About the Author

A die-hard Chennaiite, MAHI spent her childhood with her head buried between the covers of a book, a habit her mother actively encouraged then, much to her dismay later when she discovered story books had a curious way of ending up between the covers of her daughter’s textbooks.

Mahi loves happy-ever-afters and her own happy beginning happened when family friends who thought they’d be perfect for each other introduced her to her now husband. Such introductions rarely work out but luckily for her it did. She feels he brings out the best in her. She’s always been a words kinda girl which bodes well for her husband’s wallet but being a man of few words he feels he has it tougher. She’s not giving up yet, she’s still holding out for a long, romantic letter penned by him.

A management graduate, Mahi switched careers from retail to finance but it never felt right. Those jobs weren’t pushing the right buttons for her. She wanted to do something she loved and it took her a while to figure out that writing was it. Now that she’s finally seen her name on the cover of a book she can’t wait to create many more stories with hunky heroes and spunky heroines.

She loves going for long walks, listening to music and watching romantic comedies. Her husband’s work takes him all over the world and travelling with him makes it ideal for her to take inspiration from different cultures and different people.

She’s working feverishly on her second book and can’t wait for you to read it.

“Since it’s a love story and everyone loves a happy ending I thought we could organize a contest where people from all over the country could write to you about how much they love that special someone in their life. The best couple of entries could be chosen and you could help the winners plan and execute the perfect way to show their love. After which, some well placed articles and photos of you in romantic locations with the happy couple, and quotes about you longing to find your very own happily ever after could go a long way to restoring your romantic hero image,” finished Nina excitedly.

“Only you’d have to stay clear of trouble until you lose your notoriety,” she offered as an afterthought.

“You mean I can’t indulge in drunken orgies and loud parties anymore? How am I ever going to get through these two months?” he moaned with a straight face.

She stared at him mouth agape wondering if he actually meant it. She was for once lost for words.

“Maybe you’d take pity on me and help me?” he suggested arching his brows.

Nina burst into laughter, she knew he had a wicked sense of humour and she had fallen right into his trap.

“You creep,” she scolded laughingly.

It was Aadith’s turn to stare. The sight of her laughing unselfconsciously with her head thrown back mesmerized him. She seemed so alive, he mused. Their eyes locked and the air suddenly turned thick with tension.

Falling For A Bollywood Legend
Mahi Jay

www.millsandboon.co.uk

To my Sister who believed I could before I did

CHAPTER ONE

‘GET HOLD OF my agent,’ snapped Aadith Varma to his secretary over the intercom. Within a couple of minutes he was on call with Raj Binal. ‘No doubt you’ve seen the papers?’ queried Aadith.

Raj was nothing if not diplomatic. ‘There’s nothing really new, is there?’ he replied non-committally. Aadith crumpled the newspaper he was reading and threw it across the floor in disgust.

‘I took her out just once and now here she is, proclaiming to all and sundry that I broke her heart.’

The papers were once again carrying salacious articles of him, pictured with various women. Some of whom he was acquainted with, some he barely even remembered meeting and some he’d just posed with on request.

‘This couldn’t have occurred at a more inconvenient time!’ exclaimed Aadith. He had a mega-budget period romance flick about to be released and this unrelenting scrutiny of his love life was drawing all the attention away from the movie. It certainly did not bode well for the film, he thought in frustration.

‘You know who you have to blame for this recent blunder,’ reminded Raj pointedly.

He had repeatedly advised Aadith to get rid of his publicist. Now that Aadith had broken into the big league his publicist no longer seemed to be adept at handling his public relations. Aadith needed someone sharp and savvy.

Despite knowing that Raj was correct, Aadith had held out on letting his PR manager go, since the old guy had been with him since his early struggling days as an actor and was loyal if nothing else. For Aadith loyalty counted more than anything.

‘You’re right. I didn’t want to do it but it can’t be put off any longer,’ conceded Aadith grimly, raking his fingers through his thick black hair. He didn’t suffer fools gladly and he’d certainly not got where he had by surrounding himself with incompetent people. He made a note to himself to let the guy go gently and to make sure he was amply rewarded for his years of service.

‘I’ve had about enough of this and it looks like there is nothing more in the old chap’s bag of tricks. I want a new publicist and I want the best,’ stated Aadith categorically.

Aadith had always had an unerring eye for spotting the best and he went after it with a dogged persistence and steely determination. This was what had propelled him to become one of the most promising and sought after young heroes of Bollywood. Of course his undeniable talent and devastating good looks didn’t hurt either, mused Raj.

‘Then the person you are looking for is Nina Shah, of Guy & Falcon, based here in Mumbai,’ declared his agent confidently. He had seen this coming a mile ahead and was more than prepared with his choice.

Things had been a bit dicey for Aadith for a while now but his publicist had made it even worse. To take the heat off a couple of previous other scandals his PRO had tried to turn the media’s attention towards Aadith’s love life. He had cooked up a romance with a hot young model. But before he could build-up on it the press had caught hold of a couple of Aadith’s disgruntled ex-girlfriends and had started painting him out to be a heartless cad. Just when Aadith had needed a squeaky clean, devoted, loverboy image his publicist had screwed things up well and good.

Raj broke out of his reverie and continued, ‘Just before you became the poster boy for notoriety, star cricketer Gaurav Tiwary had that spot. Now, thanks to some pretty savvy PR work by Miss Shah, his image has been completely revamped. He is now their golden boy.’

‘Nina Shah, hey …?’ Some faint memory stirred Aadith as he said succinctly, ‘Send me all that you have about her.’

No, it couldn’t be … he thought as he rang off. The Nina he had known several years ago had been a hair-raising teen who had been rebellious on the surface although slightly shy and retiring beneath. A publicist’s livelihood revolved around being circumspect, bold and outgoing. It was centred upon doing a good paint job over the unsavoury bits in the lives of celebrity clients. Life couldn’t be so ironic, mused Aadith wryly.

But it certainly was. As soon as Aadith looked over the information Raj sent in, he knew it was the same Nina. They had briefly been neighbours in Pune several years ago and had parted on a sour note. Not that they had been the best of friends before either; he’d been more friendly with her brother. She had been a cheeky, irritating kid following Aadith and her brother around, always ratting them out to her parents. It had been only towards the end of his stay at Pune when he’d started looking at her differently. He dearly hoped she’d changed for the better or working with her promised to be an absolute nightmare.

Nina grabbed her voluminous handbag and headed into the swanky glass and chrome building that housed the offices of Guy & Falcon public relation services. The place was already humming with life as she hurriedly made her way to her spacious office.

Mrs Dutta, her secretary, followed her inside to discuss the day’s schedule. She was a middle-aged, cherubic woman who tended to mother Nina a bit.

