rush, their physical needs.”
Dev choked on his drink of water. “Aji.” He tipped his head at Luna, who had stopped playing with her food instantly at the word physical. “Luna, are you finished eating? Why don’t you go to your room?”
His niece pushed back from the table. “Can I see if Arjun Kaka wants to play video games?”
Mentally, he sighed. He’d be annoyed at his cousin for a while, but Luna did like her uncle. “Yes.”
Shweta looked between him and Jia consideringly as Luna left. “You may have a fourth love marriage on your hands, eh, Farzana?”
Farzana’s laugh was coy. “Oh, if I did, it would be fine. Dev is an accomplished young man.”
“We weren’t thrilled with being caught off guard with the engagement news, but meeting you and Dev has been a relief,” Mohammad added. “We’ll have to start thinking of wedding dates.”
Jia straightened. “We haven’t gotten that far,” she said hastily.
Shweta picked at her cake. “I don’t see why not. That’s your generation’s problem. You date until all the mystery is gone, until you hate each other. Ridiculous. If you meet someone you like, you should marry them and be done with it. Then if you have problems, you have to deal with them and can’t go anywhere.”
“What a lovely description of marriage,” Dev said. “Not prisonlike at all.”
“One of the new movies I am producing is set in a college. Kids these days, younger than these two, they are going around, sleeping together, never seeing each other again after. There is no permanency anymore.”
Farzana gasped. “Jia! Is this right?”
“No!” Jia grimaced. “Uh, we are not . . . we haven’t . . .”
“That’s enough, Aji,” he said softly.
“Apologies, Jia. Of course you and my grandson would never be so wild.” Her smirk was more than a little disbelieving. “I am merely saying, best to have the marriage quickly. You two do like each other, yes?”
Dev was caught off guard by how quickly Jia said, “Of course we do.”
He met her eyes. “Very much so.” More than he should. More than he’d planned to.
“Then you should just get married now.”
Jia let out a little laugh. “You mean a trip to Vegas?”
“No need for Las Vegas.” Shweta looked around the home. “We can do it right here. Tomorrow.”
Farzana laughed, then quieted when she saw Shweta was straight-faced. “You can’t be serious.”
“She’s not,” Dev said sharply. What on earth was his grandmother thinking?
“I very much am.” Shweta pressed her hand to her chest. Her dark eyes welled up with tears. “You see, if we don’t do it now, I may never get to see the ceremony.” She paused dramatically, but not long enough for Dev to prepare himself for her next words. “I do not have long to live.”
The indrawn gasp was collective among those at the table, and Shweta nodded, satisfied with that reaction. “Yes.”
Dev was the only one who didn’t outwardly react. Bullshit. If she was really sick, she would have told him immediately upon his arrival.
Farzana was the first to speak. “My God. I am so sorry.”
Shweta inclined her head. “Thank you. I trust you won’t speak of this to anyone.”
Because it’s a lie.
“Of course not.”
“Do you know how long . . . ?” Mohammad asked delicately.
“I don’t know.”
Dev shifted, surprised to find a trace of panic strumming through his veins. His grandmother wasn’t actually dying. He could tell when she was acting, what her tells were. So why was his upper lip sweating? “Aji,” he said sharply.
Pressure squeezed his thigh. Jia squeezed again, looking up into his face worriedly. He gave a small nod, trying to tell her he was okay. Only he wasn’t sure he was.
“Please let me know if there’s anything I can do. Perhaps you can visit our home while you’re in America,” Mohammad suggested. “I work at a large teaching center.”
“I don’t think any experimental treatments can help me now. But thank you.” Shweta looked back at Dev and Jia. “Anyway. That’s why it would be nice to see at least one of my grandchildren taken care of before I go.”
“I absolutely understand that,” Farzana said. “But I do not think Dev and Jia are quite at the point where they can get married so quickly. Like you want the best for your grandson, I want the best for my daughter.”
Adil cleared his throat. “Perhaps we should think of a more realistic timeline for a wedding.”
Bless his uncle, who knew the circumstances of their convoluted path to engagement.
Shweta leaned back in her