Arranged by the Stars (12 page)

Even before she said her
next words Ash knew the world as she knew it was about to come
apart all around her. Her fingers squeezed Kieran’s weakly in an
unspoken apology.

This was a
business deal and in no way real for him. His gaze found hers and
she saw the confusion and the question. She wasn’t sure if he saw
her mouth—
I’m sorry.

“
Alok is
parking the car. He shouldn’t be too long.” Sushi smiled. The
dismissive gaze was cunning and clearly screamed,
you-may-leave-now. “Alok is Ash’s future husband. Their marriage
has been arranged for some time now.”

Those words
kept replaying in his mind.
Their marriage
has been arranged for some time now.
Kieran couldn’t leave that room fast enough. Not even the
soft sound of Ash’s plea to stay could stop him moving towards the
door and the exit sign.

The lack of a tie didn’t
stop him from pulling at his collar and dragging long painful
breaths. How could she be marrying someone else? His clenched fist
rubbed against the sore spot on his chest. Could she have been that
good an actress?

He pushed
open the glass door with such force he was shocked it didn’t break
as it swung back into place. His gaze roamed around the large car
park.
Who is he? Which of the men walking
up to the hospital was Alok?

His fingers combed
through his hair as he walked towards his car. Arranged marriage?
It didn’t make sense when it came to a free spirit like Ash. But it
made even less sense for him to have feelings for someone he barely
knew.

His shoulders dropped and
he relaxed his arms and uncurled his fists. This was an
arrangement. Ash was nothing more than a pretend bride-to-be.
Nothing more. Inside his chest, he felt something snapped. His chin
dropped.

Then why was his world
suddenly smaller?

It took him a full minute
before he realised he was frozen still. He looked down at his
watch. With all the time he’d been spending with Ash, his
responsibilities at the clinic had lapsed. He glanced back at the
hospital. For Ash, he’d let his billion-dollar company lapse. Or he
would have. Until now.

Three hours later he was
showered, shaved and already seeing his second patient out the
clinic door. Jess handed him the next patient file and his coffee.
He wrapped his hand around the lukewarm mug. Ash hadn’t passed on
her secret to a good cup of coffee to the rest of the
staff.

“
You have
some time between patients, Kieran, take your coffee into the
staffroom and relax.” Jessie said taking her seat behind the
reception desk.

Why could no one
understand that he didn’t want to be here playing doctor when this
place reminded him of a green-eyed wench? Every part of this place
was ingrained with some part of her essence and how she changed his
life.

“
How’s Ash?”
Latha came and stood next to him, she spotted his coffee and
smiled. “Great idea, I need a break too. Let’s have a quick ten
minutes and you can tell me about Ash and how her recovery is
going.”

Giving him no choice,
like she would when they were younger, she pulled his arm and
tugged him towards the staffroom. “So I hear she’s awake and doing
well.”

His shoulders dropped
back. There was no way he was going to be able to avoid this. “Yes,
she’s awake. Her aunt and fiancé are with her.”

Latha opened the fridge
and poured milk into her coffee. “Maybe I should go and rescue her
after my shift. She will be in hell.”

He shrugged trying to
feel the same empathy for the person he thought he knew. “I am sure
Alok will keep her entertained.”

This time Latha whipped
around and gave him a jaundiced look that reminded him of the
really-Kieran looks he got from Ash. “What?”

“
Men are such
idiots sometimes.” Latha sat next to him and stirred the sugar into
her coffee.

“
Says the
qualified doctor who thought it would be a good idea to get mixed
up with drug dealers.” If someone wrote a manual, which was a
step-by-step guide to figuring out woman, they’d become a
billionaire in their own right.

Latha lifted her chin and
for the first time he saw her pain. “The day Johnny died, I lost
the man I loved and my best friend. One maybe I could handle, but
both―”

Kieran shifted
uncomfortably in his chair. He was so wrong to flee because he
couldn’t handle the stress and he owed her an apology for that. “I
shouldn’t have left you. I’m sorry.”

Latha placed her hand
over his. “We were young and hurting. We did stupid things. We’re
not young or stupid anymore though.”

Kieran met her gaze and
his throat closed. He knew the conversation had changed and she
wasn’t talking about them anymore, but she didn’t understand
anything. How could she? She hadn’t been here for the last few
weeks. She didn’t know what his life was like. “Some things can’t
be changed.”

She sighed and took her
hand away. “Can they not, Kieran?”

*****

Ash hadn’t seen him in
days, but she could swear that she dreamed about him every night.
He’d be in her room. She knew it like she knew she was able to walk
down a walkway without tripping on high-heeled shoes. Knew it like
her heart was able to pump blood through her veins. It had to be
because each night, she’d wake and there would be the faint scent
of pine needles in the air. She knew it wasn’t the ghost of her
dream. Kieran was always near.

At least she
hoped.

She had to keep hope
because her aunt was now on a mission. As soon as she was
recovered, she was to be married. In three months to be exact.
Sushi had gone to see the priest and they were looking at the next
auspicious date. The day when the moon and stars align and Alok and
she could be together forever. It was out of her hands now. It was
up to the stars.

The large full moon
reminded her of the white plate her aunt chose for their wedding
reception. It left a dark shadow in the room that otherwise had a
perfect view of the moon and stars that were deciding her
destiny.

A tentative
knock on the door brought hope. Maybe Kieran finally understood and
came to visit. When she turned to see Julie Kanna, she blew a deep
breath. She straightened her spine.
If
only she’d give me a chance, I’m sure I can be as good as
Latha
. With a lot of effort and pain she
sat up straighter, and tried to smile. “Mrs Kanna, come in
please.”