‘Sonia wants to meet you again for lunch to discuss her endorsement deal with that soft drink company,’ stated Mrs Dutta gloomily.

Nina grimaced thinking about the discussion that lay ahead. The ex beauty queen kept coming up with ridiculous new demands every week that she wanted fulfilled in order to sign with the brand. The company had been pretty accommodating so far but were fast losing patience with the diva. Nina knew she would have to convince Sonia to ink the deal pretty soon or risk losing the plum opportunity to some other celebrity.

‘God, I hope this time she doesn’t come up with something her manicurist advised her to include in the contract,’ moaned Nina as she picked up her mobile to call Sonia.

She impatiently blew her hair out of her eyes as she tried to charm the diva at the other end of the phone. Dealing with celebrities who threw tantrums for the smallest things was akin to dealing with irascible children, she thought absently.

Her usually unflappable secretary returned quickly in a frenzy to inform her about a visitor. She was talking nineteen to the dozen and before Nina could make sense out of her excited chatter the door opened to let Aadith Varma in.

Nina’s breath caught on a strangled gasp. Of all the possible scenarios she had envisioned about running into him, she had never imagined him walking into her own office.

Aadith Varma.

The hero of all her teenage fantasies.

And the reason for all her shattered dreams.

‘Nina and I are old friends so I let myself in to surprise her,’ said Aadith apologetically as he flashed a dimpled smile at her secretary. Mrs Dutta would have melted into a puddle of adoration had he smiled an inch wider, thought Nina sourly.

He was still the most handsome man she had ever come across and she had met more than her fair share of handsome men, working as she did in the glamour industry. Tall and sleekly muscled, with a finely chiselled face, he was the heartthrob of hordes of young women across the country. Only the hardness in his eyes saved him from being chocolate box handsome.

Her heart thundered in an unsteady rhythm as she braced herself to meet his steely grey eyes nonchalantly.

To say that he was stunned would be an understatement, thought Aadith. The last time he had set eyes on her, she had been a tall, skinny teen with braces on her teeth and an unruly mop of boyishly short curls. Damn! Had she changed! Her purple and green kurta clung to all the right places and flattered her lush body. He felt a flicker of lust tightening his body as he met big mocha-brown eyes across the table. They were shooting daggers at him.

‘What the hell are you doing here?’ she asked bluntly, ignoring Mrs Dutta’s gasp of horror. She had never known Nina to be rude to anyone despite extreme provocation sometimes. Undaunted by Nina’s decidedly unwelcome remark, Aadith turned to wink at her secretary and said, ‘Don’t mind her, Mrs Dutta. She’s never been one to appreciate surprises.’

Nina snorted.

‘And I’m sure she would love a cup of coffee as much as I would,’ he continued, throwing a winsome smile at the secretary as an added encouragement.

‘I doubt anyone likes an unpleasant surprise,’ muttered Nina under her breath as Mrs Dutta hurried out to do his bidding.

‘To what do I owe the pleasure of this unexpected surprise, Mr Varma? Isn’t it a bit too late in the day to play catch up?’ remarked Nina with a baleful glare at him.

He let his gaze drift over her leisurely as he replied, ‘Catching up isn’t what I’m here for, although I’m not averse to it, now that you mention it.’ He grinned at her cheekily.

Nina’s stomach flipped. Oh, God! He looked even better when he smiled. Whatever he was here for, she had to get him out of here fast. ‘I certainly don’t want that!’ sputtered Nina in horror. ‘You are the last man on earth I want to get reacquainted with!’

Aadith didn’t seem perturbed in the least. He shrugged coolly and explained, ‘Well, I thought working together would be a lot simpler if we got along but it’s certainly not necessary.’

Nina stared at him warily. ‘What are you talking about?’

‘It’s not exactly a secret that I’m in a bit of a media mess. Unfortunately, my last PR guy didn’t handle it as well as he should have, so I’m here to offer you that job.’

‘Why would you think I’d even be interested?’ shot back Nina rudely.

Aadith narrowed his eyes at her and said, ‘Why not? Ask anyone, they’ll tell you that I’m a very generous boss.’

Nina was incensed at his suggestion that money would even tempt her to consider his offer. She looked at him pityingly and replied tartly, ‘You seem to be under the belief that money will get you whatever you want but you are sadly mistaken in this case. I’m perfectly happy with my current crop of clients and have no intention whatsoever of working with a moron like you.’

Aadith laughed out loud. ‘Your insults are totally redundant. I’ve been called worse names than that and, let me assure you, I always get what I want. If money doesn’t make you tick I will find out what does. Whether you want to or not you are going to work for me, Nina,’ he finished confidently.

Nina felt a frisson of apprehension course through her. She knew he was relentless and she did not want to work with him. Her lips trembled slightly in response. Aadith’s gaze latched onto them and he felt a startling urge to trace her beautiful mouth with his fingertips.

All that she felt showed clearly on her face. Anger, irritation and a slight sense of alarm. She is right to be wary of me, thought Aadith. For some strange reason she seemed to be drawing his attention much more than he wanted.

The light of challenge was burning brightly in her sparkling eyes as she retorted, ‘Don’t count on it, Mr Varma.’

Aadith felt alive in a way he hadn’t in a long while. This promised to be way more interesting than he’d anticipated.

‘I think we’ve known each other for far too long for you to call me Mr Varma,’ he objected.

Nina knew their first encounter several years ago had marked her for life and she had no intention of subjecting herself to spending more time with him. She always learnt from her mistakes and working with Aadith would prove to be nothing but a colossal one. She vowed to avoid him at all costs.

‘I don’t intend to see you long enough for it to matter what I call you,’ she declared hotly. The sound of his mocking laughter set her already ragged nerves on edge.

‘Make no mistake, before long you will be working with me,’ he warned once again.

Nina groaned to herself. Before today whenever she had chanced to attend the same industry dos as him she had managed to steer clear of him. Now a cruel twist of fate was tossing them together.

The more she resisted, the more Aadith seemed to be looking upon this as a challenge he intended to win, so Nina quickly changed tack.

‘Look, if we can’t work together harmoniously, it’s bound to reflect on the results in the press and I’m sure that is something you can’t afford right now,’ she said persuasively.

Aadith cast her a lazy look and said, ‘Don’t worry…. I can be as harmonious as you want me to be.’

Nina drew in a breath for patience and released it slowly. He was just toying with her and pulling her strings as he had done in the past. But this time she would not take things lying down, she promised herself. She would give as good as she got.

‘Your long line of ex-girlfriends are out telling the world how you really are, so save your breath,’ she snapped.

