First Comes Like (Modern Love #3) - Alisha Rai Page 0,53

and left, casting inscrutable glances over her shoulder at Jia. Jia scoped out the place while she trailed behind Adil. She only caught a glimpse of the living room before she entered the kitchen. “You’ve really decorated in the little time you’ve been here,” she remarked to Adil.

“It came furnished,” he said. “I am hoping Dev finds a more permanent place soon. This kitchen is fine, but I would prefer more counter space.”

Jia glanced around the kitchen. It was as generic as her staged apartment’s kitchen, but here there was the delicious smell of food cooking, as well as reminders and recipes tacked up on the stainless steel fridge. It was a family kitchen. “It’s nice.”

“Are you hungry? Luna asked for rotis.”

“No, thank you. There will be food at this event.”

Adil nodded. “Please, sit down. Would you like a drink? Let me get you a glass of water.”

Since he’d said it as a statement, not a question, she figured she’d get that water whether she wanted it or not. She took the seat he indicated, at the high countertop, and accepted the water. “Dev didn’t mention that his uncle lived with him.” She immediately wondered if that had come out wrong, but Adil only smiled cheerfully.

Adil returned to his floured work surface and rolled a section of dough into a ball. “I only came to live with him when his brother passed. My wife is gone, as well. It made sense, for two bachelors to be together. Besides, he needed help with Luna. His shooting schedule can be wild.”

There was so much loss in Adil’s voice. “I’m so sorry to hear about your wife. And your nephew.”

Sorrow darkened Adil’s eyes for a second. “We must treasure the time we have. I always felt bad I missed so much of Dev’s life when he was young. I thought it might be nice to return to India for a while. Imagine my surprise when he brought me right back to America.”

“You’re from here?”

Adil brightened, and he rolled out the roti. “In New York. For almost thirty years.”

The way he said it, the way all New York City people said it, made it clear what part of New York he’d lived in. “I’m from upstate.” She was actually from western New York, not upstate, but city folk usually only differentiated between them and everyone else.

“We were neighbors! Small world, yes?”

There was something so hypnotizing about the capable way he handled the rolling pin. “Very small.”

He flipped the roti to the hot pan. “I am aware of the circumstances around yours and Dev’s meeting, Jia.”

So much for her relaxed shoulders. “Oh.”

He cast her a sympathetic glance. “I want to apologize for Rohan and his cousin. I cannot begin to guess what they were thinking. I am glad Dev is making it up to you with an outing tonight.” Adil smiled. “How nice it would be if a friendship could emerge from this mess.”

She busied herself by taking a sip of water. “Yes. Thank you.” She hoped that was all Dev had told his uncle about tonight. Bad enough that anyone else knew about the catfishing; she didn’t want needs a pretend suitor stamped on her list of flaws, too. “It is nice, I suppose.”

Adil slid the roti off the pan onto a plate, buttered it, and placed it in front of her. “Here, eat. You don’t know what they could be serving at this place.”

Jia was too nervous to be hungry, but she didn’t want to insult Dev’s uncle, so she obediently took a bite.

“Jia, you’re early.”

Jia looked up and promptly choked on her roti. She gasped and coughed, even when Adil leaned over to wallop her on her back. She picked up her water and chugged it, then wiped away the tears that had come from her coughing fit. Thank goodness she’d worn waterproof mascara.

While she’d been sputtering, Dev had come to stand a foot or two away from her. He eyed her with concern. “Are you okay?”

She waved his thoughtfulness away. “I’m fine.” Only she was not fine.

He was wearing jeans.

And they looked good on him. Real good. Choke on a roti good.

She’d thought he looked nice in a suit? The denim hugged his thighs and made him even taller. His T-shirt was still a crisp white, but it was definitely more casual than she’d seen him in before, and it revealed his surprisingly muscular biceps.

Jia jerked her eyes to his. She couldn’t be trusted to not look at his butt, and