Serendipity

VI

♪♫ Maana ke hum yaar nahin,

Lo tay hai ke pyar nahin,

Maana ke hum yaar nahin,

Lo tay hai ke pyar nahin,

Phir bhi nazrein na tum milana,

Dil ka aitbaar nahin,

Maana ke hum yaar nahin...♪♫

_________________________

It was the second Saturday of the month and as promised Karan convinced everyone to go to Neil's restaurant.

They had just settled in their chairs when the chair beside Evara was pulled back. Her eyebrows furrowed when Neil occupied that seat.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Neil looked at her as if she couldn't understand simple things. "This is my restaurant."

She rolled her eyes. "I know that, genius. What are you doing here, on this table?"

"I was invited. By Karan and Aman."

She whipped her head at both the men in question with disbelief. How could they? She felt betrayed and beyond angry. Her jaw clenched as she stood up and went to the back area of the restaurant which had a small but well-maintained garden.

She took deep breaths to control her emotions.

"Evara?" came Aman's voice from behind. When she didn't turn or reply he again tried. "Eva?"

She sighed and hummed in answer.

"What happened?" he asked.

"As if you don't know." She turned to face him. "This, Aman, is our time. All of us spend it together because we are family. Why did you invite Neil?"

"Sam told me about him. She told me how you say that you hate him."

"Because I do!"

"When was the last time you hated someone?"

The question took her off guard. "What does it have to do with all this?"

"No? Are you sure? Because we both know that you're not capable of hate. Your father has done a lot of damage in the past but still, you don't hate him. You don't love or like him, yes, but you don't hate him either."

"What are you getting at?" she turned her back at him, gazing at the moon.

"You don't hate your father but you started hating an unknown guy because he spilled coffee on you. That incident was two years ago, might I add. So the question here is Evara, do you really hate him, or is this hate just your way of protecting your heart?"

He put his hands on both her shoulders and turned her so she was once again facing him. "Give yourself another chance. You once made me promise that I would find my happily ever after and I have. Now it's your turn to get a happily ever after. Because you deserve it too."

"It's not easy." She whispered looking into his eyes.

"I never said it would be. I just want you to try. And please stop that hate bullshit, you don't hate him and we both know that."

She rolled her eyes at his bossy tone but smiled nonetheless. "I'll think about it."

◀▩▶

They went back inside after their little talk. She straight went to Neil and told him that she wanted to talk to him, alone. She saw the smiles on Sameera and Aman's faces but she didn't say anything to them.

Neil led her to his cabin at the back of the restaurant. The cabin was far from the area, maybe strategically so he could hold meetings without getting interrupted by any external noise.

The second they were inside, she grabbed the collar of his shirt and pushed him against the locked door.

"Who gave you the right to just barge in my life like that? Who gave you the right to sit on that table, with my family?" she let out, her eyes spitting fire.

In one swift moment, Neil changed their position. Now she was pinned against the door. "Maybe you didn't hear before, let me repeat it. I was invited by your family. They invited me to join in."

"You could've said no!"

"And say no to free food? Now, why would I do that?" he smirked.

The asshat was enjoying this.

She gritted her teeth. "Don't come near me or my family."

"What if they want me near?" he put both his hands near her head on the door and raised an eyebrow.

"Then say no!"

"But I don't want to." He grinned, teasing her.

"If you come near them, I'll kill you!"

"If you don't stop your nonsense, I'll kiss you!"

"You!" she raised her hand to point a finger at him but he took her hand and locked it behind her back with his making her press against him.

"What the hell do you think—"

She couldn't complete it as he lowered his mouth to hers, capturing her lips with his. His mouth was soft, his eyes closed, lashes brushing her cheek. Then he left her hand as his hands came up, gentle as they glided over her arms. He pulled her to him if that was possible. His hand on her cheek and the other holding her in place.

Her hands came up to his shoulders for support as he kissed her hard, fingers in her hair while thumb caressed her cheek ever so slightly. Desire hit her like a punch in the chest. She wanted to fight it but her body had other reactions to him.

When they broke apart, breathless, she was in a daze. But it cleared when she saw his eyes, they were soft but still held fire. She suddenly remembered everything, where they were, why they were here, and what had just happened.

"How dare you?" her voice came out in a whisper, still breathless from the kiss.

His hold on her tightened, it wasn't bruising just firm enough to not let her go. "I hate how I can't think about anything else but you. You drive me insane without even knowing, so I decided to return the favour."

"I hate you!" her eyes again spitting fire.

"Keep telling yourself that." He just stated, kissed her forehead, and left the cabin.

She stood there, feeling a whole lot of emotions, all at the same time but most of all she was confused.

His words were angry but his actions were soft; gentle. For the first time, she didn't know what to do.