Aadith felt his temper rise in a second. ‘You of all people should know how the press spins stories to sell their papers and magazines, yet you persist in believing those ridiculous tales,’ he accused.

‘Not all of them are false,’ she argued.

‘And not all of them are true either,’ he countered.

Nina bit her bottom lip. If she could forget that he ever existed she would. But forgetting his existence was easier said than done when he was splashed across newspapers and magazines with a different pretty young thing on his arm every other day.

‘For some reason I’ve become the media’s favourite bad boy and I want to get rid of that tag now. And you, Miss Goody-two-shoes, are going to help me do it,’ insisted Aadith arrogantly.

A discreet knock at the door later, Mrs Dutta let herself in with the coffee. Nina watched Aadith work his charm smoothly.

‘I’ve a meeting scheduled shortly so I’ve got to leave now. But thank you for the coffee, Mrs Dutta. Once Nina and I start working together I’m sure I’ll be around for many more,’ he said, giving her an easy smile.

‘My daughter is a crazy fan of yours and will be beside herself when I tell her I met you,’ said Mrs Dutta happily.

‘Thank you. If she ever wants to visit the sets just let Nina know. I’ll send some passes along,’ he promised, winking at Nina as he let himself out with a casual wave in their direction.

Nina felt like throwing the pretty etched-glass paperweight at his back as he closed the door behind him. Damn! Now Mrs Dutta definitely wouldn’t let her forget about him. Miss Goody-two-shoes indeed, she fumed. She’d rather walk over hot coals than lift a finger to help him, she thought savagely as she settled down to work.

After a headache-inducing lunch with Sonia, Nina was perusing a contract when the managing director, Mr Samuel, summoned her to his cabin. Just a few days ago he had congratulated her on the success of the Tiwary account and had promised to look into her promotion soon. She had been gunning for the post of VP for a while now and if she became one she would be the youngest ever in the history of the eighty-five-year-old firm. This sudden summons made her mildly curious as to the nature of this second unexpected call.

Her MD was generally not a man prone to displaying his emotions. For him to nod approvingly at someone meant that he or she had done an exceedingly good job. So when Nina found him with his face wreathed in a huge smile she felt the first stirrings of misgiving.

‘Nina, I gather you and Aadith Varma are old friends,’ remarked her boss cheerfully.

Nina was startled. Their past had been stormy to say the least and they could certainly not be labelled as friends, she thought darkly.

A frown marred her face as she clarified, ‘Well, more like neighbours really.’

Her boss continued as if she hadn’t spoken. ‘After the success of the Tiwary account, to land a prestigious client like Mr Varma within the span of a week is a definite coup. Consider your promotion a done deal,’ he said appreciatively.

Something roiled in the pit of Nina’s stomach. She did not like where the conversation seemed to be heading.

‘Mr Varma was very impressed with your work and mentioned that he was looking forward to collaborating with you. I trust you to do a wonderful job with this account as well,’ he finished.

Nina knew she would have to try something quick to get out of this mess.

‘I would love to work with Mr Varma, but I doubt I could fit another client into my current roster. I am totally swamped at the moment.’

Her boss stared at her in surprise. He had never in all the years she’d been working there heard her turn down a client, and a high-profile one at that. He looked at her speculatively and conceded, ‘Of course, I don’t expect you to juggle in your new client along with all your old ones too. Someone else can take over your less important ones so that you can devote all your attention to the new account. At least initially,’ he added.

Nina caught onto it like a lifeline ‘I’m positive my other clients would feel miffed if I abandoned them suddenly, so maybe I could work on this new account during the drafting stage and leave the execution to Dev?’ she enquired on a hopeful note.

Mr Samuel’s face hardened with irritation. ‘In case I haven’t made myself clear, let me. Aadith Varma wants only you to work on his PR campaign, so there’s no question of you working on it until only halfway through,’ he said in a tone that brooked no further argument.

Nina noted the unspoken reprimand in her boss’s eyes and the warning it carried, but chose to continue unheedingly. ‘Wouldn’t it be better if—?’

Her boss broke in before she could even finish the sentence. ‘With your promotion up for approval I’m sure you will put in your very best work on this. That will be all,’ he added dismissively.

Nina had worked her butt off for years to get where she was. To make VP had been her goal for so long and now, when it seemed to be within reaching distance, this new hurdle had sprung up. She acknowledged that there wasn’t really a choice any more. Nothing and no one was going to take it away from her. All her years of hard work were not going to be wasted over an egotistical jerk like Aadith, she vowed.

Mr Samuel was still watching her keenly, but Nina could not even bring herself to voice her consent. She just nodded her head and rose from the chair. Just as she reached the door her boss promised, ‘Nina, turn this around successfully and you will be made VP effective from the next quarter.’

Nina was furious with her boss, with Aadith and mostly with herself for letting them push her into a corner. She dared not open her mouth in case she said something she would regret later. She grunted her agreement and strode out of the room in a red haze of temper. Point Aadith, she thought sourly. But the game was not over yet; it was just beginning.

As Nina was about to enter her cabin Mrs Dutta waylaid her with a huge bouquet of sunshine-yellow roses. She had an adoring look on her face as she handed Nina the accompanying card. Nina waited until the door had closed behind her to look at the card. It simply said,

Welcome to the team-A

It carried only a mobile number on the other side.

Nina was only slightly mollified that he had remembered her favourite flowers. Back in Pune when they had been neighbours, there had been a beautiful yellow rose bush in his garden. Nina had often admired the flowers and occasionally borrowed them too from his grandmother. No, she wasn’t surprised that he had sent her the flowers, for she knew he would employ every trick in the book to get his own way. She was only astonished that he remembered which ones she liked.

The cad probably never let himself forget a thing about a woman. But then he’d need to, going by the rate he went through them, she thought bitterly.

Even with the gift of flowers, she couldn’t forgive that he had gone to her boss!

How dared he? That conniving lowlife.

She snatched the phone off the table and quickly dialled the number off the back of the card. When a deep sexy voice answered it after the first ring, Nina raged, ‘You’re a lying cheat! How could you pull such a cheap trick on me?’

Aadith chuckled and shot back, ‘I’ve been waiting for your call. Now my day can end on a happy note.’

‘How dare you use my boss to get to me?’ she said with unabated anger.

‘I did warn you I’d use any means to get you to work with me, didn’t I?’ he asked, unruffled. His voice didn’t show a trace of emotion other than amusement.

‘Why me?’ she asked starkly.

‘I doubt you need me to tell you that—you’re the best in the industry, and I want only the best.’

Nina flinched at his statement. Professional pride warred with deep-seated anger at his statement. While her parents had always found her work frivolous and trifling, to have Aadith acknowledge her brilliance and success gave her a long-needed boost of accomplishment and happiness. But she didn’t want it to mean anything to her. He had a way with words and could charm the very devil, if he wanted to, she acknowledged grudgingly.

