Desert Rose

Chapter 11

KHUSHI walked outside to meet Arnav. She wore a white Lucknow chikan suit with pearl drop earrings.

'Hi.' He greeted her as he swung himself off the jeep lithely. He was wearing beige cotton trousers which hugged his lean hips topped by a white cotton shirt, which he had tucked in, with the sleeves turned up to reveal his tanned forearms. With his hair tousled in the breeze and two of the top buttons undone to reveal a light sprinkling of chest hair, he looked devastatingly sexy.

Khushi swallowed her mouth going a little dry as she said, 'What are you doing here?'

'I wonder why you keep asking me this question,' he said his mouth twisted in smirk. 'But this time I will tell you. I think we should talk.'

'Good.' Khushi said tersely, 'I wanted to talk to you about the deal as well.'

'Oh.' A strange look flashed through his eyes and was gone so fast that Khushi thought she might have imagined it.

'That is what you wanted to talk about, isn't it?' she asked hesitatingly.

'Yes, of course,' he said his face stoic. 'What else could it be? I knew it would be a matter of time.'

'How?'

'You were running out of time.' He said, his mouth twisted, 'You have a life to return to --- a job you need badly. Maybe someone waiting for you back home.'

His tone insinuated that it was more of question than a statement.

'That,' Khushi said quietly, 'is none of your business.'

'Then let's discuss the real business and get it over with. So, you want to negotiate a settlement?'

'You....you have left me no choice.' Khushi said unable to meet the intensity of his gaze.

'Alright, I will come by this night after dinner with the details of my proposal.' His tone was very matter-of-fact.

'Oh no.' That was not going to work,thought Khushi. 'I had hoped that we could talk – privately, first –before I let my sister know about this.'

He shrugged. 'Ok – when?'

Khushi took a deep breath. 'How about now?'

'Now?' The dark brows lifted,his dark eyes speculative. 'That's not possible. I am going to Katariasar, a village on the outskirts.'

Khushi crushed the sides of her kurti with her hands, as he asked, 'Can I come with you?' She saw the surprized look on his face and hurried on. 'Now that I have made up my mind I don't want things to drag on. And, anyway, I have hardly seen anything of Rajasthan, and this could be my last chance. That is if you don't mind a passenger,' she added, waiting as he stared in silence.

'No,' he said at last, his smile crooked. 'I don't mind at all – if you are prepared to risk it.'

'Risk?' Khushi looked beyond him at the Jeep. 'The vehicle seems to be in a good condition. Do you drive very fast?'

Arnav laughed out loud and Khushi was stunned to see Arnav's transformation from a serious businessman into a carefree man. It took years off his face.

'Never mind.' He said sobering down quickly.'That is not what I meant.' He said enigmatically. He let his gaze deliberately go over her hair and gave a small satisfactory nod.

Khushi realized that she had forgotten to tie up her hair and the look on Arnav's face told her what interpretation he put on that one small fact. His next words confirmed her suspicions.