Free The Malhotra Bride by Sundari Venkatraman Page B

Aunty—please don’t mention
    to my parents that I visited you,” her voice was full of strain, “I shouldn’t have, not before the
    engagement.” Her face had paled.
    It pained Tanuja to watch the panic stricken girl. She warmed the Malhotras’ hearts. They had
    yearned for a daughter and now their prayers were answered. Tanuja felt angry with her parents.
    Putting an arm around Sunita she said, “Don’t worry, darling, we’ll say nothing to let you down. Just
    relax.”
    “Yeah, you go ahead Princess, and enjoy yourself.” This was Raj.
    Sunita was thrilled when Raj called her ‘Princess’. She hugged them both warmly kissing them on
    their cheeks and left the room on Akshay’s arm.
    “Akshay,” Tanuja called out to them, “Why don’t you both come back home for dinner?”
    Akshay turned to Sunita for confirmation. Seeing her smile, he told his mother, “Okay, Mom, we’ll
    do that. Bye! See you both later.”
    The motorbike was a sleek BMW. Sunita looked at it in awe. “Wow! Are we riding that?”
    “Wow!” Akshay was looking at her. “Yes.”
    “You’ve a great bike.” Sunita snapped her fingers in front of his eyes. “Come down to earth and
    let’s go for that ride.” Giggling, she watched him sit astride the bike.
    “You look sexy in that outfit. I’m having a tough time keeping my hands off your bare midriff.”
    “Do you think I should wear my jacket?” Sunita asked shyly.
    “No way,” said he, shaking his head vigorously.
    Sunita swung behind him and held on to his shoulders for support. He pulled her hands and
    wrapped them around his waist. A shiver ran through Sunita when her body came into contact with
    Akshay’s hard back. Akshay felt the tremors and smiled with pleasure.
    “Ready?”
    “Hmm.”
    “Hold on tight,” Akshay started the bike and they roared away. Sunita didn’t have to be told. She
    held on tight, for her life. She was rather scared in the beginning. She slowly relaxed and loosened
    her death grip on Akshay’s middle. He drove fast and it was exhilarating. Sunita relaxed against him,
    her cheek pressed to his back and gave herself up to the momentum of the ride.
    Mumbai is a group of seven islands and a few miles in any direction leads to a beach. Akshay rode
    to Marve Beach. They were travelling against the evening traffic and reached the beach soon. Akshay
    stopped the vehicle not far from the water and waited for Sunita to get off. It had been a wonderful
    ride. Sunita was ecstatic. She hugged Akshay and said, “That was just awesome.”
    His arms went around her slender body, his hands caressing her waist. She shivered as he pulled
    her close and pressed his lips to hers. Silence reigned for a long time as Akshay buried his face in her
    neck, taking deep breaths to calm down.
    He sat on the ground and pulled her down beside him. Sunita squatted, sighing in contentment.
    “You liked meeting my parents?” asked Akshay.
    “You’re a lucky guy.” There was envy in Sunita’s voice.
    Akshay put an arm around her shoulders. “They’ll be your parents too, once we’re married. How’d
    you like that?”
    “I think it’ll be fun. I liked talking to them today. Akshay, you never told me your mom’s a
    businesswoman.” Her eyes sparkled green in the twilight.
    “Would you like to go to her boutique tomorrow? We can pick up some clothes for you there.”
    “But Akshay, I don’t need clothes. I’ve too many,” she protested.
    This was the first time he came across a woman who didn’t need more clothes.
    “Sweetheart, you’ll socialise a lot more as Mrs. Malhotra. You’ll need loads of clothes, especially
    ethnic formals. And of course, you need a trousseau for the wedding.”
    “Yeah, I’m sure Mamma must have planned something."
    “But why involve your Mamma? Lemme take you shopping.”
    Sunita nodded. “Okay, I’ll ask Pappa to give me some money tomorrow.”
    “Why take money from your dad?” A frown gathered on Akshay’s