& Then They Wed (Ampersand Love #2)

39. Love Song

39

Love Song

Rian

R ian stood in front of the bungalow he’d driven up to, forehead creased.

He didn’t have to look next to him to know that his friends and grandmother probably wore the same look of confusion that he did.

His expectations of coming to Aditi’s home in Bangalore were simple.

He would walk up to the front door and ring the bell. Hopefully, she would answer and he’d get to see her before having to meet her family. Knowing that she might be angry, he was fully prepared to use Nanamma as an excuse for having shown up without notice. Maybe he’d even be able to steal a few minutes with her in private to apologise and think of the next steps.

What was before him would afford him no space to think much less the privacy he had hoped for. People were teeming around the modest home, the front yard filled with tittering ladies in pretty sarees, men laughing raucously with friends and young children running about, playing games no one knew the names of. Near the outer edge where they stood was a group of people singing old songs, nearly three adults holding the same mic as they bellowed out the lyrics with no effort made to match tone or rhythm.

In one word, it was chaos.

“She’s not picking up her phone,” Vihaan informed him. They’d all tried to call her in turns, hoping she’d come find them.

“Quite the crowd,” Arjun muttered, declining the server who’d come to offer them refreshments.

“Is it the 20th?”

“Yeah.”

Rian grimaced.

“I forgot about the anniversary party. It’s her parent’s anniversary today.”

A hand landed on his arm, drawing his attention. He twisted his neck to see Kaya.

“Want to return to the hotel and come back later?”

He almost agreed, but that’s when he caught sight of Aditi.

A cloud of gauzy silver-grey material, the colour of his eyes, covered her upper body and curved over her like fluffy frosting on a cupcake. Her hair was slicked up in a high ponytail, swishing about as she moved, drawing attention to her long neck and the sleek lines of her exposed shoulder. The hint of skin at her waist had him staring at her like a creep, wondering if he could glimpse her waist chain from this distance. The flaring white silk skirt seemed simple, and he almost questioned if someone else had picked her dress. How was it that his Aditi was wearing such plain clothes with no hint of bright colour?

As he thought this, the crowds moved and she walked across the lawn. That’s when he saw it.

The entire bottom of her skirt was covered in a profusion of multi-coloured floral prints, creeping up towards her thighs .

Till the end of his days, this would be the dress he would remember Aditi in. She looked like a woodland fairy who’d mistakenly entered the real world.

The desire to rush up to her and embrace her engulfed him like a gale, hitting him with unexpected force. He didn’t want to wait anymore. He didn’t care if the entire population of Bangalore was present, and then some. He needed to speak with Aditi, time and propriety be damned.

She had asked him not to embarrass her again in public. He’d broken his promise, though unknowingly, when she’d heard him with his mother. Maybe apologising in public would help his case. If it wiped that lost look from her face and brought the smile he loved back, then his embarrassment would be a price he was willing to pay multiple times over.

His eyes scanned the yard, finally alighting on the DJ table right near him, an idea striking him almost immediately.

“Wish me luck,” Rian muttered, squaring his shoulders as though he was about to head into battle.

“What are you going to do?” Kaya asked.

“Something I never thought I’d do again.” He marched up to the DJ and hailed him, leaning over to whisper his request. Seeing a new member join their ranks, especially one they didn’t recognize, the group of jolly singers quieted and graciously handed their microphone to him.

Nodding his thanks, he tapped on the head, wincing at the feedback that pealed through the sound system. The abrupt noise caused most of the conversation around him to simmer down, the crowd throwing an annoyed look in the general direction of the DJ. Aditi, however, remained in her own world, seated at her table and flicking imaginary kernels off the table cloth.

“Doc,” he called out, watching her head whip up in shock. Her mouth fell open when their eyes met, and his vision honed in on her. The music trickling through the speakers diffused in the air around them. He took a deep breath in, letting everything in his periphery fade, focusing on her to keep his nerves from taking over.

“This one’s for you.” With that, he began to hum, leading into the lyrics of a song he hoped would convey what he wished to say. Her look of shock was constant, but as he hit each note in time to the beat, his voice grew stronger. Singing too, he realised, was like riding a bike. He may not have done it for a long time, but he hadn’t forgotten how.

