Arranged by the Stars (2 page)

Kieran slowly pulled his
hand away as he watched the monitor above his father’s bed. This
was his fault. He made himself unavailable. He hadn’t flinched at
the mention of Latha’s name. Now was not the time to find out why
she wasn’t here or why she hadn’t taken over the clinic.

The tap at the door made
him turn and he recognized the well-known cardiologist, from his
photo in medical journal articles. He rubbed his right arm as a
sensation of pins and needles flickered like a low current along
his arm.

Julie stood and greeted
the doctor and then introduced him as the cardiologist in charge of
his father’s care.

The long explanation the
man gave came down to one thing. His father was in critical
condition and needed surgery. He wasn’t strong enough to have it
now as he had a fever, but if he were to survive this, then he
needed to have surgery.

“
Ma, why
didn’t he have the surgery before, when this first happened?” the
muscles in his neck tightened and he reached over to massage away
the discomfort. There would be no convincing his mother of the
right thing to do. Like a dutiful wife she would go along with her
husband, and never question his decisions.

“
He had some
urgent business to take care of. He thought he could have
medication until things settled.” Julie clutched her husband’s hand
and looked from the cardiologist to her son stubbornly.

The cardiologist made a
few notes in the chart. “We will monitor him closely and as soon as
his fever breaks, I will speak to the anaesthetist. He needs this
surgery urgently. I can tell you with certainty that the drugs we
give him will not be as effective as going in and getting rid of
that clot while restoring blood supply to his heart.” Before he
left, the cardiologist had one more comment that hit Kieran with a
bolt of reality.

“
Your father
is in a critical condition and there is not much we can do but
wait. That is not new information to you. Make the best of this
time and be prepared of what is to come.”

Kieran’s arm grew numb
and no matter how much he rubbed, the dead sensation was impossible
to deal with. It had been years since he’d felt that dull ache in
his arm, which surprised him. That feeling was only there when he
tried to practice medicine. Kieran watched his mother pace a path
in the small room and he leaned against the wall. He was a stranger
in this room.

Julie brushed her
husband’s hair off his forehead and turned to her son.

“
Kieran,
don’t worry. You are here now, and everything will be okay.” Her
gaze held the adoration only a mother who believed she had a God
for a son would have.

He met his mother’s gaze
and dropped his chin. His father might not recover and his mother
would have to face that fact. Fast. There was no miracle cure and
the next twenty-four hours would be crucial.

Kieran looked around the
modest hospital room finding the air thick and stale. The room was
too white and without that hint of colour, it was too overpowering.
Although the monitors were placed on shelves, so the medical staff
could easily access them, the cords hung down like overgrown weeds
waiting to be clipped on a humid summer’s day.

The reality of this
situation, made his shoulders slump. Kieran shut his eyes, as the
room embalmed him with its sounds and smells. It was all too real
now that he was here.

With tired hands he
rubbed at his face. It was time to step up and do the right thing.
It was time to run the clinic even though it was his worst
nightmare. He couldn’t possibly fail his father this time. Not when
it was his fault he hadn’t seen this coming.

He took his father’s
hands in his and kissed him on his forehead. “Papa, I won’t let you
down.”

His mother tsked as she
stood next to him. “He is going to be fine and it will only be for
a while. You will manage with the clinic though, won’t you? If only
Latha were here it would have been so much better.”

The question stung. A
lot. “I can manage, Ma.” Kieran’s voice softened.

He’d given up practicing
medicine because of his failure. His insides raw from the friction
of emotion, he hadn’t been ready for the full impact of his
mother’s words. He couldn’t blame her for asking the question,
after all he never told his parents why he chose a different path
than the one he’d dreamed of all his life.

With a leaden heart he
turned to leave the room.

“
Excuse me,
Dr Kanna?”

He wasn’t ready to see
the high-heeled waitress with the dark hair standing in front of
him. For a moment he forgot about what lay ahead, and remembered
instead how green those eyes got when they sparkled.

He couldn’t understand
why she stood with both her hands on her hips, giving him a
narrowed glance that could only belong to a diva. He shrugged and
the corners of his mouth turned up. Who knew walking out on a
coffee bill would get him into this much trouble?

“
This is not
the time. Couldn’t you have charged it to the room?” Kieran Kanna’s
head lowered and she barely heard his next words. “Silly girl.
Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?”

Silly girl, my bloody—
Kicking her temper into gear, Ash flung out her arm, palm side up
with the blue box nestled safely in it. “I thought you might miss
this, so I cut my shift short, probably lost my job so that I could
return it to you. So yes, I thought you might be in the middle of
something,” her gaze went beyond him and into the room. “Just not
this.” He let out a small huff and had the decency to look
apologetic.

She froze to the spot
realising this was not a marriage proposal he’d been planning and
she’d walked into something a lot more serious. She took a step
back and the icy gaze from him made her stop. Another look around
the room made her want to apologise and leave. Inside the room were
an older couple, had to be his parents. The man who was an older
version of the man in front of her was ill. She jumped when the
monitor beeped and Kieran dropped his gaze. As the seconds became
more uncomfortable Ash scoured the room looking for another way
out.

The woman who had to be
Mrs Kanna gave her the top to toe look before sending her quizzical
gaze to her son. “I know you. You’re Ashwariya Kapoor, I’m correct,
aren’t I?”

Ash knew better than to
cringe or deny her past. Everyone in India knew her. If they knew
her then most likely they would know the scandal that followed her.
Her lips thinned and she straightened her spine. “Yes, I am.
Pleased to meet you.” She didn’t extend her hand for the niceties,
which was a good thing because silence was all she got in
return.

