My So-Called Bollywood Life(50)

Before Winnie could follow Dev, her grandmother tugged her arm.

“Winnie,” she said softly. “I know that you are struggling with your prophecy—”

“Oh, Nani, please, not tonight. I just want to have a good time.”

“Hush. I know you don’t understand your prophecy, but I want you to know that I think with Dev, it’ll come true in the end. I see it now.” She patted Winnie on the shoulder and motioned her through the door.

Winnie wasn’t sure how to process Nani’s comment, so she nodded and followed Dev outside.

When the door closed behind them, Winnie said, “Dear gods, what happened to Indian humility and not meeting a boyfriend until it’s like marriage or whatever? My parents are weird. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. Ready to go?” Dev said. He motioned to the end of the driveway, and for the first time, Winnie noticed the limo. The massive white stretch took up nearly the entire length of the front of her house.

    She almost fell out of her juttis. “What the…?”

Dev pressed a hand against the strip of exposed skin at her back. “That, Vaneeta Mehta, is your chariot.”

Winnie looked up at him and then at the limo. “Dev. I—I don’t know what to say.”

He led her down the front steps and to the end of the driveway. When they got to the back door, Dev stepped in front of it and slipped his hands around her waist. “Tonight’s important for all of us in film club, but especially for you. So I wanted every part of tonight to be important. There is one thing you should know, though.”

“Oh?”

“We won’t be alone.”

She heard a sound come from the limo and tried to peer around him to see what was inside.

“Dev?”

He held her hands in his and brought her knuckles to his lips. “You really do look amazing tonight, Vaneeta Mehta. But I don’t think I can handle acting out your fairy-tale romance all night, which is why I brought reinforcements.”

He reached behind him and pulled on the door handle. She heard screaming from inside the car and saw two familiar faces.

“Surprise!” Bridget and Henry yelled.

“You guys!” she said, laughing. She looked up at Dev. “I don’t care what you say—you’ve got this Bollywood romance thing down.”

    He leaned down for a quick kiss. “You deserve it.”

She slipped inside the vehicle with Dev right behind her. This was what she’d hoped her senior year would be like, she thought. Spending Saturday nights with friends and with a guy she chose for herself. Destiny couldn’t stop her tonight no matter what was written in the stars.





17





MAIN HOON NA / I’M HERE FOR YOU





I admit it. I automatically give extra points to a Bollywood movie that has at least one phenomenal group dance number. Item songs featuring a scantily clad woman dancing in front of leering men do not count.





Winnie thought the decorating committee should get jobs on a Sanjay Leela Bhansali film, because they were that good. Although she’d helped throughout the process, watching their vision come to life was amazing. A red carpet connected one end of the foyer to the ballroom. A large backdrop with the festival logo was set up in one corner, and she could hear the DJ spinning remixes through the open double doors.

“Hey, you,” Laura said from the front table. “You look awesome!”

“Thanks! You too. How are we doing on money?”

Laura tilted her head toward the tin box, which held a wad of cash. “The presales were great, but the sales at the door are incredible! You did such a terrific job with this. Everyone knows it was you. Really. Congratulations.”

    Winnie leaned down and gave her a hug. “Thanks. Do you have someone to switch off with you so you can dance, too?”

She nodded. “Jenny Dickens is supposed to take over.”

Winnie plastered a wide smile on her face. How Jenny had managed to take on a volunteer position for the festival was beyond her. Raj must have approved it without Winnie knowing. “Perfect! Have fun, okay?”

Laura nodded and started collecting tickets from the next person in line. “Most def. Oh! Mr. Reece was looking for you. He’s inside. See you later!”

Dev grabbed her hand and tugged her in through the open double doors. “Come on, let’s check out the food.”

“The food is fantastic. I picked the caterers myself. But did you hear Laura? Reece is looking for me. What do you think he wants to talk about?”

“There is only one way to find out.” He looked up at the dangling stars and streamers from the ceiling. “This is like a perfect set for a Bollywood dance number…or a Woody Allen movie.”

She tugged his hand. “Wait, I think I’m hearing things. Did Dev Khanna suggest a Bollywood dance number, or was that my imagination?”

He grinned down at her. In the dim light of the ballroom and over the blaring music from the DJ, she could hear him clearly. “Don’t you wish someone would start dancing right now?”

She laughed and shoved him in the arm. “Depends on the dancer. I feel bad for the normal crowd here, though. The South Asian, African, jazz, ballet, contemporary, and hip-hop teams from school all bought tickets. Anyway, where did Bridget and Henry go? Didn’t they say they were grabbing seats?”