Love Online(18)

“Are you really worried about that?” I asked.

“I know I’m acting ridiculous.” She muttered. “None of this makes any sense.”

“Falling for someone half a world away in India makes just about as much sense as falling for a cam girl I’m never allowed to meet.”

Despite the tense tone of our conversation, I managed to get one genuine smile out of her before we hung up.

***

This wedding was like nothing I’d ever seen in my life.

The groom arrived on a freaking chariot with two horses pulling him. The guests were all dancing in front of it as he was led to the bride.

Cars honked their horns, and people chanted.

At the reception, I had a little too much to drink and decided to tell Rupert everything about Eden. To my surprise, he didn’t seem shocked in the least. I’d mistakenly taken him to be a little more conservative. But he was totally digging the story of how we met.

“There’s an old Indian proverb that my grandmother used to say,” he said. “I don’t know exactly how it translates into English, but the gist is: if love is not crazy, it’s not love.”

Love. Damn. No, this couldn’t be love.

“We’re not at the love point. It’s not like that.” I chuckled. “We haven’t even met.”

Right? It isn’t love? Fuck if I know what I’m really feeling.

“Are you sure about that? You just talked about her for a half hour straight, and your eyes lit up more than I’ve seen since you’ve been here.”

That was a little unsettling to hear. “Really?”

“Yes.”

“Well, I’d put it into the obsession category before I’d call it love.”

“Whatever you call it, my point is love is supposed to feel like this—nonsensical, risky—even if the person makes the least sense logically. It was a crazy way you met her, but who cares? If it’s meant to be, she’ll come around. She’s probably just scared. If the connection you say you have is real, there’s not going to be anything either of you can do to stop it.”

“You think so, huh?”

“I know so,” he said. “But on the off-chance you don’t think it’s gonna work out, my cousin Saanvi wants to meet you.” He pointed to the corner of the room. “She’s over there.”

When I looked in that direction, a beautiful, dark-haired girl with the hugest brown eyes stared right at me. Had she been looking over here the whole time? I hadn’t even noticed.

Wearing a bright aqua-colored sari embellished in gold, she was probably the prettiest girl here and definitely stood out from the crowd. But despite that, I had no desire to talk to her, no desire for even a quick fling while I was in India. It felt like I’d somehow be cheating on Eden. That sucked because I didn’t have her in the real sense.

During any other time in my life, I might have thought Saanvi was the most beautiful girl in the world. But now that title was reserved for a mystery girl all the way back in Nowhere, USA.





CHAPTER SEVEN




* * *





EDEN




I’d been counting the days until Ryder got back. His return from India couldn’t come soon enough. Tonight was the first night things would be back to “normal”—if you could call our relationship that.

I hated how emotional I’d been the entire time he was away. It was a reminder of how dependent on his company I’d become and how difficult it would be when things inevitably ended.

Every night I wondered if he was hooking up with someone or whether he was realizing there was so much more to life than being home every night and talking to me online. I didn’t have the liberty to travel the world and live the way he did. He didn’t realize that talking to him was the highlight of my days.

The fact that I was getting so attached to him was troubling. My job was supposed to be a means for survival. But I’d let things get out of control with Ryder and couldn’t help myself. I was already so far gone.

During the few times we were able to make our schedules work while he was away, I did a lousy job of hiding my mood. Even though I tried, he’d constantly asked if I was okay. That’s how I knew my efforts to hide my true feelings were futile. It amazed me that he was always able to see through them.

Tonight, things were going to work a little differently. We’d be connecting on Skype for the first time since he came home. When he went to India, because our time was limited, we decided to use Skype for our chats instead of the private room. Skype was going to be an easier way to communicate, in general, moving forward, because it allowed more flexibility. He’d sent me a Skype message to expect a call at eleven. I told him I’d decided to take a rare night off, that I needed a break.

My breather consisted of spending the evening listening to music while anticipating his call.

Waiting anxiously, I did my hair and messed with my phone until the computer started ringing.

His face lit up the screen. “Hey, beautiful. I’m back.”

“Welcome home.”

Welcome home. His smile had become like home to me. My blood pressure seemed to drop at the sight of him.

“I’m glad to be home. I can’t believe you gave yourself a night off. You deserve it. I don’t think you’ve taken a break since I met you.”