Kieran Kanna came closer,
and tugged at that too tight tie that she often had the urge to
pull off. The what-are-you-doing-here gaze he tagged her with made
her realise how inappropriate this visit was.

She had no right to be in
this room when his father was so obviously ill. “I’m
sorry.”

“
Kieran, why
is she here?” the older woman spoke in a husky whisper.

Pushing her hair off her
face, Ash wished she had thought this through. The room was getting
stuffy. As inappropriate visits went this was in her top five. She
thought about the blue velvet box in her hand and then looked at
the three people in the room. Definitely not the right time for
this. Slowly she backed out of the room, hoping that somewhere
there would be a portal that could open up and swallow
her.

When her gaze settled on
Kieran’s, she froze feeling all the air sucked out of her. The
darkness in those eyes sent a sliver of ice down her back and the
bumps on her skin lifted. Wow. What was it about men in suits which
made her all weak-kneed and floaty?

His gaze drifted from his
mother to her. “I don’t know exactly.” Kieran’s voice was so soft,
it scared her.

He fixed his gaze on her
in a thoughtful way that made her heart kick up a notch. What was
he up to? She swallowed.

“
Ma, stay
with Papa. I need to speak to Ashwariya, and when I get back we can
talk about the clinic.”

Seizing her chance, Ash
bolted from the room. She had watched a scary movie once and it was
called Jekyll and Hyde. The plot was very much like this one. There
was a very good chance she could wake up dead tomorrow. Hold on,
that didn’t sound right. You can’t wake up dead, right? She was
losing it.

“
Ashwariya,
wait.” Kieran was gaining on her.

The doors to the lifts
ahead were closed. There was no escape. She turned as he grasped
her arm, and she realised she hadn’t given him his ring back.
Stopping awkwardly, he prevented her from tipping backwards by
holding tighter onto her arm. He didn’t exactly look like a creepy
murderer but one never knew.

She raised her chin until
her eyes met his. Ash always thought he looked ridiculous in his
silk suits when she waited on him. Would that be the Mr Hyde
character? They were in Goa and yet he wore suits and silk ties.
Was that how he lured his victims to his room? She tried to think
of any news headlines with missing girls or bodies found minus
their heads.

“
Why do you
have to wear such ridiculously high shoes? As waitress they could
get you killed.” He still held onto her arm although she was in no
danger of falling.

Her skin tingled from his
touch and she had to look down to make sure it was his fingers that
singed her and not some magical weapon in his hands. “I wear them
for the same reason you wear your ridiculous suit in tropical Goa.”
When his gaze went from his suit to her in confusion she shook her
head. “Because I can. My name is Ash, no one calls me
Ashwariya.”

He let go of her arm and
watched her. “You could have returned the ring to me later or given
it in to the hotel.”

Even billionaires were
made with the stupid gene. “How was I to know you weren’t about to
propose to the woman of your dreams, and find that you’d lost the
ring? You’d be there on bended knee, putting you hand in your
pocket and then realise it’s empty.”

His lips
lifted at the corners and she couldn’t help but admire the effect.
He was one of those charismatic people. At least that’s what her
aunt used to call them. People you would see in the street and just
watch them and say, ‘
Stand there and let
me watch you forever.’

“
You’re a
romantic,” he said.

Wrong again. “I don’t
believe in love and happily after, but that doesn’t mean you can’t
have yours.” She handed him the box.

She saw the vein in his
neck go taut and wondered about the woman this ring was meant
for.

Without another word he
took the box from her and flipped it open. “It’s there. Nice size
stone, although I prefer sapphires to diamonds.” She craned her
neck to admire the large set diamond nestled in the box. “You know
you could feed a small country with that somewhere in the world.”
She laughed thinking about the times she had to talk about world
peace and saving the world when she didn’t know what it really
meant to do so.

“
With those
eyes I would have thought you’d prefer emeralds.” He cocked his
head and she couldn’t be sure he was flirting.

Ash felt a flutter in her
chest. “That’s probably one of the cheesiest pick up lines I’ve
heard.”

His cheeks flushed. “I
didn’t mean it like that. Your eyes reminded me of
emeralds―”

She laughed at how
uncomfortable he was. “You are quite the charmer. I still prefer
sapphires. Ever since Prince Charles gave Lady Diana those
sapphires, I don’t know why but I prefer them.”

He was quiet and looked
down at the ring in the box. “And you say you’re not
romantic.”

“
Kieran? Are
you getting married?” his mother had followed them.

They turned together to
face her and ended up bumping heads in a not so attractive
way.

“
Ouch.”
Holding her head like she’d been hit by a rock she elbowed
Kieran.

“
Ma, what are
you doing here?” Kieran tucked Ash neatly behind him as he faced
his mother.

Mrs Kanna reminded her of
her sixth grade teacher. She was as sharp as a tack and could tell
before you opened your mouth if you were about to lie. Back in
school there were bets her teacher might have been psychic, she was
that good.

Kieran pulled at that tie
and Ash grunted. Men were so foolish sometimes. She reached across
and removed his tie, as his mother’s gaze widened.

She swallowed and Ash
knew she’d crossed a boundary. Again.

“
Your father
would want to know what’s going on when he wakes. So I came to see
what’s happening.” She turned to Ash, “Kieran, when were you going
to tell us? Is she the reason you came to Goa this time instead of
sending someone like you usually do? Is this the real reason you
are willing to stay for a while and work in the clinic?” She turned
to Kieran. “Will she work there with you?”

This was getting
interesting. Dr Kanna who was normally cool and so in control was
flustered and as red as a tomato.