1.

Three months later Eliza looked around her restaurant in awe. Happiness and pride surged through her every time she was here. It was her dream and she had fulfilled it. AquaNox was solely her baby. She had planned and designed it from scratch. Compliments were pouring in and the reviews were fantastic. The restaurant was booked fully for the next three weeks and there was a long waiting list even against last minute cancellations. She smiled in delight. The journey had been hard but she had succeeded. Things were looking good now. Today of all days, she missed her parents and her grandmother. They would have been proud of her and of everything she had accomplished. She looked up at the sky for a second, assured they were smiling at her from the stars. It had been an uphill task taking over their fledgling restaurant business after her grandmother’s death. But she was succeeding, finally.She went to the hostess desk at the entrance and scanned through the guest list for the rest of the evening. As her eyes ran through the long list of names, pausing over some she recognized, her heart skipped a beat when she read his name. She scanned the rest of the list, but her eyes were drawn back to the name that had caught her attention earlier. “I have a reservation? A table for two?” A silken voice spoke in front of her. A tremor ran down her spine. “Under what name, sir?” she heard the hostess ask. “Charley,” he replied. God! This couldn’t be happening. She had avoided him for so long and now fate again had caught her off balance and thrown him straight in her path, when she least expected it. She wasn’t prepared for this chance encounter. To be honest, she would never be prepared. Eliza lifted her head. He hadn’t seen her. He was scanning the decor with a bored look on his face. A look of someone used to dining at exclusive places. She took her time assessing him, her eyes drinking him in; after all, she hadn’t seen him in three months. He was so tall that even in her high heels she had to tilt her head up to look at him. With a golden complexion, high cheekbones, a straight patrician nose and eyes the color of dark chocolate, he was any woman’s fantasy man. His dark hair was stylishly cut, though it was longer than usual. It had a ruffled look, like some woman had lovingly run her hands throughit. His face, as always, hinted of the perpetual five o’clock shadow, like he couldn’t get a clean shave no matter how hard he tried. He was a disturbingly attractive man and what set him apart was his killer smile. He had that slight cleft in his chin that became more pronounced when he smiled. The inveterate charmer that he was, Charley bestowed that smile on her hostess and the poor girl fumbled and stammered as she replied to him. He was dressed flawlessly, as usual in a dark formal business suit, white shirt and patterned tie that showcased his perfectly well toned body. She knew first-hand how well defined his chest was and how his narrow waist tapered into flat abs. She had traced those carved abs with her hands and mouth. Every detail of his body was etched in her brain. Her breath hitched and she put a deliberate freeze on her mind. One look and everything about him had come crashing back. She was so annoyed with herself. A woman’s voice interrupted her assessment, “What’s taking you so long?” Before she could turn to see who had spoken, he pivoted. His eyes met hers and try as she might, Eliza couldn’t move her gaze away from him. Charley turned his face and stilled. Their eyes met and recognition hit him like a blow to his gut. Eliza! Bold, beautiful, calm and so confident! Charley had often wondered about this, imagined what their encounter would be like after...Shaking his head, he refused to let his mind take that direction right now. He was out on a very important date, one that could decide his future and he didn’t want to get distracted. Eliza, however, didn’t bother to acknowledge him but continued to plainly stare at him. He opened his mouth to break the awkwardness between them but the cold look in her eyes made him pause. Her outward calm was betrayed by the fury blazing in her eyes. He continued to stare at her and she gave him an icy look in return. “I thought you had booked us a private corner,” Eliza heard the woman with Charley say. She turned to look at her and her eyes widened a fraction when she realized that the woman with Charley was Natasha Arya, a popular socialite and heiress. Natasha frequently graced the pages of several society magazines. But looking at her, Eliza realized that the magazines didn’t do her justice. She was even more stunning in reality. She looked exotic with glowing skin, dark eyes and a small nose. Her poker straight hair was stylishly cut short to frame her face. She was dressed