He’d simply not had enough motivation to try again.

Cradling the bouquet of flowers he’d brought for her in one arm and the mic in the other, he strolled up to her, never letting his sights stray from her sitting figure.

She was so still, he wondered momentarily if she’d stopped breathing.

Aditi couldn’t glance away. She was certain she’d blink and this would turn out to be a mirage. How could it be anything else? How was it that Rian, looking indescribably gorgeous in that bottle-green cable knit sweater, the dark wash of his jeans complimenting his long legs, was here, at her house, SINGING FOR HER?

She watched him, hearing him sing her a song with her name in it. An upbeat tune that lifted her spirits, through the lyrics of which he begged and cajoled her to smile again. He donned a sheepish grin at the part where the singer admitted to not knowing how to sing, yet doing it for the sake of the person they wanted to make happy.

Though it was a song well known to many, when Rian was crooning it, watching her the way he was, it felt like every word was written for her.

She was dreaming with her eyes wide open.

But what a beautiful dream this was, she accepted, gulping as he got closer.

“Hey Aditi, ” he finished melodiously, sighing as if the rest of the lines were too heartfelt to repeat anymore. He kneeled at her feet. He dropped the mic on the table next to him before presenting the bouquet to her.

The music faded to a close, the refrain from the song still playing in her mind. The air around them was silent, gentle murmurs rising from interested spectators.

Neither Rian nor Aditi could find it in themselves to acknowledge anyone else at this time.

“Hey, Doc,” he whispered.

She had to suppress the shiver that travelled down her spine at his husky voice.

“Hi. What are you doing here?”

His lips tipped up gently. “I missed you. You look exquisite.”

Her expression softened, and Rian was hard pressed to stop himself from reaching out and touching her.

“You sang in public.”

A statement and a question, rolled into one.

“Yeah. It’s the big gesture,” he explained. “Like in those books you read. Took me a while to get through one but I did.”

Her brows shot up.

“You read for me?” she asked, knowing that if she hadn’t been already sitting down, this would have done it. Her insides felt like jelly.

“There was no audiobook. I had to read.”

“Why?”

He shrugged, a look of discomfort rushing across his handsome face. “I didn’t want you to change your mind about marrying me.”

“Rian.”

“You can,” he interrupted quickly, looking like it took a lot out of him to say that. His lips thinned, brows drawing low. “I deserve it for the crap I said. You can one hundred percent reject me in public, in front of your family and friends.” He slowed down with each word as realisation hit. “Wow. I didn’t plan this well at all, did I? ”

She shook her head, biting the inside of her lips to stop herself from smiling.

“The anniversary party date slipped my mind,” he admitted, looking like a little boy caught having forgotten his homework. “I did not imagine doing this in front of an audience.”

“Why didn’t you wait?”

“Because,” he stressed, unable to stop himself from clasping her hands in his. He shifted closer so that her knees were against his chest. “I don’t know how to live without you anymore. I probably can’t get more pathetic than this, but I don’t care. I’d crawl through broken glass if that means you’ll forgive me.”

Her lips trembled, torn between wanting to throw herself at him and staying firm. “I want you to stop hurting yourself.”

“I understand, Sunshine. Sometimes, I might need a reminder. Just another reason why I need you. But you need me too.”

“I do?”

He nodded, the glint in his eye familiar and soothing, like a balm over her wounds. “You need me because I will always laugh at your puns—even the bad ones. I constantly dream about your perfect eyes. I am obsessed with your radiant smile and in awe of your wild and untamed heart. I will never want you to be anything other than who you are.”

White teeth trapped her plump lower lip, a fleeting shadow of hurt marring her face.

“Even if it embarrasses your family?” she finally asked, her voice low.

His grip on her firmed, his thumb rubbing soothing circles on the back of her hand.

“My only family is Nanamma and my friends. And they adore you. They’re here too, by the way.”

