& Then They Wed (Ampersand Love #2)

16. Laughter and Light

16

Laughter and Light

Aditi

“ Y ou’ve been asked to come to dinner with my friends tomorrow,” Rian informed a surprised Aditi that evening.

Passing him the ladle to load into the dishwasher, Nanamma beamed at him. “Kaya called me today to tell me this, too. I am glad she’s back. Adi will enjoy meeting her.”

Aditi, curious about this girl she’d not heard of before, piped in. “Kaya is?”

“She’s like my granddaughter. Very sweet child. And she’s an author! You might have seen her books being promoted everywhere,” Nanamma added, evidently proud.

Aditi nodded, wiping the kitchen counter clean. All three had been at home that evening to enjoy a family dinner together and were now cleaning up as a unit. During moments like this, Aditi felt sad for the day she would have to leave them. She had not expected to settle into Rian’s home this easily and this well .

It was hard to remind herself that while Rian and Nanamma felt like family, this was all temporary. The thought settled like a boulder in her chest as she watched Nanamma hobble off to her bedroom, searching for her medicines.

“What’s the occasion?” Aditi asked Rian, trying to guess the reason behind the sudden invitation. At his direction, she stood near him, accepting the clean dishes he passed and stacking them neatly inside the cabinet.

“Nothing. Just us hanging out. If you don’t want to join us, I can tell them you’re busy.”

“Why would you do that?” The clink of porcelain plates settling atop each other and the gurgle of the dishwasher starting were the only sounds around them. “I need to eat anyway. And I like meeting new people. I’ll come.”

“I’ll let them know you’ll,” he paused, unable to hold back a choked laugh, “come.”

She cast him a suspicious glance when he smirked, swiping the bowl he passed to her.

“What’s so funny?” she asked, her brows knitting, her back to him.

“Nothing. I just knew that you’d,” he snorted again, “come.”

“Oh yeah? And how did you know that?”

“Because you promised to shut the fuck up and take that dick like a good girl.”

With a loud gasp, Aditi spun around, forgetting that the upper cabinet door next to her was still open. A loud thunk sounded as her head smacked against the wood. She teetered from the impact, an involuntary cry escaping her as pain shot across her skull. Before she could do anything else, she was swept off her feet.

“Rian! Put me down,” she hissed, worriedly glancing about for Nanamma.

“You almost fell backwards,” he muttered, beelining for the couches .

“I’m too big to be carried!”

“If you mean too old, that’s a no,” he replied, his strides even. “If you mean too heavy, that’s a fuck no. You could double in size and it wouldn’t be an issue.”

Silenced, she tried to maintain her dignity, only to squeak and grab him out of self-preservation when he bounced her once, adjusting her against his firm chest. He sat her down and kneeled beside her to inspect her bruise. A small red bump was the only evidence of her accident. Aditi irritatedly tried to slap his hands away, proving yet again that doctors made the worst patients.

“You don’t need to hover,” she grumbled.

Once he was certain that she was not seriously hurt, his worry receded and the devil on his shoulder came out to play. “I can’t let a good girl like you get hurt on my watch, can I?” He winked, his grin widening when she skewered him with a deathly glare.

Nanamma walked to the living room to find Rian blowing cool air on Aditi’s wound while she sulked.

“Rian? What happened?”

“Aditi ran into the open cabinet door. Could you stay with her, Nanamma? I’ll get the ice pack.”

When Rian returned, it was to a worried Chitra scolding Aditi for being careless.

“You should pay more attention, Adi. What will I tell your family if I send you back home with bruises all over?”

Rian nodded vigorously in agreement. “Exactly. She's so distracted all the time.” He was just adding fuel to the fire. “What could have been so important that you couldn’t watch where you were going, hmm?” He caught Aditi’s eye, lifting one shoulder unapologetically for getting her in trouble and pretending like it wasn’t his fault.

He held the ice pack to her reddened forehead, pressing back a smile when she swiped it from his hands in obvious ire .

Muttering about silly children and the dangers of being on the phone while walking, Nanamma ordered Aditi to stay put while she made warmed milk for her. No matter what the ailment, every Indian grandmother believed that warm turmeric milk would cure it all.

Left alone with Rian standing just behind, Aditi squirmed, feeling his gaze burning a hole into the back of her skull. She glanced at Nanamma puttering about in the large kitchen and attempted to follow her, shocked when he unceremoniously pulled her back down on the couch. His hands remained on her shoulders, holding her still and warning her from trying to escape.

“You should listen to Nanamma, Doc. Rest here. Be a double G. You know, good girl?”

His voice was low enough that Nanamma wouldn’t hear them. Despite this, Aditi felt the tips of her ears burn in embarrassment. When she glanced at their reflection in the blank black screen of the TV across from her, their gazes locked.