in a short black, strappy dress and had an air about her that clearly showed that she knew her place in the upper echelons of society. She was tall, almost as tall as Charley in her high heels and they looked fantastic together. She had heard the rumors about them. There was talk that Natasha may become a permanent fixture in Charley ’s life. Although Eliza hadn’t seen him or spoken to him in three months, they still had a lot of common friends and she had heard through them that Charley was considering marrying Natasha. She also knew that Natasha was the only woman who had ever held his heart, and now they were back together. In spite of knowing all this, Eliza was unable to prevent the small shard of jealousy that pierced her heart on seeing them together. Eliza saw Charley look at Natasha He could almost hear her the wheels turning in her head as she made the obvious connection. There were so many things that he wanted to say to Eliza, but now was not the right time. Would there ever be a right time? There never had been and there never would be, he told himself. From the back recesses of his mind, he heard Natasha call his name. When he didn’t reply, she shook him slightly, “Charley?” she said again. It took a moment for him to regain his senses. He turned his attention back to the hostess and asked, “What’s going on?” Apparently, there was some mix up and the table reserved for them was in the indoor section and not in the outdoor area like Natasha wanted. Eliza silently watched Natasha giving her head hostess a hard time. She quickly scanned the list again. “You can give them that one, with the sea view,” Eliza instructed the hostess.The hostess replied, “But, Eliza, that one is booked for...” “It’s okay, I’ll handle it,” Eliza responded, understanding what the girl was telling her. “Well, you better. Obviously, you people have made a mistake and you ought to rectify it. Lucky for you that you found a place for us or else it would not have gone well on your record if we had to leave unhappy,” Natasha remarked coldly. Charley saw Eliza digest the cold tone in which she was spoken to. Her forehead creased and her mouth opened to reply to Natasha’s comment. But then she changed her mind. Her face cleared and she addressed Natasha in a very calm tone, “My apologies, we’ll ensure that this won’t happen again. Enjoy your meal.” And without a second glance at him, she moved away, leaving the hostess to guide them to their table. Charley was impressed with the restaurant. Being an owner of several world-class hotels, he had an eye for detail and decor and this place was fantastic. He loved the way the owner had converted this old sea-facing villa into a quaint restaurant. Soft lights drifted everywhere and the music outside was just right for an evening out for dinner. The indoor area was separated from the outdoor by glass enclosures. Each time the glass doors to the inside opened, he could hear some of the louder music that was being played. He had heard that the indoor section of the place was a lounge and allowed people to enjoy the latest music along with their food. He was surprised that Eliza had allowed them this table, considering he was well aware of what she felt about him. And this table obviously was one of the best in the restaurant. It was in a secluded corner shadowed by tall potted plants. He hadn’t seen her for so long and now knowing that she was around, close by, made him wish they had a table where he could see her properly. She obviously worked here, may be a manager, though come to think of it, he didn’t know what she did for a living. In all the months he’d spent wooing her, he hadn’t bothered to really get to know her. They had never gotten around to discussing their lives. She had mentioned that she was in the restaurant business but he hadn’t given it much thought then. Well, now he knew where she worked. This was a newly opened place so she must have recently joined. “Charley , what is wrong with you today?” Natasha complained. “You haven’t been paying me the slightest attention.” “Oh, Sorry! I’m just a bit preoccupied, that’s all,” Charley shook his head. He had to stop thinking about Eliza and pay attention to Natasha. After all he had brought her here with the intention to get to know her once again and to begin afresh. Charley had dated Natasha several years back when he was studying in London. He had bumped into her at a common friend’s party and her good looks and sharp confidence had blown him away. He remembered falling fast and hard for her. But to give himself credit, he had been very young then and had thought himself to be seriously in love with her. However, when he had wanted to make the relationship permanent, she had balked at the idea of settling down. She had wanted to enjoy