Aditi’s eyes slipped past his ear, only now sighting Kaya, Arjun, Vihaan and Nanamma. From the edge of her vision, she noted her grandmother wave at her friend, hurrying over to greet her .

“Your mother—,” she began, only to be shushed.

“Does not matter. You were right to call me out on not having let go of the past. You’ve always known I needed to learn to move on. I’ve started to. I hope you’ll give me the chance to prove that to you also.”

“You made me cry,” she complained.

“I know. I’ll accept a lifetime of punishment at your hands for that.”

She glanced down where their hands were joined, shaking her head lightly.

“I don’t like thinking that you want me for reasons other than love.”

One warm palm cupped her cheek, tenderly raising her face up. “You weren’t part of any of my plans, Doc. If tonight is any indication, you know you’ve changed me. What I thought I knew about love was very different until you came into my life and taught me how to be better.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning,” he said, dropping the softest kiss on her knuckles before glancing up at her, his heart in his eyes. “I am drowning with how deeply I’m in love with you. Without you, I exist. With you, I’m alive. You have become the reason for my smiles, the peace in my soul. My heart, my body, my entire being—you own me. A lifetime wouldn’t be enough to figure out how much I love you but I will try everyday to show you in words, in actions, in every way you need that you, and only you , complete me.”

Aditi let out a soft sob, overwhelmed by his admission.

“I need you so much more than you could need me and I know I’m being selfish. But come back to me,” he begged. “Save me, Doc. As part of your Hippocratic oath, save me, or. . .I’ll die.”

“Ayappa satyam, if she doesn’t marry him, I will,” they heard someone declare. “Hell, I would too after that speech,” a man concurred. “Is this a skit?” someone else asked, multiple voices shushing them when Aditi spoke again.

“You’re being very dramatic, Bugs,” she teased, a tremulous smile on her lips, her eyes glimmering with happiness. “You’ll die without me?”

The grin he bore was as much in response to her joy as it was in relief that she’d smiled again. “Don’t make me prove it. I’d rather live with you.”

“Did you rehearse that?”

He chuckled, sheepishly scratching above one thick eyebrow. “A little. Kaya wanted to write me a script on the flight here. She thought I’d mess this up.”

“Was this from the script?”

“No. She uses too many big words.”

Aditi let out a soft laugh. “The Hippocratic oath was a nice touch.”

“I have something better,” he said, before reaching into his pocket and producing a velvet box. Her eyes grew round when he opened the lid to reveal a flawless solitaire ring about the size of the nail on her index finger. Round, cut brilliantly, sitting on six high prongs—it was a stunning piece of jewellery that caught the light and bounced it off so perfectly, she couldn’t hold back a gasp.

“It’s a yellow diamond?” she asked, staring.

“To match the sunshine you spread in my life," he explained. The utter devotion written upon his face had her raising one hand to her chest, afraid of her heart bursting within.

“Will you. . .”

“Yes!”

He laughed delightedly. “Let me finish, Sunshine.”

She nodded, her smile widening, her watery eyes shimmering like a million little stars had been trapped within her irises .

“Aditi Krishnan, will you make me the happiest man ever and please marry me?” he asked sweetly, causing her to take a deep breath in, trying valiantly to hold back her tears.

“Yes,” she sniffed, feeling a joy that made her entire being glow from the inside. She’d never thought she would ever be loved like this. So openly, so thoroughly and so unabashedly.

Rian’s trembling fingers grasped her equally shaky hand as he slid the ring on, the fit absolutely perfect.

“It's beautiful,” she whispered.

“Not more than you.”

“Shut up and kiss already!” they heard a lady yell, belatedly realising that the mic nearby was still on.

“Sorry,” Aditi grimaced, her face red. “That’s my rowdy cousin.”

“I like this cousin,” he murmured, the tip of one finger tracing her skin where her blush spread. “I don’t know her but she’s my favourite.”

Aditi would have laughed except Rian actually did lean forward to kiss her in front of all her family and friends.

Her fingers speared his luscious hair, the glint of her ring shining brightly against his dark head. She sighed as his mouth moved over hers, enveloped by his love.

And truly, it was glorious.