But his arrogance made her hackles rise. ‘You always get what you want and it doesn’t matter who you ride roughshod over, does it?’

Aadith felt his temper rise. It was not as if he were ruining her career. In fact it would gain her a lot of mileage in the industry and give a wonderful boost to her career. But he didn’t feel like belabouring the obvious. He chose to ignore her ranting completely.

‘Nina, I’m not going to dignify that remark with an answer.’ He swiftly decided to move towards less touchy subjects. ‘So, was this actually a call to thank me for the flowers?’ taunted Aadith in a more intimate tone of voice.

Nina felt bewildered for a second. More than the change of topic, what threw her was her body’s instinctive response to the sexual challenge in his voice. It seemed to caress her. She felt even more appalled when a tremor ran through her body.

Nina strove to rein in her wayward thoughts. ‘Oh, the flowers,’ she said in as offhand a manner as she could manage. ‘Mrs Dutta was very happy with them. Looks like you’ve added yet another fan to your club!

‘By the way, Mr Varma—’ began Nina, but he interrupted her.

‘I thought I asked you to cut the Mister.’

‘All right. Aadith it is. I understand I have no choice left but to work with you but I am not a pushover. Not everything is going to be an easy victory for you. I can play as dirty as you, so consider yourself warned,’ stated Nina clearly.

‘Well, Nina, you’ve thrown the gauntlet down and I’m so ready for it. Bring it on,’ said Aadith boldly.

And she hung up to the sound of his mocking laughter.

CHAPTER TWO

NINA LAY AWAKE fretfully going over the day’s events. She knew she should handle this turn of events in a mature fashion but a part of her was worried if she would come out of it unscathed. The first time she’d been close to Aadith had been bad enough. The whole incident had made her feel gauche and stupid. She definitely didn’t want an encore. It had only served to make her very wary about men. For a long time she had not been able to get her nerve up to actually have a relationship. It had taken a lot of prodding from her friends to get her back into the dating scene. She couldn’t say she had been a roaring success even then. Having been determined to get to the top of her career, she had let work take precedence. Her only previous relationship had been half hearted and blessedly short, she thought ruefully.

Nina was determined to keep things strictly professional with Aadith, not that he would be interested in anything else, she mused wryly as she drifted off into a fitful sleep.

As soon as Nina got to work the next day, she took stock of all the work she would have to delegate to others if she had to make time for Aadith. She did some serious juggling around to free herself enough to take on the new workload. She retained Gaurav Tiwary’s account since it was a relatively new one and needed her expert attention.

Since that day so long ago she’d developed a defense mechanism to ignore everything but the barest minimum news about Aadith, so she knew she had to get herself up to date about his entire media history. She set to work on it briskly. It had been a long time since she had let herself take in news of him and as she did so she found herself perplexed by the sheer number of women he seemed to run through. The Aadith she’d known had had a lot of girlfriends but nothing like this. Now the women never seemed to last more than a month. She wondered if the industry he worked in had changed him so.

Nina gathered from Aadith’s personal assistant that he was reshooting a couple of scenes to finish his current movie. She arranged with him to pencil her in for lunch with Aadith at the studio. Having visited various studios occasionally, to meet with clients or to be with them during interviews, she was familiar with the frantic chaos that was the norm on movie sets.

As she gracefully walked across the set later on that day, she garnered more than her fair share of attention. Her shiny coal-black hair was pulled back into an austere ponytail. On another woman it might have made her look severe, but on Nina it only served to draw attention to her big brown eyes. A pert nose and luscious lips completed a startlingly pretty face. In a white button-down shirt and slim-fitting grey trousers she stood out from everyone on the sets, who were all dressed rather casually.

Merely watching Nina walk towards him dressed primly with just her lips painted a sultry shade of red sent a sizzle of awareness coursing through Aadith. He’d never thought formal clothes could look so sexy on anyone but the way those pants hugged her derriere made his mouth run dry.

‘I’m running late. Can you hang around until I finish this?’ he asked, striving for a steady tone.

The movie was an elaborate period drama and Aadith was in his costume. An Indian prince … Clad in rich, bejewelled robes that faithfully outlined his wide shoulders, powerful chest and long legs, he simply looked magnificent.

Nina felt breathless just looking at him. ‘If it won’t take too long I can,’ she muttered and discreetly parked herself out of his line of vision and watched him.

It seemed to be a scene where Aadith came to know that someone had betrayed him and he had a war of words with them. He was utterly ruthless and emanated an aura of power that surrounded him like an invisible cloak. He looked dangerous and predatory, she thought warily with a slight shiver.

Nina had never watched any of his movies so watching him perform was spellbinding. He totally captured her attention, leaving the others in the scene fading into the background. Her eyes didn’t leave him the whole time.

It was another half-hour before the director called it a day. By then adrenaline pumped through him. He’d been constantly aware of Nina and to have her watch him with such rapt attention had given him a serious high. He hadn’t been able to stop himself from showing off for her. He excused himself and headed to his vanity van to change into his street clothes. He was in a hurry to join her.

‘I bet even his dentist is a pretty young thing,’ drawled an indolent voice behind her. Nina turned around to see the director, Vinay Parek, grinning at her.

‘Trust Aadith to end up with the most beautiful woman in the business to work with!’ he exclaimed enviously. Nina smiled slightly at his compliment and extended her hand to introduce herself.

He shook her hand and said, ‘I know who you are. As you know news travels fast in the industry and there is no such thing as a secret.’

Was there a warning couched in his statement? wondered Nina as she swiftly changed the topic.

‘I rarely watch movies but I enjoyed your last one. It was refreshingly honest.’ Vinay’s eyes lit up instantly. She couldn’t have chosen a better topic to keep him engaged.

‘So why did you choose Aadith for this role knowing his reputation was directly contradictory to the character he would be playing?’ queried Nina curiously.

‘We’ve been friends since our film-school days and it was he who offered to finance the movie when I was desperately in search of a producer. Besides which I think he’s insanely talented and can pull off any role convincingly,’ he said, staunchly loyal.

After watching his performance today she could well believe it, thought Nina.

‘Not to forget the added advantage of comforting the women who fail to capture his attention,’ he said, wiggling his eyebrows comically and grinning from ear to ear.

Nina burst out laughing. For someone with a hat-trick of successful films behind him, Vinay was surprisingly unpretentious.

Aadith frowned in annoyance when he caught sight of Nina and Vinay laughing together. They appeared to be remarkably intimate for virtual strangers, he thought disapprovingly. She had never spared so much as a smile for him and now here she was cosily chatting up his friend. Aadith didn’t stop to consider his next move.

