One Shot series: Sugar, Spice and Sweet Paradise #ReadersChoiceAwards Completed G

Taste-Testing my Feelings for You

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#11: Taste-Testing my Feelings for You

Priya shifted nervously in her chair and tucked her strands behind her ear. She had never felt so exposed as she did now with the camera focused on her and Ram. But unlike her, Ram was pretty confident, having faced cameras for almost his whole life.

"Bhai, we are live," Shivina whispered and gave a thumbs up.

"Hey guys, welcome to the live vlog of @shivinakapoorsood. We are hitting 10 million, and I want to thank every one of you. I had done a poll asking what you want to see next as a part of my food blog, and you all wanted to see #RaYa. So, presenting to you, my very amazing brother, Mr. Ram Kapoor, and the world's best sister-in-law, Mrs. Priya Sood Kapoor."

She moved aside, and the two greeted the people who had joined the live session.

"We are at Baked with Love, and to make this vlog more fun, we are going to be taste-testing some of the new delicacies the bakery is planning on bringing aboard," Ram explained.

"How this will go is that we will be blinded and will be presented with some of the dishes that we have never tasted at this bakery before. We have to guess the dish and at least three main ingredients that were used in it," Priya continued.

"And we cannot say flour, butter, sugar, water, or such basic ingredients. Whoever guesses the most dishes wins and gets Meera Maa's love," Ram waved at his mother-in-law, who was off-camera.

"Where did that come from?" Priya asked, forgetting for a second that they were live.

"It's always there. You are the one competing for her love when everyone knows that I am her favorite child!"

"Well, we can agree that all your friends and Shivina like me better." Priya stuck out her tongue like a child.

The comments, meanwhile, were filled with "Awww", " Such cuties", "Look at them bicker like kids" and hearts.

"Guys, can we get back to the show?" Shivina asked before Ram could retort. Sara and Sandy blindfolded the two and kept a few trays filled with croissants, pizzas, cupcakes, muffins, and cakes.

Ram took a bite from one of the dishes.

"Is this a croissant?"

"Yes!" Shivina egged him on.

"Does this have butter?" Ram continued guessing.

"You cannot say butter!" Priya chided him.

"I think the main feeling is butter. But you hate butter, so I know you will whine about it. Stay away from this," Ram said and pulled the plate away from her reach.

"I do not hate butter!"

"Oh really? Remember at Brinda's, she gave you a buttered toast, and you made a face while eating it. It was as if someone had given a three-year-old some bitter medicine. To top it off, just to please Brinda, you ate another one and complimented her 'toasting skills',"

"That's because you all bully her for not being able to cook."

"You are too kind-hearted for your own good, you know that?" Ram said without thinking.

Priya thought that he was mocking her, so she couldn't help but remove her blindfold and look at her husband. But he was still nibbling on the Croissant, oblivious to her scrutiny.

"You think I am too kind?"

"Oh yeah, I have never seen anyone like you. And I know it’s supposed to be misogynistic to say that "you are different from other girls" But I genuinely believe so. You are selfless, kind, and you are ever ready to help and do your best for the people you love. I love how you are passionate about things you believe in, but at the same time, are flexible enough so that people can challenge your views. Plus, when you finally accept that you are wrong, you make a face that reminds me of a puppy," Ram rambled on, knowing how much Priya wanted to be validated after her heart was broken by the douche named Neeraj. But in his bid to reassure her, he had forgotten there were about 2.6 K people watching him.

Priya looked at him in surprise, tears pooling in her eyes and then at the camera. She gasped in shock and looked at everyone in the room, who seemed to have turned into statues.

Shivina was the first to come out of her trance and took over the camera. The silence caused Ram to open his blindfold to look in his wife's eyes and then at Shivina, who was hastily doing damage control.

“Okay folks, we’ll take a little break here and be back in a bit with a new dish!”

Priya hastily removed her earpiece and mike and left before Ram could say anything. He looked at Sara, who signed him to follow her.

"Did you mean it?" Priya asked when he approached her.

"Every bit of it. You are one of the most amazing women I have ever met," he said and held her hand, his finger pad gently brushing against hers.

"I know I shouldn't seek validation and shouldn't pressure you into liking me, but this means a lot."

"Hey, you didn't pressure me into anything. I like you." He spoke again without thinking and bit his tongue. She looked at him in surprise and blushed.

A few months ago, her father had told her that she would never find a life partner, and here she was, outside her mother's bakery, basking in the praises showered on her by her husband. Honest, real praises that might seem like not a big deal to someone else, but only she knew how beautiful they felt because it was Ram who had said it. And it was then that she realized how much she liked him too.