life, which in her case had meant traveling and dating other men. She didn’t want to be tied down by a long-term commitment. Her ideas were at odds with his and he had called off their relationship, much to her protest. It hadn’t mattered to him that she had let everyone believe that she had broken up with him. But after her, he had never let any woman get close to him ever, never let any woman get under his skin, until he had met Eliza. However, whatever they had was over even before it had started. He had wanted it to be that way. He had ensured that Eliza was a closed chapter in his life. Now he had to think of the future and in all probability Natasha might be a part of it. Her father, Jiten Arya, was the owner of the Arya group of Hotels. Only recently, he had come to Charley with the proposition to take over all the Arya hotels. On further inquisition, Charley had found out that although the group was doing well, it needed a lot of restructuring and changes that Jiten Arya was not keen to take on. In his words, he was growing old and didn’t want the added responsibility of the hotels anymore. Hence, he was offering them to Charley , who he was sure was more than capable of doing what was necessary. Taking over the Arya chain of hotels would be quite beneficial for his own hotel group as the Aryas had converted several old palaces across India into resort hotels. Acquiring these hotels and adding them to his already successful chain would make his group the biggest in South East Asia. But the only hitch was that Jiten Arya wanted Charley to marry his daughter before the Sehgal group took over them. Jiten Arya was shrewd and calculating and Charley figured that offering his daughter to him on a platter also entailed that she got a direct connection to one of the top business families in the country, which was something Natasha would be proud to flaunt. The idea should have been enchanting, since Natasha was the only woman who he had ever been serious about, but somehow this time around, his heart wasn’t in it. Of course, he wanted the Arya Hotels added to his own, that’s why he was giving the idea some thought. However, the prospect of marrying Natasha now didn’t seem to have the same impact on him as it had before. In recent years, he had never thought of marriage in serious terms. He unquestionably didn’t want to fall in love, he didn’t believe in that anymore. But seeing his cousin Kabier and Kabier’s sister Sheena both get married recently and that too after falling in love, made him see how cynical he had become. He was happy for them, he truly was, but he knew that he would never allow himself to fall for a woman ever again. He had donethat once and had been sorely disappointed and hurt. He wasn’t going down that road again and hence Jiten Arya’s proposition was sounding more and more appealing. Charley knew Natasha quite well. They had a history together. Even though they had broken off years ago, they had been in touch intermittently, bumping into each other at some or the other social event. Her father had gotten them connected once again and no matter what the social rags said, he really wasn’t dating her. They had met once or twice and that was it. He had to make up his mind once and for all whether he wanted to marry her or not. Eyeing her now, he realized that she was as beautiful as always. She had a great body that she flaunted very well in her strappy dress that fit her perfectly. Her short hair was expertly cut and styled and that gave her a very western and modern appearance. He sighed. In spite of her gorgeous looks, he wasn’t attracted to her. In fact, he wondered how he had been so besotted by her at one time. She didn’t make his blood sing, and if he were being honest with himself then he couldn’t recollect if she had ever had that effect on him. What was wrong with him? He was out with a gorgeous woman on a date and instead of trying to rekindle the chemistry they had once shared, he had already concluded that there was nothing between them. He was crazy. That was just it. Seeing Eliza had thrown him off balance. Tuning back to the conversation with Natasha, he slowly sipped his wine, listening to her talk. He tried adding some intelligent remarks here and there, willing his mind not to get distracted again. He signaled a waiter to refill their drinks. As the waiter poured the wine in Natasha’s glass, she moved her hand suddenly to make a point and she knocked the wine bottle. The wine spilled on the tablecloth and also on her dress. Natasha shrieked and stood up. “What is the matter with you people? Aren’t you trained properly or do they hire you straight off the streets? Can’t you see what you’re doing?” She pointed towards her dress, “You’ve ruined my expensive dress.” She was creating