”

“So now I’m
Mother
, not Mom?” I joke. “Kiran, you’re in the healthcare industry. Would you say becoming a psychologist is a practical choice?”

Carly looks at him expectantly, and I’m suddenly sorry I’ve put him in such an awkward spot.

“Maybe not,” he answers with a shrug and raises his eyebrows. Then he meets my eyes. “But sometimes practicality can make us overthink things.”

Why do I get the feeling there were layers to that comment? Meanwhile, Carly beams.

“Well, you two kids have a good time,” Hayden interjects, shooting me an encouraging grin.

***

“I apologize for putting you in the middle of mine and Carly’s little... whatever... about her choice of study,” I say once we’re in Kiran’s car. “You just met them and I’m already making you take sides.”

“I understand you want them to make smart choices.”

“Right? I mean, I know it’s not like she wants to be a rock star or anything. But psychology?” I wrinkle my nose. “Unless she gets a job working for a school district, I really don’t see there being many opportunities. Hayden’s web design thing is even a little iffy, but with Luke’s background in commercial design, he should have a lot of contacts.”

“It’s hard to decide on something you feel will bring fulfillment, and at the same time make a good living. For me, there was no discussion about what I would study. It was understood I would go to medical school, just like my father.”

Kiran’s voice is so even-toned, I can’t tell whether he’s resentful or resigned. Having met both of his parents, it doesn’t surprise me in the least that Kiran’s future was pretty much laid out for him. It makes me question if I should be trying to steer Carly away from something she’s passionate about.

“Did you ever think about being something besides a doctor?”

“I did,” he admits. “I had ideas of being a school counselor at one point.”

He would have made a great counselor. I can picture him meeting with some troubled, awkward teen, sharing his own difficult school years. How he was teased and bullied. Any kid seeing how Kiran turned out as an adult would surely be given renewed hope about his own future.

“What about you? Did you always know what you wanted to do?”

“I’m sure you’ll find this entertaining, but the first thing I remember wanting to be was a nun. And I’m not even Catholic!”

He laughs. “A nun? Why a nun?”

I lift my shoulders. “I liked the habits for some reason. I wanted to wear one.”

“Now that’s interesting.”

“I know. I was a strange, strange child,” I say, shaking my head. “So what made you go into dermatology?”

“Ahhhh,” Kiran sighs, hesitant to respond.

My eyes fall on his hands as they grip the steering wheel, and I consider how nice it would be to touch them. I return my gaze to his exquisite profile.

“Well,” he continues. “I tried to come up with something where I could help adolescents feel better about themselves. It’s a rough time...” His forehead puckers briefly as he keeps his eyes on the road. “What better choice than to help them get rid of their zits?” The casual comment is followed by a smile, and he adjusts his watch strap while keeping one hand on the wheel.

I wonder if it’s a question I shouldn’t have asked, remembering Geena’s comment about how unhappy Kiran was before he lost all that weight. There may be some lingering scars. I imagine we all have insecurities from our adolescence, but Kiran must have brought his well into adulthood.

***

We reach the ticket counter for the Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay where Kiran plans to pay for both of us.

“Since we’re just hanging out, as
friends
...” I tilt my head with a goofy grin. “We should split it.”

“No, I invited you. My treat.” He hands his credit card to the cashier.

I let out an exasperated sigh. “Then you’re letting me get the coffee, although these tickets cost way more.”

“Deal.”

He lightly places his hand on the small of my back to lead me inside, setting my pulse beating a little faster.

Voices of children echo throughout the place once we enter the aquarium, and one of the first creatures we come upon is a crocodile who floats so perfectly still in the water that he appears dead. I know he isn’t, of course, but he’s not very engaging.

“I didn’t think to ask you,” Kiran says, “but I hope you haven’t already been here a million times.”

“Nah, I haven’t been for some years, but I wouldn’t have told you if I had.”

It’s a little awkward as we continue through the aquarium because we’re not saying much. Although, neither is anyone else, except for those interacting with their kids. Those who are here as couples either have their arms draped around each other or hold hands, while Kiran and I quietly walk side by side, occasionally commenting on the sea life.

