The Pairing (The Proposition #3)(73)

It didn’t go without her notice either. “Should I go and offer to help?” she questioned, in a whisper.

“Sure. That would be nice.”

Her expression told him that she really didn’t want to leave his side, but she did anyway. Once she was out of earshot, Pesh found everyone’s eyes on him. “What?”

Charlie chuckled. “You even have to ask, my son?”

“So ask your questions and get it over with before Megan comes back in here,” he replied, as he collapsed onto the couch.

He faced a barrage of questions about where they met, how long they had been seeing each other, and how serious was it. He mustered as much patience as he could to answer them all. When he was finished, the men sat back in surprised silence.

“I never thought I would see the day,” his father mused.

Sanjay shook his head. “Oh, I knew the day would come. I saw that when he was out with Emma.”

Charlie’s brows furrowed. “Emma?”

Pesh pinched his eyes shut and wished his brother-in-law didn’t have such a good memory. “Just a friend.”

With a snort, Sanjay replied, “You certainly didn’t look at her like she was a friend, even if she was pregnant.”

“You were with a pregnant woman?” Charlie asked.

“Alpesh how could you?” his mother demanded from the doorway.

“How could I what?” Pesh asked.

Lavani’s expression was horror stricken. “Get a woman…in the family way.”

Pesh rocketed off the couch. He glanced past his mother to where Megan stood. “You’re…?” he couldn’t even form the words.

Megan’s face flushed blood red. “No! Of course, I’m not!”

Lavani gave him a confused look. “Not her,” she replied, pointing at Megan. “This Emma that Sanjay speaks of.”

Bringing his hand to his forehead, he rubbed furiously to try to ward off the ache that was starting to pound in his head. Everything was getting shot to hell so fast. “First of all, Emma and I were never intimate. She was pregnant by the man she is now married to. Yes, I took her to the opera with Sanjay and Shveta, but there was nothing really between us.” He shook his head and couldn’t help wondering if he would ever have to stop explaining what had happened between him and Emma. “Second of all, could everyone just back off for a second? I mean, you’re not exactly giving Megan a very good impression of our family.”

A nervous laugh erupted from Megan’s lips. She covered her mouth with her hand, trying to hide her giggling. He winked at her, and she lowered her hand to smile at him.

“Fine, fine. Now that we’ve cleared all that up, why don’t we eat?” Lavani suggested.

“That sounds wonderful,” Charlie replied.

As they made their way into the dining room, Pesh went to Megan’s side. “You surviving okay?” he whispered.

“I’m hanging in there. I may need a drink when we leave.”

“Just no Silver Tequila for you,” he mused.

Without the others catching her, Megan smacked his arm. “Ass,” she hissed under her breath.

He chuckled as he held out the chair for Megan. “Thank you,” she said before sitting down. He then eased in beside her. As the dishes began making their way around the table, he felt Megan kick him. When he glanced at her in surprise, she whispered, “Where is the silverware?”

“We eat with our hands.”

“Seriously?”

“Yes.” He leaned over to whisper in her ear. “But don’t use your left hand because it’s considered rude.”

She jerked back to stare wide-eyed at him. “I’m left handed,” she protested.

He fought the urge to smile at her horror. He could tell that she would rather die than do something to embarrass him in front of his family. “You’ll be fine. They won’t expect as much out of you since you’re American.”

“Alpesh, whatever is it that you’re whispering about?” Lavani asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

“I was just telling Megan what a wonderful cook you are. She loves Indian food, so I’m sure she’s in for a treat.” Pesh squeezed Megan’s knee under the table. She cut her eyes over to him and smiled.

Once the plates had been passed around and everyone served, they began to eat. “Mmm, the samosa is delicious,” Megan complimented.

“Thank you,” Lavani replied, with a beaming smile.

As his mother turned her attention to Shveta, Pesh bowed his head and spoke in a low voice to Megan. “Once I tried bribing Beau with some samosa.”

She laughed. “You did? Why?”

“I was at Aidan’s house checking on Emma when she was on bed rest. I guess you could say he didn’t like me invading his turf.”

“Would he not take it from you?”

“Oh, he took it, ate it, and seemed to enjoy it. But I didn’t make any friends that night.”

Megan grinned. “Good old Beau.”

Pesh raised his brows. “You’re siding with the dog?”

“In that scenario, yes. He was merely protecting Emma and Noah.”

“I see.”

Tilting her head at him, she added, “Besides, I don’t like any scenario where you and Emma are anything more than friends.”