quite a commotion when it wasn’t even the poor guy’s fault. Charley tried to intervene, “Natasha, it’s okay. Just calm down.” But she was in no mood to listen, she continued to rant and rave at the poor waiter, who stood still as a rock, looking around helplessly. Hearing the commotion from Charley ’s table, Eliza quickly made her way to it. The other patrons of the restaurant were staring at the table, everyone curious about the cause of the fuss. “What is the problem here?” Charley heard Eliza ask the waiter in a quiet voice. The waiter gave her a relieved look and started to immediately explain the situation. Eliza glanced at the table, immediately understanding what had happened and asked the guy to leave. Natasha, in no mood to cooperate, launched a tirade against Eliza. Eliza stood there, her arms folded, letting Natasha have her say. Feeling embarrassed, Charley said in a firm voice, “Natasha, it wasn’t his fault. So let’s not make a big deal out of it. Okay? Calm down. ” Turning to Eliza, he said, “I’m sorry. Can we get our dinner now?” Ignoring him, she nodded to a waiter standing next to her to serve them their food. She stood there, keeping a watchful eye while their food was served, just to ensure there was no repeat of any accident. Eliza could feel the beginning strain of a headache. Seeing Charley had upset her and then his spoilt date had made a fuss and created a scene, which wasn’t good for her business. She stood there silently, waiting until the waiter finished his job. Charley watched her overseeing their meal and let his eyes roam over her. She really was quite lovely. She had a subtle grace that had always made him want to look at her and keep looking, like he was now. He took in her face, the high forehead with delicately arched eyebrows, long curling eyelashes sheltering those beautiful hazel eyes that changed color from brown to green depending on her mood. A black liner boldly outlined her doe shaped eyes. Her lush lips were painted only with the slightest of color. On anyone else the nude color should have made them look less appealing, but on Eliza it looked gorgeous. It went perfectly with her flawlessly warm complexion that he knew was exactly the same from her forehead to her toes and all the way in between. Her dark straight hair fell down to her lower back. And she had clipped a few strands on the top of her head, leaving the rest of it loose and free flowing behind. He remembered their silken heaviness in his hands. She was dressed formally in a dark green shirt-dress, belted at her waist with a slim gold chain belt that showed off the narrowness of her waist and the long length of her legs. His gaze lingered on her exposed legs for a moment longer before he looked back into her eyes and found her watching him. She knew he was watching her, appraising her. He didn’t look away; he couldn’t escape the stormy gaze that was fixed on him. He had always been able to read her face very well, read her eyes that spoke her thoughts aloud for anyone who had the ability to read them and read them he could. He knew she was really angry and desperately wanted him to leave. Her gaze narrowed on him and her lips compressed. But the very next second, she turned her eyes away from him and dismissed him coldly. In that brief moment, his irritation rose swiftly. She was dismissing him like he was of no consequence to her. She was refusing to acknowledge him in any way. His normally dormant temper simmered. Even though he had deliberately stayed away from her for months, seeing her once again brought a startling clarity to his mind - time had done nothing to diminish the effect she had on him. He hated that she made him yearn, when he had buried all that he felt for her in the deepest part of him. And now she was ignoring him and he didn’t like it one bit. She hadn’t even spoken a word to him when he had apologized for Natasha’s behavior. He had no way of knowing if she still felt the same attraction that she had felt for him all those months back, the same attraction he felt rising within him once again. Would she still melt if he whispered into her ear or if he touched her? The urge to get a reaction out of her thrummed through his body. He saw the waiter come forward to help with the second serving. He put a hand out and stopped him. “Not you, I want her to do it,” he said, pointing at Eliza. Eliza stared at him aghast, her eyes burning with fury. What did he think he was doing? “But, Sir...” the waiter said. “I said, not you. Her,” Charley repeated firmly. The waiter looked from him to Eliza, the bowl of pasta in his hands. Quietly Eliza walked towards him and took the bowl out of the stunned waiter’s hands. Charley saw her expertly scoop the steaming pasta out of the bowl and into his plate, once and