Julie Kanna cautiously
entered and then her gaze roamed the room. “Are they giving you
something for the pain?”

Ash tucked her hair
behind her ear. Did she really look that bad? “Yes, but it still
hurts. They also tell me the bruising is from them trying to keep
me alive before they got me to hospital and it will fade. So it
must look worse than it is.”

Julie nodded and bowed
her head. “I’m sorry for all the distress our family has caused
you. Kieran has explained everything to us. You were very kind to
agree to do what you did for my husband. I behaved badly. I am
sorry.”

Ash shook her head.
“Please Mrs Kanna, don’t apologise. Kieran’s father reminds me of
my own father. I am glad he had the operation and I hope everything
works out.”

Julie turned to leave but
then stopped. “I was wrong about you. My son saw the good in you. I
think he cares for you. I know you are already spoken for and I am
sorry about that. I haven’t seen that sparkle in my son’s eyes in a
long―” She took her pallu and wiped her tears. “Actually, I’ve
never seen a sparkle in my son’s eyes. He was always reserved. I am
not sure he ever fell in love.”

Ash sat up straighter
hoping this wasn’t a dream. “I don’t understand.”

Julie took her hand.
“Sometimes mother’s don’t always know best. I know I cannot ask you
to change your mind about this marriage. My son tells me it has
been planned for a while, so you must have come to love him. That’s
how it works.” She turned to leave. “Take care.”

Ash watched the empty
space she’d stood in and wondered if the conversation had happened
or if it was a figment of her imagination. She let her head drop
back on her pillow and closed her eyes, wanting it all to go away.
It did for a while, until she got that familiar scent and her blood
fizzed and came to life. She sighed and whispered the name that was
in her heart and fell into a deep sleep.

A few hours later her
eyes opened and her gaze went to the recliner chair they had placed
in the room when she’d first been admitted. Slowly she shifted so
she could lie on her side and watch Kieran sleep with his hands
tucked under his head like a little boy. This explained the scent
of pine needles so strong in her room.

It didn’t explain what he
was doing here.

She found she didn’t care
until his eyes opened and he realised he was caught out.

“
How long
have you been awake?” he asked yawning as he lifted his head and
stretched out on the recliner.

Ash tried to do the same
but winced at the effort. “A few minutes.”

“
They must
have reduced your pain relief,” he went to the chart at the foot of
her bed and flipped through the chart.

So he’d been checking on
her. “How long have you been sleeping in my room?”

Without answering her
question he came over and sat next to her. Even in jeans and a
loose t-shirt he still was a larger than life entity in the
comfortably sized room. She had no right to have her heart shift
rhythms like she was about to free fall from one of those planes
she jumped out of when she was doing that charity event for Cancer
Kids. She was spoken for.

So why was she leaning
closer so she could close her eyes and relive that kiss on the
beach. The kiss that rocked her world and for a moment made her
forget she was in pain.

He tilted her head to one
side so he could see the bruise on her face. “You have an
impressive purple bruise there.”

Did he also feel that low
current energy flow when he touched her?

His gaze narrowed and the
pressure of his fingers on her chin increased ever so
lightly.

Was he going to kiss her?
She searched his gaze and realised there was nothing but the
unanswered question there. She bit back the sigh that stuck in her
throat. With no memory of how the bruise happened she nodded. “Yes,
I heard it’s an impressive bruise.”

“
You’re being
discharged today. You will need medical care even after your
discharge. Where will you be staying?” he asked.

It was scary that he
hadn’t mentioned anything about Alok or her aunt. Maybe he was
saving it for when she was at full strength. She nipped the edge of
her lip. “Didi is taking me back home. Flights are booked and I
leave this evening.”

He nodded. “We had spent
some time together but I don’t know a lot about you. Where is
home?”

It still hurt to swallow
but somehow this would have hurt anyway. “Alok has a one year
contract in New Delhi and we’ve pushed the wedding forward so Didi
wants me to move there.”

That vein at his jaw was
beating again and this time she wasn’t sure why. Dammit why didn’t
she have the courage to tell him about Alok? Was it too late? Maybe
if she told him how scared she was when she was growing up and how
easy it was to say yes when her aunt gave her the option of a
lifetime of security. A home. Surely he would understand something
like that?

He looked around the room
like he was searching for the exit sign. Moments passed as his
gazed bounced from the door to her, and when she thought she’d
lost, he went to stand at the window. His voice sounded gravelly
and she could swear he was forcing out the words. “I don’t think
you’ll be able to travel so soon after having surgery. You’ll also
need medical care. Maybe Alok needs to stay here with
you.”

“
Alok has
been made partner and it’s important he be at the firm right now.
He left two days ago. Didi can’t leave her business for too long. I
am strong enough to travel.”

His gaze met hers and for
the first time the brown depths darkened to such a colour it was
obsidian. Each step he took towards her stole oxygen from her lungs
and she straightened her spine in anticipation of his next
move.

“
For two
minutes you were not breathing.” He stopped in front of her, and
the air sucked out of the room. “For one minute and forty-five
seconds you had no heartbeat.”

The room had suddenly
become so compact that nothing else existed except the two of them
in a vacuum. She could feel the heat fall off him and her heart was
jumping against her chest in a frantic beat. Her lips quivered as
she tried to figure him out, and failed dismally. She had lied to
him, by omission, which was still a lie. She had tested the limits
with him in many ways. Yet he stood in front of her. “That meant I
was clinically dead, right?”

His gaze heated and all
she got for an answer was silence.