nicer when Rhiannon and Katrina played her friends and not her big sisters. She had enough of those, and they made her feel foolish on a regular basis. She didn’t need her friends to do the same. “I know you think I don’t have very good judgment, but this catfishing incident notwithstanding, I think my instincts have served me pretty well.”
Rhiannon looked immediately apologetic, which made Jia feel a little bad. “Of course. It’s not that I think you have bad instincts, only that you’re a little sheltered and naïve when it comes to men.”
Jia nodded. “That’s probably true. But I suppose the best way to learn is to try and to fail, right? It’s like peach blush.”
“What?”
“Peach blush. It was the it color for last summer, right? So I kept trying to make it work. Only it made me look sallow and I finally learned.” Jia snapped her fingers. “But I wouldn’t know peach blush was bad for me if I hadn’t tried it and failed. Does that make sense?”
Rhiannon laughed. “Only you would compare men to blush palettes.”
“It was a shade, not a palette,” Jia corrected gently. It wouldn’t do to have her roommate out there spreading misinformation.
Rhiannon’s lips twitched. “Gotcha.”
“Anyway, I have to head to my studio. Got some filming to do.” And she had to brainstorm some more content, maybe something she could do with perky little Harley to pull in the youths.
“It’s all about the views.”
Right. Which was what she was going to remember, no matter how much she trusted Dev. It was all about the views, and her future. A future that didn’t include a man she barely knew, even if he made her tummy flutter when he said her name.
Chapter Twelve
JIA HADN’T really registered much about Dev’s home when she’d dropped him off, but now that she wasn’t rushing to get him home to his sick niece, she could see it wasn’t nearly as nice a place as she imagined a Bollywood dynasty member might live in. Oh, it was a good location and had decent security, but given what she knew about his family, he could probably easily afford a Malibu mansion.
She’d considered waiting downstairs or calling to let him know that she was there, but then she remembered how he’d picked her up from her door, and she parked in visitor parking. The security guard took her name and let her up with a smile and directions.
She knocked, then realized there was a doorbell. She started to reach for it when the door swung open.
The picture hadn’t done Dev’s niece justice. The young teen was taller than Jia, and wildly beautiful. Her hair was shorter now than it had been in the photo, and the look suited her, made her riotous curls pop. She wore black jeans and a T-shirt, both ripped and ragged looking, but in that way only expensive rips and ragged hems could look. Her skin was a deep, dark brown and glowed from health and good genes. Her lashes were naturally long, her face round and sweet.
Jia shifted when the girl continued to stare at her in silence, her mouth slightly agape. “Hi. I’m Jia. I take it you’re Luna?”
The child swallowed. “Yes. You know who I am?”
“Sure thing. Your uncle showed me a picture.” Jia had originally started vlogging for the twentysomethings like herself, but her demographic spanned from ages ten to eighty-three. It had been odd in the beginning, meeting people who watched the nonsense she performed in her bedroom, but now that it was more like a business, it was less weird.
Still, her hands were a little sweaty, meeting Dev’s niece, though she wasn’t sure why. When they continued to stand there, Jia took control. “May I come in?”
Luna shook her head. “Oh. Oh yes! Of course.” She took a step back.
“Thank you.” Jia slipped her shoes off without being asked to, next to the other two pairs that were right by the door.
“Luna? Did you get the door?” An older man came into view. He stopped when he saw her. “Oh.”
Jia inclined her head. “Hello.”
“You must be Jia.” A smile split his still smooth face. “I am Dev’s uncle, Adil.”
Jia’s shoulders immediately relaxed. There was something so kind and welcoming about Dev’s uncle’s manner. “Assalamu Alaikum, Uncle.”
He placed his hand on his chest. “Walaikum Assalam. Come in, come in. Dev is getting dressed, but please come wait in the kitchen. Luna, why don’t you go tell your kaka his friend is here?”
Luna nodded