then twice. The third time she went to do it, he held her wrist to stop her. Eliza felt like she had been jolted with a high voltage electric current. Her eyes moved to Charley ’s and saw the same startled reaction mirrored there. His thumb delicately caressed the inside of her wrist, making her hand tremble. He stared into her stormy eyes and his lips curved in an arrogant smile. Charley was thrilled to know he could get this reaction from her, after all this time. So, no matter how calm and collected she appeared, he knew exactly how she felt in his presence. Reeling in anger at his audacity and his arrogance, Eliza tipped the pasta bowl slightly and the remaining contents of the bowl went down on Charley ’s lap, all over the napkin and on his trousers. The smug smile vanished from his face and he gave a pained expression, releasing her hand as the impact of the steaming hot food seeped through his clothes and burnt his skin. Natasha stood up, appalled. “I can’t believe she did that. It was deliberate. I saw it. I need to talk to someone in charge,” she yelled. Eliza saw Charley glowering at her while trying to clear the mess of his clothes. Turning to Natasha, she said, “You can talk to me, I’m in charge.” “Well, of all the... I am so going to get you fired. You incompetent idiot! I’m going to get this place shut down, you just wait and watch.” Eliza held her hand up, stopping Natasha with a glacial look. “Enough!” Eliza said. “You have caused a hell lot of trouble already tonight. So why don’t you two just do us all a favor and leave.” “You can’t throw us out. This was your fault. You don’t know who I am and what I can do. You won’t get a job anywhere in this city, once I’m done with you,” Natasha spat out, her lips twisted in disdain. Eliza’s eyes flared. She had had enough of this woman. “To begin with, you have created enough nuisance. Secondly, you are welcome to try your hand at all the threats that you’ve heaped my way, but I assure you that you won’t be able to touch me with a pole, let alone get me fired or get my restaurant shut. So save your empty threats for someone else.” She threw Charley a disgusted look and told him, “I’m sure you’ll pay your bill when you leave, Mr. Sehgal.” She signaled for the waiter to get them their bill and walked away, her head held high. The evening was a total loss, Charley thought as he drove Natasha back home. She had insisted on going to some other place to eat, but he hadn’t been interested in the least. The entire evening had been a disaster and he couldn’t go somewhere else with his clothes horribly messed up. He was still riling over how Eliza had treated him. She had thoroughly embarrassed him. But he had to accept he had deserved it. He had goaded her to serve him the food to provoke her into reacting and then he just didn’t know what had come over him. He remembered how he had held her wrist and caressed it. Oh hell! He still wanted her. This was not a good sign. He had avoided her like the plague for so long. And if she was angry with him earlier, then after tonight she’d probably never look at him again. Natasha broke into his thoughts. “Why in the world did you not say something? You let that girl throw us out of the restaurant. How dare she?” “Well, I guess we gave her ample opportunity to do that. You were creating an uproar back there,” Charley replied. “Me? She dropped the pasta on your lap? Why did you ask her to serve you in the first place?” Thankfully, without waiting for his reply, she continued, “I’m not going to let her get away with insulting us like this. I will find out who she is and get her fired.” “Eliza Deewan,” Charley said, “and she’s right, you can’t do a damn thing to her.” Natasha squinted her eyes. “What do you mean?” “She is very close to Janak Sehgal, my grandfather. In fact, she’s one of his angels.” “I don’t understand.” Charley let out an exasperated breath and started to explain. “You know my cousin Kabier, right?” Charley asked. “Yeah, he got married a few months back, didn’t he?” “Kabier’s wife, Keya, Kabier’s younger sister, Sheena and Eliza are best friends and they are very close to my grandfather. They are his angels or Janak’s angels as he calls them. So you see, as long as she has my grandfather protecting her, no one can do a thing to her. I suggest you drop the idea or it will leave you embarrassed.” “My God! You knew her all along.” “Hmm,” he said in response. “And yet you didn’t acknowledge each other. In fact, she was quite hostile towards us. Makes me wonder why.” A few seconds passed and Charley realized that Natasha was watching him pointedly, waiting for a response. “Let’s just say we don’t see eye to eye anymore,” he told her with finality, closing the subject.

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