Secrets of a Bollywood Marriage(11)

                “Wait until you get an offer before you reject it,” he said coldly. There had been a time when she couldn’t keep her hands off him. Did she hate him that much? Was this plan to regain her love impossible? “But we will need to sleep in the same bed.”

                “Then you’ll need to sleep with one eye open,” she said with false sweetness.

                “Tina, nothing you say or do is going to scare me off.” He leaned down until his mouth almost brushed her ear. “Or are you the one who’s scared? Worried that you’ll reach out for me in the middle of the night.”

                “No!” She jumped back as if she’d been burned. “That was before I learned that you were not the kind of husband I wanted.”

                And he had two months to prove to Tina that he was the only man she needed. “We need to return to our guests,” he said as he reached for her hand.

                She crossed her arms tightly. “I’m in no mood to party.”

                “I don’t care.” Dev continued to hold out his hand. She had finally come back into his life and he wanted her at his side. He wasn’t going to give her any excuse to create more distance.

                She threaded her tense fingers in her short hair and looked down at her jeans. “I need to change first.”

                “No.” She would barricade herself into the room the first chance she got.

                Tina’s lips flattened into a stern line as she debated her next move. Dev was tempted to grab her hand and gather her close. Hold her tightly against him until their heartbeats were in unison and their movements were one.

                “Dev?” A familiar lilting voice carried through the courtyard.

                Dev swallowed back an oath when he heard Shreya Sen’s voice. He watched as Tina jerked her head up. She took a step back and glared at him. “What is she doing here?”

                “Careful, jaan.” Dev grasped her hand. Her fingers were curled into a fist. “You are supposed to be my devoted wife.”

                “Devoted?” Tina exhaled sharply. “Oh, I’ll give you devoted. I’ll give you such a performance that you’re going to wish you never made this deal.”





                                      CHAPTER THREE

                “DEV, WHERE ARE YOU?” The click of Shreya’s high heels announced her arrival before the woman appeared on the stone path. “I said I would act as the hostess, but that didn’t mean—oh, Tina!”

                “Hello, Shreya,” Tina replied as calmly as she could while the anger swelled against her chest. Hostess? This woman who everyone wanted Dev to marry—his parents, the industry, the movie fans—had been the hostess in her home? How often had this occurred?

                Tina glanced at Dev for confirmation. An explanation. He didn’t look at her, and why would he with the Bollywood goddess around? Her husband had welcomed Shreya with a smile but she couldn’t read his expression. Would he really be that blatant? Would he have installed his first choice of a wife in their home?

                “I didn’t know you were back,” Shreya said as she ran her manicured fingers along her long black hair.

                Liar, Tina thought with a tight smile. Shreya would have heard that Tina had made an appearance at the party. The woman not only wanted to run interference at any possible reunion  , but she also wanted it to be known just how close she had become with Dev for the past few months.