Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors (The Rajes #1)(66)

Really? Suddenly Yash was on her side? “They’ve been on my case about it for years. What have you ever done to help?” That’s what she wanted to say. Naturally, what she did say was, “Sure. Thanks.”

“Also, Trisha,” he said a little more tentatively, “if she contacts you or if you think of anything else, call me, please.” Then just in case she was too dense to get his meaning he added, “However small it seems. Even if it seems harmless, don’t worry, just let me know. Okay?”

A pulse pounded in her temples. She had confided in him later, when she had apologized after Julia had drugged him and violated him. I didn’t say anything because I thought she was harmless . . . I really believed she was harmless. She had wanted him to understand. I don’t care, he had said. It doesn’t matter.

But of course it had mattered.

“Sure,” she said once more and wished him luck with his meetings.

She just sat there in her car for a while longer, thinking of how simple it had been for her to say something back then. It had been right in front of her, the fact that Julia would do anything to get what she wanted. But Trisha had chosen not to see it. She had lied to her own brother. She had put an outsider before family, despite everything she’d ever been taught.

Her phone beeped, snapping her out of her trance.

“You here?” It was a text from Harry. Shit! She had forgotten about meeting him.

“Sorry, emergency errand.”

“That’s kind of shitty,” he texted back. “I was looking forward to dinner.” Translation: You were supposed to be here with the food.

What a jerk. Although she didn’t think being obsessed with food was so strange anymore. Not since DJ Caine had made his annoying presence felt inside her taste buds.

“Sorry.”

“I’m sorry too. I don’t think this relationship is working out.”

Was he breaking up with her by text? What were they, high schoolers? At least this proved that they’d been in a relationship. Then again, did it?

“I didn’t realize we were in a relationship.” Of course she didn’t send that. She deleted those words and typed: “I agree. Things have been crazy. I’ll drop the food off with your assistant tomorrow. It’s frozen.”

A long silence followed. “I’m sorry. I was upset. I don’t really want to break up. Can we reschedule?”

She laughed, loud and so maniacal that a passing lady scowled at her.

“No thank you. I’ll see you around.” She hit send.

Her relief at not having that food in her fridge any longer was immense.





Chapter Twenty


Maybe you should get a real job, mate, because the medical bills here will kill you,” Rajesh said as he lounged on a beanbag in DJ’s flat, where he was camped out on the floor of DJ’s room in exchange for assisting DJ.

DJ did love irony so very much.

Good thing Rajesh only showed up a few times a week and that Emma was in the shower. The last thing she needed was another conversation about her bills. Actually, the last thing she needed was to hear Rajesh’s idiotic opinions on the matter.

It had been six days since she’d been discharged. The exhaustion on her face when she had gone to bed last night had been brutal. She had spent far too much time yesterday at Green Acres. When DJ had come home last night, she’d been furiously working at her easel while Julia sat by with her camera, letting it soak up the turmoil in her frenzied strokes. Julia and he had sat together for a while, watching Emma stab at the canvas. Then Julia had left but Emma had refused to go to bed. Emma had told DJ that she had let Julia interview her about their childhood in London, which explained some of her mood. The memories of their homeless days made him want to stab at something too.

Naturally, he’d stayed up with her, too, tinkering about with some of the recipes for a dinner he was catering tomorrow and trying to make sense of his financial crisis.

Ashna had called, mortified, to tell him that she had an offer from a chef who wanted to rent her kitchen when the restaurant was closed. He had urged her to take the deal of course. “You have to save your restaurant, that has to be your priority,” he’d told her.

The words she’d said after that had made anger churn inside him again.

“That’s what Trisha said too.”

Why was he not surprised that Dr. Raje was the one who had come up with the idea of finding a renter for Ashna when she knew DJ needed to use her kitchen? He knew she was only trying to help her cousin, but to use his own idea to screw him over when he so desperately needed money was callous if not cruel.

He’d insisted on still working with Ashna on the menu revamp. She’d tried to convince him to let her pay for it, but that was out of the question. Even if he were desperate enough to take money from a friend, he wouldn’t have anywhere near enough to rent another kitchen. Not until Emma’s medical bills were taken care of.

Rajesh had come in past midnight and gone straight to bed on wobbly drunken legs as usual. Now here he was sharing his unsolicited opinion on how to tackle the bills DJ had been admittedly glowering at.

When Charan Singh had called asking if DJ had a job for Rajesh, DJ had naturally said yes. Apparently the idiot had picked the wrong married woman to start an affair with back in the old neighborhood.