My cell phone rings and I pull it from my purse, expecting it to be one of the kids. It’s David. Kiran is observing some large, ugly fish that has a shocked expression on its face when I reject the call and put my phone away. I can’t help but be puzzled as to why he’s calling me. We haven’t spoken since the day he came by for his things.

We finally reach my favorite exhibit, the jellyfish, and I eagerly approach the tank. “I could watch these things all day. They’re so beautiful.” I briefly turn to Kiran. “Even though someone has to pee on you if you get stung. Did you ever see that episode of
Friends
, where Monica gets stung, and Chandler pees on her to ease the pain?”

“I must have missed that one,” he says with a chuckle.

“It was pretty funny.” I continue to watch the jellies dance gracefully in the illuminated tank, the lights giving them a hypnotic glow. “How about
Finding Nemo?
Did you see that part where Dory and Marlin bounce along the tops of the jellyfish to keep from getting stung? The kids used to love that movie. In fact, it’s still one of Hayden’s favorites.”

I realize I’m babbling now, but feel the need to keep some semblance of a conversation moving.

I’ve not taken my eyes from the jellyfish, mesmerized by them like always, and notice Kiran hasn’t responded. When I turn to look at him, he’s got those emeralds on me with a slight smile on his face.

“I’m sorry,” he says and flits his attention to the tank. “They are beautiful.”

I allow my gaze to linger on him a few more seconds and he swallows hard. Good Lord. What the hell does he think about when he looks at me like that?

Later, as we sit down with our coffees, my cell lights up on the table with an incoming text. David again.
Just wanted to say hey and see how things are going
.

I flick the screen off and set my phone back on the table.

“Everything okay?” Kiran asks.

I rub my shoulder. “Um... I’m not sure.”

He leans forward with his arms on the table, saying nothing.

“Would it make you uncomfortable, if I talked to you about David?” I ask.

“Not at all.”

I pick up my phone again and rotate it in my hand. “Well, you know he and I split a few weeks back, and he’d asked me if we could still be friends. I didn’t want to, but he wanted to keep in touch with the kids, and I said it was okay. But now...” My knees sway back and forth underneath the table. “Now I get this text from him out of the blue, asking how I’m doing.”

Kiran knits his brow. “Maybe he’s just trying to end things on good terms. Or do you think he’s trying to reconcile?”

“Absolutely not.” I watch as groups of people pass, heading toward the event center for tonight’s cirque du soleil show. “He had no interest in trying to work things out.”

He offers nothing else, clearly waiting to see if I’ll continue.

“I do worry about him,” I admit. “I think he’s got an alcohol problem.”

“Is that the reason you broke up?”

I shrug. “It was a combination of things, I think. We were spending less and less time together. He’s
very
focused on his writing, and he claims he was tired of making me unhappy.”

“Were you? Unhappy?”

“It was more like...” I pull at a piece of my hair. “More like, uneasy. Anticipating conflict. I guess you can’t really call that happy, can you?”

He crosses his hands on the table. “No. I guess not.”

We stare at one another for a few quiet moments. Then before I know it, my mouth is running amok. “Can I just say, you are the most handsome man I have ever seen in my life!”

The corners of his eyes crinkle before he bows his head. “Thank you.”

“Aye, aye, aye. I’m embarrassing you and I’ve embarrassed myself.” I turn away and take a sip from my cup. “So what about you? Any long-term relationships in your past?”

“Long-term... No.” He’s not very convincing.

“Short-term then?” Maybe I’m getting a little too personal, but it’s only fair since I told him about me and David. And I have to admit, I’m extremely curious about his romantic past.

“I’ve not dated many women. You do remember I was extremely overweight.”

“I remember. But you’re also kind, and charming.”

Kiran snickers. “For most women, charm is considered creepy when you’re nearly three hundred pounds.”

It’s the first time I’ve heard anything remotely sarcastic come from his lips. I don’t know what to say in response, so I reach over and place my hand on his arm.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean for that to sound so bitter,” he says.