“You’re never going to let me live this down, are you?” she asked, watching as he bent down slowly, firm fingers kneading her tense muscles.

“Where would the fun in that be?” he whispered, bringing his mouth dangerously close to her ear.

She bit down a whimper when his breath warmed her neck. His thumb pressing into her nape caused a troublesome quiver within her core. She startled when he blew a puff of air into her ear before he retreated, walking off with the most devilish smirk she'd seen on him yet.

When Rian settled down in his massive bed a short while later, it was with no little satisfaction at having won their game. Kaya's revelation of what T-T-D-L-A-G-G meant had momentarily stunned him. Since then, he had alternated between wanting to laugh at Aditi’s mischievousness and planning retribution .

Seeing her face when she’d gotten caught, her usual confidence swept under sudden embarrassment, had only made him want to tease her more. He could grow to adore this unexpectedly shy side of her, he realised. With Aditi around, he felt like being a little silly also. A sudden thought struck him, and he picked up his phone, talking into it, watching his words transform into texts.

Aditi lay herself down in bed, staring at the ceiling. She was unable to believe what had happened, mortification very much at the top of what she was feeling. She'd been confident that Rian would never figure out what that acronym meant. He disliked books. He didn’t read at all, much less romance. She’d even cheated and made it sound like it was one word!

She had flirted outrageously with him, finding sadistic enjoyment in seeing him blush and get tongue-tied. Karma had really wasted no time to come knocking today because the only one who had turned beet red had been her. And the only one who had been rendered speechless had also been, to her lasting shame, her.

She looked beside her when her phone lit up, swiping open to see a new message from Rian.

Bugs Bunny (9:57 p.m.)

We should discuss when and how you plan to keep your promise

Chaos Doc (9:57 p.m.)

What promise?

Bugs Bunny (9:58 p.m.)

You said you’d TTDLAGG if I figured out what it meant.

And I did.

Her mouth dropped open. She couldn’t help it. She sat up immediately, her fingers flying furiously over her keyboard.

Chaos Doc (9:58 p.m.)

Did you? Or did you ask someone?

Because that’s cheating!

Bugs Bunny (9:58 p.m.)

And making me believe it was one word wasn’t?

Let’s talk tomorrow.

Unless you want me to come over to your room tonight?

Her stomach clenched at his offer and she glared at her body. Traitorous pussy! She scolded herself, shaking off the part of her that wanted to throw her door wide open to welcome him.

Bugs Bunny (10:00 p.m.)

Since I said yes to your situationship offer, would you really be a good girl for me?

Chaos Doc (10:00 p.m.)

I’m moving out! Or to China.

Wherever has cheaper rent.

All Aditi heard after that was a roar of laughter coming from the other side of the wall. Before she knew it, she was smiling too. Maybe her embarrassment was worth it after all. She’d made him laugh in a way she hadn’t heard from him yet, like it came from somewhere deep within.

She just wished she could see him too.

If any one of her cousins witnessed how she routinely embarrassed herself in front of Rian, they’d be hard pressed to believe it was her. She had always been the serious and reliable elder child of the house. Not that she hadn’t been carefree around them, but she’d always felt the need to exercise some restraint due to the expectations placed on her.

Being in Mumbai had freed her from that constraint. She’d been the most unfiltered version of herself and instead of judging her for it, Rian seemed to welcome it.

There was a sadness that lingered in his eyes sometimes that she wished she could drive away. He made her feel good and she wanted to return the favour. If that meant he had to laugh at her to find relief, then it seemed like a small price to pay. The sound of his laughter, she decided—warmth spreading through her at his happiness—was by far the best thing she’d heard in her entire life.

Her phone lit up again.

Bugs Bunny (10:18 p.m.)

Good night, good girl. Don't go to China, okay?

Grinning, Rian lay back against his bed frame, trying to bring his focus back on the updates his project manager had sent him on The Singapore Map. He had a laundry list of to-dos that his PA had sent to him via voice note, but he couldn’t stop thinking about Aditi. He couldn’t remember when he had last laughed this consistently or this hard.

When was the last time he’d looked forward to seeing someone who wasn’t Nanamma or Kaya? Honestly, even that didn’t compare with the anticipation he felt when he returned home and saw Aditi on his couch.

His phone buzzed.

Chaos Doc (10:18 p.m.)

Good night, bad Bugs. China plan on hold indefinitely.

When Rian turned the lights off later, the smile lingered. He had been sleeping better than he had in years, laughing a little more, feeling lighter than before.

Maybe it had to do with the girl on the other side of the wall. Maybe he was learning from her to focus on a happy present. Maybe, with Kaya’s life finally settled, he was learning to let go of old burdens.

Rian dozed off, never realising that the nightmares that used to hound his dark nights had slowly been phased out, replaced by dreams of a woman with twinkling chocolate eyes and a smile that felt like home.