He strode swiftly towards Nina and slipped an arm around her waist. She almost yelped in surprise.

Her heart began to hammer furiously. Being so close to him, she couldn’t help but breathe in the clean scent of him. His hair was still damp from the shower and his warm male scent completely enveloped and intoxicated her.

‘I see you’ve met Nina. She’s an old friend of mine,’ said Aadith, smiling fondly at her.

Vinay’s eyes widened in surprise. ‘Oh. I didn’t know you two knew each other before.’

‘Well, we were neighbours for a while,’ interrupted Nina chillingly.

But Aadith was not to be deterred. ‘And after all these years she’s back in my life again,’ he declared, looking at her as if he couldn’t believe she was there with him.

‘I’ve already kept her waiting far too long so we’ll head for lunch,’ he said, dragging Nina away before she could do more than wave goodbye at Vinay.

‘How long are you going to keep using the stale we’re-old-friends line?’ demanded Nina hotly as he steered her towards his car. ‘We were no better friends then than we are now.’

Gesturing to his chauffeur for the keys, he opened the door of a sleek sports car for her. Nina winced inwardly. Being close to him was bad enough but in a tiny, enclosed space it would be sheer torture.

His eyes glittered as he turned towards her and said tersely, ‘I was merely looking out for you. If we let it be known that we are old-time friends, the press would make less of it if they happen to see us together,’ he finished coldly.

Nina snorted derisively. ‘Rather they will just add me to the long line of your just-good-friends list.’

Aadith laughed shortly and muttered, ‘You don’t give an inch, do you?’ Nina shrugged and chose to leave it at that. There was an uneasy silence between them.

Nina looked at his long and elegant fingers resting casually against the steering wheel. She could not help but wonder how they would feel against her hot skin. She fought against her wayward thoughts and looked up to see him watching her intently. She coloured instantly and could not have broken away from his gaze if her life depended on it. Her pulse started drumming and her mouth ran dry. Nina parted her lips slightly to run her tongue lightly over her lips.

Aadith drew in a sharp breath. His gaze fastened hungrily on her moist, parted lips. His body was throbbing with desire. Had they been anywhere else but in a car, in the middle of the road, nothing would have prevented him from hauling her firmly against him and pressing his lips against hers. Her heart lurched when she saw him staring at her with a burning intensity that sent molten heat coursing through her veins.

A blaring horn from the car behind broke the moment and Nina hastily looked out of the window. In no time Aadith manoeuvred his car into the compound of an exclusive restaurant renowned for its discretion. Nina couldn’t help wondering how many other women he had taken there previously.

The maître d’ escorted them to an intimate table set for two in the far corner of the room.

Hoping to put things back on a more professional note, Nina started off by enquiring, ‘What exactly are you expecting out of this current assignment?’

‘My soon-to-be-released movie is a period film in which the hero is a die-hard romantic who wouldn’t hesitate to give up his life for the woman he loves. An until-death-do-us-part sort of romance. With my current image people are going to find it tough to accept me in that sort of role. Moreover, since I’m also co-producing the movie I have a lot riding on it,’ stated Aadith simply.

‘When is the movie due to be released?’

‘For Diwali,’ replied Aadith.

‘That doesn’t leave us with a lot of time,’ muttered Nina thoughtfully. She didn’t waste much time before she started elaborating the plans she had thought of earlier.

‘Since it’s a love story and everyone loves a happy ending I thought we could organise a contest where people from all over the country could write to you about how much they love that special someone in their life. The best couple of entries could be chosen and you could help the winners plan and execute the perfect way to show their love. After which some well-placed articles and photos of you in romantic locations with the happy couple, and quotes about you longing to find your very own happily ever after, could go a long way to restoring your romantic-hero image,’ finished Nina excitedly.

‘Only you’d have to stay clear of trouble until you lose your notoriety,’ she offered as an afterthought.

‘You mean I can’t indulge in drunken orgies and loud parties any more? How am I ever going to get through these two months?’ he moaned with a straight face.

She stared at him, mouth agape, wondering if he actually meant it. She was for once lost for words.

‘Maybe you’d take pity on me and help me?’ he suggested, arching his brows and leering at her.

Nina burst into laughter. She knew he had a wicked sense of humour and she had fallen right into his trap.

‘You creep,’ she scolded laughingly.

It was Aadith’s turn to stare. The sight of her laughing unselfconsciously with her head thrown back mesmerised him. She seemed so alive, he mused. Their eyes locked and the air suddenly turned thick with tension.

When a sexy female voice called out Aadith’s name, it was as if she had been doused in a bucket of cold water. The owner of the voice was a stunning willowy young socialite and she promptly draped herself over him when he rose to greet her.

‘Aadith, darling! I truly missed you at the party last night. Why didn’t you come?’ she asked as she cast a dismissive glance in Nina’s direction.

The woman looked as if she had stepped right out of the pages of Vogue and Nina’s own business attire placed her well below the socialite’s orbit of competition, thought Nina ruefully. Though why should she want to be considered a threat to Aadith’s attention? she wondered in surprise.

‘I’ve been a bit busy and no doubt there were a dozen other men vying for your attention,’ he returned suavely.

The girl pouted prettily at his backhanded compliment and murmured throatily, ‘Oh, no, you know that’s not true.’

Nina felt her heart crashing painfully in her ribs when Aadith put a protective hand in the small of the woman’s back to turn her towards Nina.

‘Meet Nina Shah, my publicist,’ he said, gesturing towards Nina, and then added, ‘And this is Sanjana Gill, a friend.’

Both women merely nodded at each other and smiled briefly. Nina couldn’t bear to look at the pair of them. The way the other woman was looking at him adoringly sickened her. One minute Aadith looked at her, Nina, as if he wanted to devour her and the next he was paying court to some coquettish female smiling up coyly at him. She felt disgusted.

The second the other girl was out of earshot Nina snapped, ‘How convenient … This time you didn’t bother to mention that we were old friends and not just business acquaintances.’

Aadith’s face darkened in response as he retorted curtly, ‘You can’t have it both ways, Nina. Either you accept that we do know each other and have a shared past, lousy as it may be, or choose to ignore it completely. I will not tiptoe around you trying not to hurt your sensibilities. What happened between us is in the past and I suggest we leave it right there and move on.’

‘No doubt it’s easy for you to forget the past. I must have been one of simply hundreds of women you have kissed and then discarded without a second thought,’ she accused, furious that he would even dare to mention it when his behaviour had been so despicable.

