other side without protest, and opened his arms. She flowed right into them and twined her legs with his hairier ones. “What?” His chest rumbled.
She stuck her thumb over her shoulder. “What’s the deal with the skin care stuff? It’s too much of a coincidence that we like the same exact products, right?”
The room was dim, but it couldn’t hide his ruddy cheeks. “Ah. I bought whatever you recommended online. It got to be a habit.”
Jia rolled her lips in tight. It wouldn’t do for him to think she was laughing at him. “That’s adorable.”
“It is?” His shoulders lowered. “Oh good. I just realized it might seem a little stalker like.”
“Oh, if you weren’t so handsome and talented and married to me, it might be. Context really is everything.” She snuggled deeper in his arms, sleepily smiling when he kissed her forehead. “Hope you used my affiliate links.”
He pulled her close, spooning her tight. They lay in silence for a little bit, and though Jia wasn’t a huge fan of silence, it felt rather right here.
“Any regrets?” Dev asked.
“About the sex?”
“About anything.”
“Nope.”
He stroked her arm. “Can you stay the night?”
She paused. Boy, they really hadn’t talked about important stuff. Here they were married, and he was asking if they could have a sleepover. But instead of delving into things like their future living situation, she kept it light. “I’d like that.”
He rolled her over. “Good. We’ll order dinner in ten minutes.”
It turned into an hour, but she didn’t mind.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
UNTIL HE’D lived with Luna and his uncle, Dev had never really been eager to get home. Home had just been a place to sleep. After only a couple of days married to Jia, though, Dev found himself counting the minutes until he could leave the set.
While he waited for production to wrap he scrolled through the photos of the house his real estate agent had sent him. The flat was fine for now, but they needed more room. He was loath to touch his grandfather’s money, but he had enough saved on his own that he could manage a decent house.
“Hey, man, congratulations.”
Dev lowered his phone and smiled at Hudson. He’d been fielding congratulations all day. Paparazzi had been camped outside his building since the news of his wedding had “leaked,” but he and Jia had managed to dodge them.
The surprise wedding had caused a small stir, but not nearly of the same magnitude as the engagement. Unless Jia’s waistline started expanding soon, the media would eventually lose interest. It would be nice to settle into marriage with some degree of normalcy.
“Thank you.”
Hudson dropped into the seat next to him. “You should have said something. Can’t believe we found out about your marriage from the gossip sites.”
Chandu had released a statement, along with one of their wedding photos. In it, he’d been looking down at Jia while she gazed bashfully at the floor. He’d wanted to choose one of the photos where they’d been smiling and laughing, but his agent had assured him the one they’d run would get better press.
Whatever. He was more concerned about the fact that Jia still hadn’t moved in. He’d brought up a potential living arrangement and she’d vaguely said something about not being in a hurry. He didn’t want her to think he was in a hurry! So he’d dropped the topic like a hot potato. She could keep ferrying clothes back and forth from her home, and they could decide at a later date what they’d do long-term. In the meantime, he’d keep looking for houses that would suit them. “Apologies, it was a sudden decision, and a private affair.”
“I understand, totally. The engagement sounded sudden, too.” Hudson paused, like he thought Dev might give him some dirt. When he remained quiet, the other man tossed his blond hair. “I had no idea what a big deal you were until that story broke, by the way. I thought you were a big fish in a little pond, but there you were, on supermarket tabloids, no less.”
Dev raised an eyebrow at the edge in his costar’s tone. “Are you saying India—the country—is a little pond?”
“You know what I mean.”
“Not really. There’s literally billions of us.” He gestured at the set, and Kalpana the makeup artist, who wasn’t far away. “And that’s not counting the entire diaspora.” He downplayed his fame out of humility and to distance himself from his family, but this golden child’s condescension was annoying. “I was the lead of the top