Chapter Nineteen
"Can I get you anything?" the waitress asked Angad for the second time.
"Not at the moment. I'm waiting for somebody," Angad replied.
The waitress, a blonde with breasts that nearly spilled out of her low-cut uniform smiled saucily. "Sometimes we have things that aren't on the menu." She winked and slid a piece of scrap paper toward him. "My phone number just in case you want to order la carte."
Angad picked up the piece of paper and crumpled it into a ball. He wasn't interested. He wasn't interested in anyone except Rebecca.
He took a sip of his wine and sighed in relief as he saw Pritvi approach the secluded table. He half rose, but Pritvi motioned him down as he slid into the chair opposite Angad.
"Angad." Pritvi nodded a greeting.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet me," Angad said.
"I'm not sure why I'm here," Pritvi confessed. "But I think I have an idea."
"Kripa," Angad replied, as if that said it all.
Pritvi nodded. "That's what I thought."
"It's been two days since I've seen her spoken with her. I thought it best if I give her some time to think."
"And what does this have to do with me?" Pritvi asked.
"I need help," Angad confessed. "I need to convince Kripa to marry me." He twisted his napkin between his fingers. "You know Kripa, tell me what I need to do."
The waitress appeared at their table. Pritvi ordered a meal, but Angad waved her away. "I'm not hungry," he said.
"No appetite?" Pritvi's dark brows rose. "Not sleeping well? Having difficulty focusing?"
Angad looked at him in amazement. "Yes, all those. How did you know?"
Pritvi grinned. "I've been there. It's called love, Angad."
"Love." Wonder flowed through Angad. But of course. Love for Kripa echoed in every chamber of his heart, flowed vibrantly through his veins. He loved Kripa and he didn't know what to do about it. He leaned forward. "Pritvi, you've got to help me. Make her marry me. I need her."
"I can't make Kripa do anything," Pritvi protested. "Have you told her how you feel?"
"I told her I didn't want to marry anyone else. I told her we would have a good marriage." Angad frowned. "I don't know what else to say to her."
"Have you told her you love her?"
Angad twisted the napkin once again. "No." He frowned thoughtfully. He said those words a hundred times in his past to a hundred women because he'd known it was what they wanted to hear. But, there had never been any real emotion behind the words.
Again Pritvi smiled. "Women are funny creatures, Angad. They don't want implied. They need to hear the words."
"I hadn't said those words to her because my feelings for her transcend those simple three words." Again wonder raced through Angad.
He'd been searching for love a long time all the women he'd dated, all the relationships he'd had. But, it had remained elusive. And when he'd given up the notion, decided it was a foolish sentiment, it had reared up and slapped him in the face.
"I love her," he said aloud and looked at Pritvi in astonishment. He stood, unable to sit another minute. "I'm sorry I've got to go."
Pritvi grinned. "I figured as much. Go on."
Angad raced from the restaurant, his heart pounding in his chest. He felt more alive than he'd ever felt in his life, and his heart ached with love for Kripa.
It wasn't until he was halfway to Pritvi and Aaliyah's house that a dreadful thought struck him. He loved Kripa, but what if she didn't love him?
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