Don didn’t stop frowning the whole time. Eventually he said
Don:Taking you with me was a mistake.I should have known better after what happened last time with Pierre.
She stood silent. She knew she was indirectly responsible for both incidents
Swara:I’msorry
His reaction took her by surprise as he chuckled
Don: Don’t be. It’s not your fault you’re gorgeous. Men can’t help but react to you.
She stared out the window. Don reached to grab her hand and caressed it
Don:Where should we have lunch?
Swara:Aren’t you mad at me?
He frowned smilingly
Don:I told you I wasn’t. I’m still a little tensed.I’ll blow it off…
She couldn’t help but smile widely. But not just because he was flattering her, but because he wasn’t upset with her.
Don:You didn’t answer me
Swara:Hm?
Don:Lunch
Swara:Oh. I don’t care. Anywhere will do.
and after a pause she said
Swara:Actually let’s go to SAM’s(karan’s pet name)
Don looked amused
Don:Kyon?
Swara shrugged
Swara:I like them. And last time we had lunch with them it was all awkward
Don frowned smilingly and made a call
Don:Sam, apparently Swara would prefer it if we all had lunch together. Is your place alright?
Swara could hears Karan’s excited tone
Don:Tikhe. We’ll arrive shortly
_______
A smiling Karan opened the door, holding Maya
Karan:Yana, they’re here!
Yana stepped out of the kitchen
Yana:I’m sorry, I’ll be just with you.
Swara smiled
Swara: Let me help, actually
Yana tried to refuse but swara
insisted. As she walked over to the kitchen she looked back at Don and saw him take Maya into his arms.
Swara:I’m sorry it’s on such short notice. I didn’t realize the trouble I’d be putting you through
Yana smiled
Yana:That’s alright, I’m glad you came. Karan is very fond of Don, and as you can see Maya is too. She loves playing with him
Swara:Really?
She giggled
Yana:No, seriously, he’s great with her. Actually it was Don that made her walk her first steps towards him
Swara grinned widely
Swara:I can’t believe it!
Yana grinned back
Yana:He’s a good man. It took me a while to understand the way he is. But I can see he cares about Sam a lot. Business is business but he’s always been so kind to him
Swara:That’s not something usual for Don
Yana:Yes, I know, Sam has told me a bit about his past. At first when I found out I was angry with him. I didn’t like him doing anything illegal. He now has his own business as well, in software engineering. But he’s in the this one as well with Don because he wants to, and now he’s equally passionate about it.
Swara watched Yana as she spoke while cooking
Swara:What are you cooking, anyway? Smells great
Yana:Tandoori chicken
Swara:Really? Sam taught you?
Yana giggled
Yana:Don did actually. It’s his favorite dish.
Swara just couldn’t believe this was Don Yana kept talking about.She’d found out so many new things about him since she arrived just minutes earlier.
Yana:Go hang out with the guys, I’m almost done here
Yana winked at her and Swara smiled and complied When she entered the living room, Maya was straddling Don’s shoulders, holding on tight to his hair as the two men were discussing something.Swara couldn’t help but giggle and Don looked up at her amused as well.
Karan:I’m sorry Swara, but there’s another woman that has got Don wrapped around her finger.
Sam laughed and Swara followed and Don just smiled showing his dimples.
When Yana entered with the tandoori chicken she placed it on the dining table rapidly and went to retrieve her daughter
Yana:Maya! Sam, don’t let her trouble him like that
Don:It’s alright.
Don said sweetly, almost as if he was sorry she had taken the little girl away They all sat at the dining table and Maya was watching cartoons sitting on her dad’s knee as he was holding her with one hand, and eating with the other. Swara noticed it was Tom and Jerry and she stole glimpses of Don watching as well rather than paying attention to the conversation.
Yana:I heard things didn’t work out today.
Yana said as she noticed Don wasn’t really paying attention, as well Swara sighed
Swara:Yes… it was a misunderstanding really.
but she stopped as she noticed Sameer elbow Yana slightly
Swara:Doesn’t matter
she smiled
Don:I almost killed the imbecile
Don stated still watching Tom and jerry Yana looked down at her plate and Swara could tell she was feeling sorry to have brought it up.Then Don resumed his eating and Maya started grumbling noticing Don wasn’t watching with her anymore.He wiped his mouth and hands and took Maya on his lap
Don:Is this too spicy for her?
Don asked Yana
Yana:Give her just some chicken.
she smiled Swara watched Don attentively as he picked a piece of his chicken and made sure it wasn’t dressed in the spicy sauce and fed Maya delicately. She just looked at him in awe, not believing what she was witnessing. Maya looked very pleased to be fed by Don
Don: Want some more?
Maya nodded bouncing on his lap and Don leaned in
Don:Give uncle a kiss.
She complied and Don chuckled giving her some more.Swara’s heart melted and couldn’t believe this was the very man that almost killed Victor a couple of hours back.
On the way back to the penthouse apartment Swara couldn’t stop picturing Don holding Maya and feeding her, so… fatherly. She had never seen this side to him, she never even imagined he’d be so good with kids.
Don:You’re awfully silent
Don pointed out Swara pretended to be offended
Swara:What’s that supposed to mean? Am I chatty otherwise?
Don chuckled
Don:Quite. But I like that about you. Reminds me of a poem I once read…
“A chatterbox you were since small With overmuch to tell,Yet I had felt, in spite of all,We’d suit each other well”
he looked at her and flashed one of his seductive smiles along with his deep dimples. Swara couldn’t help but smile back
Swara:What is it with you and poetry?
Don frowned questioningly
Don:Matlab?
Swara: I mean I never would have guessed you’d be into poetry.
Don: why is that?
Swara paused as she really didn’t have a response to that
Swara:You’ve been reciting a lot of poetry. Are they all poems you’ve read
After a rather long break he said
Don:Actually, this is the first one I’ve quoted.
She gasped even though she had expected them to be his own
Swara:You mean to say you wrote all that?
Don stole a glimpse to see her reaction but he just looked at her as in in deep thought then looked back at the road.
Swara:Is it like… impromptu or do you write it somewhere?
Don:Some of it is impromptu, some I’ve written before.
he said matter of factly He stole a glimpse again and added
Don: While thinking about you, of course.
She just blushed and sank into her seat and went back to being quiet for the rest of the drive. Later that night Swara was busying herself while Don was working out. She knew he hit the gym as soon as he got home as she stole a glance of him wearing just a pair of shorts and his trainers, his ponytail resting on top of the towel he placed over his shoulders.
Her mind raced wandering what she could gift him for his birthday the following day. Don was turning 34. She couldn’t believe the man she had just seen half naked walk past the bedroom doorframe was 34.It wasn’t possible.
“What kind of sorcery is this?” she wondered half smiling. Of course she had a gift in mind but it felt too soon. She was afraid. She was unsure. She was inexperienced and he was certainly overly experienced. She sighed.
Why did it have to be so difficult? Why couldn’t they gave just met in the park and go on a date, dinner and a movie maybe and then he would walk her home a few nights in a row and finally kiss her on her porch and then they’d have been dating for a few months and finally be so in love with eachother that it would just come naturally…
but then she smiled and thought that she was being so silly. She knew she wouldn’t have fallen for that guy. She had fallen for Don precisely because he was the way he was. And she was falling deeper and deeper in love with him.She decided not to snoop around as he could get back any minute and the previous experience had really taught her a lesson. So she went to his study and looked at his bookshelf.