‘I seem to remember a different version of it. It was you who threw yourself at me and you who refused to speak to me after I declined to take advantage of your innocence. I certainly don’t understand how you became the aggrieved party here,’ Aadith bit out.

‘If you think I’m still the same gullible idiot I was then, you’re sadly mistaken. You couldn’t wait to share my folly with all your friends, could you? Made you feel like a hot stud, did it?’ asked Nina pointedly.

Aadith was enraged. He couldn’t believe she thought so cheaply of him. He had chalked her reluctance to work with him to that one disastrous evening long ago. He’d never imagined she carried a deeper grudge against him over an imagined slight.

‘I don’t know where you got the idea that I shared it with my friends. I’ve never had the need to kiss and tell. Ever. Not then and not now,’ he growled.

Nina felt bewildered. There was a sincerity in his words that rang true. She could not bring herself to ignore the truth in his words. He had been a popular boy even then, while she had just been a nobody. A boast involving her would hardly have raised his reputation.

God, this was so confusing, she thought desperately.

But Aadith was not done yet. ‘Why would you think that I had told my friends about you?’

Nina cringed inwardly and wished she had not started talking about the past. Going through it had been humiliating enough but talking about it and finding out that she had been even more of a fool than she had thought was excruciating.

‘Your then girlfriend, Monica, told me you’d all had a good laugh about it,’ said Nina quietly. All the rage she’d carried about Aadith’s behaviour in the past now seemed pointless.

‘Monica?’ exclaimed Aadith in disgust. ‘Just to be clear about this, she didn’t become my girlfriend until much later—after I left Pune, in fact. We were just hanging around then. Although now, I can see all too clearly why she would have played such a dirty trick on you—she could be pretty vile sometimes.’

Monica was a mistake he sorely regretted. The only good thing to come out of that relationship was he’d learned exactly how much to trust a woman. Not at all. What Nina said just now reinforced it all over again.

‘A young, gamine girl whom I’d previously only thought of as my friend’s kid sister started drawing my attention. She must have caught my interest in you and decided to protect her “future”, as she called me then,’ said Aadith, looking at her sincerely.

‘Monica spelled trouble from the word go but I didn’t realise it until it was too late. This is just one more in her long list of transgressions.’

Nina coloured at his frank statement of interest in her and lowered her eyes shyly. To know that she had captured his attention then was like an aphrodisiac to her. Her heart started thumping madly in her chest. She felt herself melting under his hot gaze.

‘Nina, look at me,’ commanded Aadith softly.

When she raised her eyes to him, all the hostility she’d harboured against him was gone. There was only a soft vulnerability in them. Aadith felt a strange protectiveness take hold of him.

Desire and attraction he could easily handle, but this new, softer emotion was gripping in its intensity. He didn’t want to feel anything more for her than affection. Anything more spelled trouble, he thought in alarm.

‘Let’s start over. I’m sorry I hurt you unintentionally. It would be better if we forget the past ever happened. I would like us to be friends first …’ Aadith entreated.

Nina acquiesced and replied, ‘I would like that too.’

Though she couldn’t help wondering about his unfinished sentence. Friends first …? Then what? Did it mean he wanted to move beyond friendship? Did he feel the same unrelenting pull that she did?

Nina shook her head tiredly. It was too much to ponder about, after the roller coaster of emotions she’d experienced over the past two days. When the waiter chose that precise moment to present their bill she was relieved.

‘I’ll get to work on the campaign and meanwhile please clear your schedule for at least a week or so at the end of the month for it. I suspect it is going to be a tight run to get it all done in time.’

‘I have no doubt you’ll pull it off,’ assured Aadith firmly.

Nina asked to be dropped off at the office. She thought a bit of work would help to keep her mind off him.

‘Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything,’ instructed Aadith as he waited for her to gather her handbag.

‘Even if I’m going to interrupt an evening with your darling Sanjana?’ queried Nina impishly.

‘I’ll definitely take a rain check on her if it is for you …’ he said breezily and left in a quick spin of his car.

Nina’s laughter died on her lips. She had asked for it, she thought miserably. Just because he had been interested in her a long time ago didn’t mean he was now. And even if he was, his reply just now had made it abundantly clear that she would be one among the many girls he dated. There would always be someone eager to take her place, she thought sourly.

Nina felt oddly unsettled for the rest of the day. It was bad enough he made her feel things she’d never felt before, but even worse was the fact that he made her look back into her past, a place she’d never had happy memories about.

She could still remember the day Aadith had come into her life. With working parents who’d had little time to spare, she had vied with her brother for their attention. But for them she had always been an afterthought, an extra after their perfect male child, ignored for the most part.

That was when Aadith had entered her life and occupied her every waking thought for the four years they had been neighbours, thought Nina morosely. She smiled to herself as she thought back to that time. She had been a total wannabe then, with her shortly cropped hair, tattered jeans and ratty tees.

Being the same age as her brother, Aadith had quickly befriended him and hung around the house frequently. He’d often teased her about her weird assortment of friends all going through various stages of rebellion. For someone as starved for love as she had been then, the little attention that Aadith had thrown her way had proven to be her downfall. She’d developed a massive crush on him.

Well, she certainly knew how that had ended, thought Nina sadly. He was even more popular and handsome now than he had been before and she was still the same inexperienced, albeit better looking than before, normal girl next door.

The ending looked decidedly predictable. Unless she kept her head and her heart safe she was going to end up seriously hurt again, thought Nina resolutely.

CHAPTER THREE

THE FOLLOWING DAYS were a whirlwind. The ‘Wishing Star’ contest was heavily publicised along with the movie. With the weight of a major production house behind it no expense was spared to promote the picture. Hoardings, newspapers, magazines, TV, radio, Internet, every media tool was used to capture the public’s attention. It soon became the talk of the town. Entries flew in from all over the country. Young and old alike wrote in and it soon became a very difficult task just to choose a few out of the multitude of responses. The contest had captured the nation’s imagination and they were now eagerly anticipating the movie as well as the contest results.

Nina spoke to Aadith on and off to keep him updated about the progress of the various promotional activities they had undertaken. Both of them kept their conversations brief and professional. As the star of the movie as well as the co-producer he had a lot on his plate trying to keep an eye on the post-production activities and fulfil his promotional obligations. There didn’t seem to be enough hours in the day for him to catch up with all that needed to be done, yet at odd times he found himself wanting to see Nina again. Deciding to pay her a visit, he rang her office and was informed by Mrs Dutta that she would be working late with her team.

Nina rummaged in her bag for a piece of paper where she’d made a note about the campaign. She needed it for the meeting. Despite its bulging size, her bag was perfectly organised with everything neatly compartmentalised and tidy, as was her desk. Nina knew she was compulsively neat but it was a habit left over from her childhood days, which she couldn’t seem to break. Trying to be the perfect child did leave its mark, thought Nina ruefully as she found the slip. Everything about her screamed order, from her perfectly styled hair to her perfectly pedicured toes.

