Chapter 17

But he does not. He just gets a taxi and they climb in its warmth, shielded from the gales.

"Harrods, please," he mutters to the driver.

Khushi's head finally cleared as they zoomed off towards the town centre and a small smile tugged at her lips as she registered she was going to Harrods. She did nothing to stop it. Harrods was a place she had always loved. The decorations, the -

"So? Banking?"

"Huh?" Khushi frowned at him. What was he talking about?

"Earlier you had told me, you want to go into banking."

"Oh... Yeah, why not?" she asked with a shrug. He shook his head with amusement. Just then, the taxi stopped at a red light and Khushi shifted her gaze on the streets outside. A particular woman caught her attention.

She was thin. Sickly, bony-thin, that is, and so was her tall brown dog, which sported black stripes. She wore a hideous orange suit. They were like two skeletons walking there. The woman carried two bulging Iceland plastic bags, the dog leash and an apple green umbrella, which was been furiously blown by the wind. Every now and then, the umbrella would go at an arm's length from the lady and she would comically pull it back. Khushi smiled and soon she also notice that both the pet as well as its mistress were walking zigzagged due to the gusts.

Finally, the wind won. The umbrella slipped out of the woman's grasp to go slap a nearby man right on the face, while she tumbled on the pavement, her shopping rolling about.

Don't laugh, Khushi, she told herself. Be mature. Don't laugh. She bit the inside on her cheeks hard and glanced at Arnav. A small giggle escaped but she clamped her hand on her mouth immediately. His lips were drawn into a thin line. As soon as their eyes met, however, all composture vanished and they ended up laughing helplessly on the backseat of the taxi. Khushi wiped the tears for her eyes.

"Hum jaante hain ke sahi nahin hain... par thodi si hassi to banti hain..." she choked. (I know it's not right... but we sure can laugh a bit...)

He threw his head back and laughed again, triggering her too.

"Uss aadmi ko dekha tumne?" (Did you see that man?)

They laughed again and the lights turned green.

"Uss aurat ke kapde? Orange suit, man! Bright orange suit! That should be banned from this planet!" (That woman's clothes?...)

"Yeah! Absolutely right!" he nodded seriously under her amused gaze. "Orange suits are from now onwards banned."

***

When the driver pulled up at Harrods, they were still laughing at some silly joke. Arnav finally got down and pulled out his wallet while Khushi staggered out of the car. The taxi revved off leaving them on the crowded pavement. Arnav turned to Khushi who was still smiling, straightening her dress. He noticed she had gone pale from the cold and was shivering a bit but he knew she would not say anything.

A smirk tugged at his lips and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, extracting a shocked expression from her. Khushi looked up at him, her beautiful eyes large and innocent. He stood in a way to protect her as best as he could from the strong wings, which were seemingly powerful enough to blow this delicate flower away.

"Let's go in," he said, his voice neutral.

He did not want to show her how much she affected him. He pushed through the throngs, his arm tightening around her, with the fear of losing her in the people around them along with that of her being blown away and getting hurt. He felt her eyes on his face all the while, yet he did not look at her, because he already knew her cocoa brown orbs would be full of questions he would not be able to answer.

Finally they reached the safety of the inside of the building, his arm slid off and he immediately sensed her taking a nervous step back.

"S-s-s-so... w-what..." she stammered. Was it the sudden warmth after the October gales, or was the edgy Khushi back?

Arnav finally looked at her. Definitely the edgy Khushi.

"What?" he asked.

"What?" she repeated in confusion.

He snorted. "What were you saying, Khushi?"

Khushi frowned. "What was I..."

This time, he smirked at her with a glint of mischief. "Stop repeating whatever I say!"

She looked down, blushing deeply.

"Come on, now!"

And suddenly, Khushi was being towed deeper inside the complex by The Arnav Singh Raizada.

***

"So... You'll be shopping for suitcases?" she asked incredulously, only for him to nod seriously and go inside the shop to have a closer look.

Heck, she had never ventured that particular field! And now The ASR had taken her to the Harrods branch of Louis Vuitton for advice on suitcase shopping. Louis Vuitton? How could have thought Khushi Kumaari Gupta would one day enter a Louis Vuitton? In Harrods? With The Arnav Singh Raizada?

"He asked me if... if you had boyfriend."

She shook her head to remove this thought and gulped looking at the shop. Carefully she stepped in, admiring the interior, taking one step at a time, as though entering a mandir, her eyes wide with fascination.

"Khushi? Why are you taking so long?"

She jerked, suddenly drawn out of her initial heady feeling of beatific admiration and scuttled to her companion.

"So? What do you think?" his arms were crossed on his chest, his brow raised.

Khushi pouted her lips, pondering. "It depends... They're all great..."

"But what would you choose?"

She sighed to herself. There! The inquisitive Laad Governor is back! But there was no point bluffing, right? He would sniff the truth out.

"Actually... to tell the truth, I am not really an expert..."

"In shopping?"

"No, in suitcases."

He smiled gently. "Okay... never mind! Even as a non-expert, what would be your choice?"

Khushi shrugged and walked towards the start of the shop. "Let's have a better look!"

And then, the hunt began...