Incense and Sensibility (The Rajes #3) - Sonali Dev Page 0,83
been a moment of panic when he’d headed for the stage. But instead of what he didn’t know was hiding in the crowd, he’d thought about the people he did know were there. People who supported him. People who trusted him to do this. A public servant doesn’t stop serving.
“Do you have any idea how proud I am of you?”
“As a matter of fact I do, giraffe, and right back at ya.”
She put a few quick spoonfuls into her mouth and grinned at his use of her childhood nickname.
“Anything new with Abdul?” he asked. He’d stopped by to see Abdul earlier. The trauma specialists they’d consulted had all basically repeated what the other doctors had said. That there wasn’t much more they could do but wait.
“Nothing new. But there’s always hope,” Trisha said. When it came to medicine, she was more practical than anyone Yash knew. If she had hope, that gave him hope. Abdul had been in a coma for three weeks now. “But you know that the chances of him waking up go down the longer he stays in a coma. How is Arzu?”
“Incredibly strong. She believes he’s going to wake up.”
Trisha nodded. “There’s something to be said about faith and belief after we’ve done everything we can with medicine.” She put another spoonful in her mouth. “So seeing India helped, then?” she said, casually enough that he wasn’t sure if it was pretend casualness or real casualness.
He hmm-ed in response. “A lot.” She saved me. “You’re really good friends with her, right?”
Her pause was longer than he’d have liked. Trisha wasn’t spy-level intuitive like Nisha and Ashna, but she was genius-level brilliant. So maybe it was a mistake to think barking up this sister tree was the easiest option.
“I’m closer to China, but I do hang out with India when we do our Raje-Dashwood sisters hang-out once every few months. She’s lovely, isn’t she? There’s just something weirdly good about her.”
He almost choked on his tongue. Trisha did not want him to answer that. He hmm-ed again.
“That’s a lot of hmms, Yash. What’s going on?”
Yup, barking up the wrong sister tree. With his luck, they’d all be putting their heads together and swapping analysis the second he stepped out of here. “I got the feeling her mother wasn’t feeling great. Do you know anything about it?”
“You know that even if I did, I couldn’t talk to you about it. There are laws, counselor!”
She hadn’t said no straight out. So maybe India had called her.
“All I’m saying is that, since you’re friends, maybe drop by and check up on Tara?”
She beamed at him. “Sure. I’m so glad white-knight Yash is back and ready to fix all the world’s problems. I’ll swing by. I did want to thank her for helping you.” She leaned over and pushed his hair off his forehead. “I’m so glad to have you back.”
He was glad to be back too. He really was.
Trisha scraped the bottom of the bowl and pretended not to study him. “How’s Naina, by the way? When does she go back to Burma?”
Unlike him, details weren’t Trisha’s strong suit, unless they were related to medicine. “It’s Nepal. And she isn’t sure about her plans.”
“Are you saying she might stay here? Yash, that’s amazing! You guys can finally make it official.”
“What are you talking about?”
He must have snapped, because she looked all alert and wounded, like the sensitive little girl she used to be. “Well, I’m excited that your girlfriend might actually be around for a while. Especially now when you need her. Why are you upset?”
The sick panicked feeling he’d had to suppress every time he thought about Naina living in California flooded through him, but he could blame no one but himself that Trisha didn’t understand.
“What makes you think I’m upset?”
She did not dignify that with an answer. Instead she fixed him with a look that would’ve done the sensitive little girl she’d been proud.
“Naina and I aren’t looking to change anything.”
“Okay.”
“What?”
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Why?” It was getting annoying that they wouldn’t stop asking him that. He was back to campaigning, back to returning their calls, back to working twenty-hour days. He felt everything ten times over now. No numbness in sight. What more did they want?
“Well, you were missing all night last week.”
“Missing?”
She made a funny face, as though she wasn’t sure who he was anymore. “Naina is your girlfriend. You’re thirty-eight. If you spent the night at her place, why would you hide it?”