Shortly afterwards she headed into a small conference room where she had called in her usual team of people to help her iron out the final details regarding the campaign. Payal, a young junior executive, was the first to enter the room and she was grinning from ear to ear.

‘I still can’t believe you didn’t tell us you were friends with Aadith Varma!’ she gushed. Nina rolled her eyes in exasperation.

‘Payal, we were barely more than acquaintances, don’t make it into something bigger,’ retorted Nina lightly.

‘Some people have all the luck in the world,’ sighed Payal unrepentantly with a dreamy smile. ‘Had I been in your place I would have just m—’ She broke off as the rest of the team filed in one after the other.

Nina made a note to herself to ensure that she kept Payal’s contact with Aadith minimal. Payal was a naive innocent who would probably end up getting hurt.

When the rest of the team had taken their places around the table she quickly explained the time constraint they would be working under. Just then a discreet knock sounded on the door and Aadith Varma stepped in, looking über cool in faded denims and a linen white shirt that fitted his body like a dream.

‘Hi, everyone … I had an evening free, so I thought I’d drop in to discuss a bit more about the campaign and check if you required anything from my side,’ said Aadith casually as he strolled in and took a place near the head of the table next to Nina.

Stunned surprise greeted his entry but within a minute everyone around the table save Nina was clamouring for his attention. Nina watched in wry amusement as Aadith took it all in his stride. He was at his charming best as they all introduced themselves to him.

His eyes met hers across the table and he felt a wave of pleasure. When his hungry gaze fell on her lips where a slight smile was hovering, he felt a jolt of desire rock him. He wanted nothing better than to take her into his arms and kiss her senseless, he thought impatiently.

Nina’s skin prickled with awareness when she caught sight of Aadith devouring her with his eyes. She cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

‘Mr Varma, it’s generous of you to offer your time. As you know the contest has been generating a lot of positive media attention towards both the movie and you, so I’d say it’s certainly been a step in the right direction.’

‘A lot of people from the industry have commented that the contest is creating the right buzz, so I am glad it’s working,’ added Aadith.

‘Since you’re here, it will be easier to work out the logistics that will work for you, Mr Varma,’ announced Nina.

Aadith glared at her as she reverted back to the formal use of his name. His eyes promised swift retribution.

‘As far as logistics are concerned it would be better if you restrict all events relating to the contest to the metro cities. Security reasons apart, effectively managing the limited time we have will not be possible if far flung places are also included,’ stated Aadith decisively.

There were vigorous nods all around. ‘Since we are choosing the top three entries we can restrict the venues to Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. That way it would seem as if we’ve covered the length and breadth of India,’ she finished.

‘Have you chosen the top entries?’ queried Aadith.

‘We wanted to portray love through the ages, so we’ve decided to choose a young, a middle-aged and an older couple,’ chimed in Payal with shining eyes.

Aadith’s eyes clouded for a minute. ‘Ahh … Love through the ages …’ What a load of drivel, he thought bitterly. Hadn’t his father and he experienced firsthand that love was just another word for convenience? He knew love never stood a chance against money.

‘Ah, eternal love … how appropriate for the movie,’ he exclaimed sardonically. ‘Nothing sells as well as the idea of perfect love, does it?’

Nina caught the note of bitterness in his tone. It seemed as if the others found something amiss too because Payal immediately asked, ‘Why, Mr Varma, don’t you believe in happily ever after?’

Aadith flashed an unrepentant smile at her and replied, ‘Let’s just say I believe happily ever afters work better in movies.’

Payal let out a strangled gasp. She had certainly not expected her favourite romantic hero to be a total cynic. Nina’s heart turned cold. If she had wanted further incentive to stay clear of him, there it was. She had it from the horse’s mouth that he didn’t believe in love. She couldn’t deny to herself that there was a burning attraction between them, but to give into that would be utter foolishness.

Aadith continued smoothly, ‘If you let my assistant know the exact dates when my presence is required, he will ensure it is cleared.’

Nina passed out a sheet of paper that contained the probable dates that they had pencilled in. Her fingers grazed his as she did so, it was the merest touch yet it felt as if he had been scalded. He stared at the sheet blankly. He couldn’t think beyond the tingling touch of her fingers. Was he so desperate that the most innocuous and fleeting touch could arouse such a heated response from him?

He couldn’t have stopped himself had he even wanted to; he needed to touch her again. Now. As Aadith passed the sheet back to her he stroked her palms with his fingertips. Nina jerked her hand back as if she had been stung.

Oh, yeah … she felt it too, thought Aadith in satisfaction.

What was wrong with her? He’d only touched her hands yet she’d felt as if he’d run his fingers along her entire body. She groaned to herself. This physical need he’d awakened in her was driving her crazy, she thought exasperatedly.

Aadith’s deep voice broke Nina’s reverie. After ironing most of the details out, he stood up to leave. He turned towards her casually and raised an enquiring eyebrow. ‘Nina, could I have a private word with you …?’ Her heart lurched.

She followed him out with all eyes in the room glued to her back. Her heart was racing in triple time. She didn’t want to be alone with Aadith. She didn’t trust him, but even worse she didn’t trust herself around him. Her legs felt wobbly as she made her way to her office.

Aadith pushed the door and held it open, deliberately leaving very little space for her to squeeze through. She had to brush past him to enter and that brief contact sent shock waves rippling through them both. The moment the door closed behind him Aadith caught her by her hand and gently pushed her against the wall. He moved closer so she was firmly wedged close to his hard male body.

Nina gasped in surprise as she looked up at him with a curious mixture of fear and desire. She wanted to pull away sharply but the strong pull of attraction that had been simmering between them from the beginning held her still.

‘This is a bad idea,’ whispered Nina. He saw the helpless tremble of her moist lips and his mercury-grey eyes darkened in hunger.

‘I don’t think so. I’ve been aching to do this from the moment I laid eyes on you again,’ he muttered, and before she could edge another word in Aadith lowered his lips to hers in a soft, unhurried kiss. It was the merest brush of their lips yet it unfurled in her a veritable storm of desire.

Her eyes fluttered to a helpless close as he moulded the softness of her body to the hardness of his. He heard the shallowness of her breathing and felt the warmth of her body curve instinctively into his. He had thought of this moment long enough, he realised as her lips parted and yielded to his. He gave a low groan as he deepened the kiss. Devouring. Plundering. Possessing … There was no room for thought other than to satiate the fierce hunger that was raging between them.

