Dating Dr. Dil (If Shakespeare was an Auntie #1)(89)

He whirled to face Kareena’s father. “I don’t get why you treat your daughter like shit, either. Seriously? You decide to sell the house and talk to your youngest brat and your mom, but leave out the one sensible person in your family?”

Kareena’s father turned thunderous. His accent thickened as if he’d just come from India the day before instead of thirty-three years ago. “Get out! You bloody rascal, get out of this place!” He pointed a finger at the parking lot. “You can go to hell!”

Bindu started crying at that moment, and Loken looked like he had no idea what to do. The guy was a well-groomed idiot with absolutely no personality.

“Mommy?” he whispered.

Before Prem could go off on the spineless fool, Veera tugged on his sleeve.

“Time to go,” she said. “Seriously, Kareena’s father is Punjabi. He will punch you if you egg him on.”

Prem shrugged her off. “One last thing,” he said. He turned to Loken. “I hope you know what you’re getting into, because when Kareena and I get married—”

Before Prem could finish the sentence, Kareena’s father roared. He charged forward, and the older man swung a fist and connected with Prem’s face.





Chapter Thirty-One

Kareena




Prem: Kareena, I am so sorry I hurt you. You’re it for me. You KNOW that.

Kareena: That’s not enough. I need to know you love me.

Prem: I don’t want to lie to you.

Kareena: Sometimes I wish you did. Please don’t text me right now. I need some time.





Thank god for her friends, Kareena thought. She sipped her venti hot chocolate in the empty shed as she looked up at her mother’s house. It was awash in a soft glow from the outside lights.

Some of her tension was finally slipping away, but that could be because her best friends helped her take off all her jewelry and remove the hairpins while she sobbed in their arms. Then they waited for her while she showered and tossed the contacts, and took her to a late-night Starbucks.

Her eyes were still gritty from crying, but Kareena felt better now that she was wearing one of Prem’s old sweatshirts she’d taken the last time she was over his place, paired with leggings.

It had to be one or two in the morning. She didn’t know. She left her phone in the house.

“I’m so sorry, Mama,” Kareena whispered. She tried so hard to hold on to the house, and she was so desperate to find love, that she forgot to protect her heart. And she’d fallen harder than she thought. If she took a deep breath, the fissures in her chest burned.

Kareena closed her eyes to the gentle summer breeze that blew through the open doors. The sound of crickets made a beautiful melody. She lay back on the seat creeper and must’ve dozed off, because the next minute, she heard the sound of a chair scraping against the concrete slab floor.

Kareena bolted up, barely juggling her half-empty hot chocolate cup at the same time. A dim light cast a shadow over her father’s face as he lowered himself onto the chair. He still wore the suit pants and the button-down shirt from the party, except his tie was gone and his collar was unbuttoned.

“Kareena,” he said running his fingers through his thinning salt-and-pepper hair. “It’s late. Why aren’t you sleeping inside?”

“I feel better out here,” she said.

He looked around at the empty garage, taking in her tools and the discarded parts barely visible in the dim lighting. “Where is the car?”

“Body work,” she mumbled. “Last weekend.”

He looked startled. “Last weekend? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Kareena took a sip from her cooling hot chocolate. “Maybe because I haven’t spoken to you since before last weekend. You’re always at work avoiding wedding planning, and you and I aren’t exactly seeing eye to eye right now. But don’t worry, once I have my car back, I’ll drive right on out of here.”

He watched her, flexing one hand as if he’d hurt it. “Where will you go when you can finally drive that old clunker?” he asked, completely disregarding her comment.

“I’m not sure. Probably to get some food.”

The corner of his mouth curved. “Sometimes, in the summer, we’d take a drive to Taco Bell. You and your mother loved the Mexican pizzas. Bindu and I preferred the quesadillas.”

Kareena didn’t think she had any tears left in her, but her eyes began to water again. “Are you rubbing salt in the wound? That I’m like her and she’s not here?”

“No,” he said. He let out a short laugh. “The last time we went for Taco Bell, it was after we had a big fight. Your mother and I. She was so mad at me that she wanted to go back to India for a while. Just to get a break.”

Kareena’s jaw dropped. Her parents never fought. At least she didn’t think they did. “I don’t understand why you’re telling me this.”

Her father rubbed the back of his neck, then slouched back in his seat. “I think because you’re old enough now to know that your mother and I didn’t argue in front of you girls. We loved each other, but even we had our differences.”

Kareena put the pieces together of his cryptic message. She took a sip of her Starbucks and leaned back in her chair. “Things with Prem are complicated, if that’s what you’re asking.”