It felt as if her body were melting, with the way his hands skimmed down the side of her body to pull her more firmly against him. The sensations were so powerful that her knees almost threatened to buckle under her.

Aadith’s lips left hers to murmur throatily against her ears, ‘Nina, let’s get out of here.’ She felt her cheeks burn. She gave him a light push and when he immediately loosened his hold on her she quickly put the distance of her desk between then. Nina lifted a trembling hand to her temple and groaned in dismay.

‘This is a terrible mistake. We never should have done this.’

Aadith’s mouth tightened. ‘Speak for yourself. I certainly enjoyed it and don’t have any regrets.’

Nina blushed furiously. ‘Mixing business with pleasure can backfire so easily, besides which I’m not ready to join the long line of women who’ve graced your bed.’

‘A few minutes ago you didn’t seem to have any such reservations and I’d go so far as to say you wanted it as much as I did,’ he said harshly.

‘Maybe I did but I don’t intend to act upon it in the future and I’d appreciate it if you kept your distance too,’ returned Nina sharply.

Ice flashed in his eyes as he leaned forward, his hands encircling her wrists, his movements precise and controlled, radiating a tightly leashed power. Yet his voice when he spoke was alarmingly cool.

‘Nina, you and I both know where this is going to end. In my bed. I for one feel the thrill of the chase will make your surrender that much sweeter. So I will look forward to it immensely.’ He raised her hand to his lips and placed a kiss there, looking for all the world like an old school gentleman bidding adieu to his beloved.

But a gentleman he definitely was not. A rogue, more like, Nina thought, narrowing her eyes in warning. He audaciously winked at her and let himself out, closing the door gently behind him. She flopped down onto her chair and rested her burning forehead against the coolness of the glass table. It was hard enough resisting temptation, but doing it for the both of them was going to be next to impossible, especially when he had made it clear that he wasn’t going to play by the rules.

Nina’s mind went back to the bitterness in his tone when he had spoken about love. Granted, he’d grown up without a mother’s love, but as far as she had known his grandmother had showered him with a lot of love to make up for it. She faintly remembered his father being a bit aloof, just as hers had been. But it still didn’t add up to the almost cynical disbelief he’d displayed when talking about love. She couldn’t help wondering if there had been someone in his past who had marked him so. There was no time to dwell on it as Payal entered her office.

She took one look at Nina’s face and a slight smile hovered on her lips, but she didn’t deign to pass a comment. Nina felt grateful that for once Payal had chosen not to pepper her with a million and one questions. She was not in any kind of shape to even attempt answering. Since they lived close to each other they usually opted to share their ride to and from the office. Today was Payal’s turn to drive home, which made Nina doubly grateful as she sank back into the seat of the i10 listening to the soft melodic tunes that were the usual nighttime fare on the FM station.

The following days were just as busy for Nina as she scrambled around to get everything organised for the audio and trailer launch of the movie. Music composed by the legendary Ranjit Singh promised to be a treat, from what she’d heard.

They’d chosen the historic Taj Palace and Tower hotel in Mumbai as befitting the period genre of the movie. Nina had sent out invites to the who’s who of the industry, who were all clamouring for a first look at the movie.

Nina changed her outfit half a dozen times but nothing seemed to fit the occasion. She wanted something businesslike but not too severe. She was bound to be overshadowed by several beautiful actresses who would be there, but that didn’t mean she had to be a wallflower, did it? She knew she wanted something chic and feminine but didn’t stop to examine why when by all accounts she was supposed to be avoiding Aadith’s unwanted attentions.

Trying not to think too much about it, she finally settled on a less than businesslike but far more feminine blush pink lace sheath that had been one of her rare extravagant purchases. Pearl drops at her ears and a loose messy side braid added the right touch to keep the look flirty yet formal.

The big ballroom of the luxurious hotel was in a flurry of activity when Nina arrived. Huge pillars and curved domes were decorated with gauzy chiffon and silk drapes interspersed with beautiful flowers. Waiters stood by with sparkling glasses of champagne. Soft melodic music greeted the guests upon their entry.

Nina stood just inside the ballroom directing and assisting the media people who had been invited to cover the glitzy event. An excited flurry at the entrance heralded the arrival of Aadith. The entire media group she’d been assisting immediately descended on him. He fielded the dozens of questions thrown at him with practised ease.

His eyes scanned the room until he found Nina watching him from behind the throng of reporters. His blood felt hot and thick as he took in her hourglass body encased in a form fitting dress. Aadith had never been turned on by a shy or coy look yet, when she lowered her lashes to hood her eyes, he felt an involuntary need for her that stunned him in its intensity.

When he walked into a room everyone else paled in comparison. He radiated a raw masculinity and vitality that instantly drew people to him. He was born to hold attention, thought Nina dazedly. It felt as if there were an electrical current zinging between them. It was almost palpable, and was turning her into a puddle of nerves.

Nina didn’t want him to have that sort of hold on her, so she quickly fished her mobile out and pretended to be busy. She refused to look at him even when she felt him staring at her, willing her to look at him. She watched in trepidation from under her lashes as Aadith broke away from the group and made a move towards her. Nina could not decide if she wanted to stay or run to the nearest exit and disappear.

Then a stunning young girl waylaid Aadith with an adoring smile on her face and when he leaned in to hug her Nina felt a sharp pain cut through her. Trying to be indifferent towards him didn’t seem to be working for her. She felt a primal urge to rudely rip the girl out of his arms. She watched him lead her to a seat in the front and wondered in irritation about her identity.

The event went off without a hitch and everyone seemed to appreciate the first look at the movie and the music. Soon they all headed to the buffet area for dinner and just as she was about to follow suit a disturbingly familiar voice behind her called out softly, ‘Why didn’t you say hello earlier?’

Nina’s heart was hammering wildly as she turned around to face him. Aadith had been waiting for her to acknowledge him the whole evening and when she hadn’t he had felt disgruntled.

‘Well, I was busy and then later there was no time,’ murmured Nina.

‘Oh, really?’ asked Aadith sceptically. Nina bristled at once.

‘Of course I was. We don’t all lead charmed lives where we just have to grace the occasion—some of us have to work hard for a living.’

Aadith’s mouth quirked. ‘Nina, if you’re trying to pick a fight with me, it’s not working! Why are you hiding from me? I let you hide the first time around but this time … I don’t think so.’

In the past she had been the one who had kissed him and then completely cut him off the next day. Yes, he had pushed her away but she had made him feel as if he had been the one in the wrong. He never should have stopped trying to sort things out with her, he thought wryly. It didn’t seem to have done her any good, nor him; he still wanted her badly.

Nina stiffened. She knew he was referring to what she had done all those years ago. She remembered that disastrous evening long ago. When she had finally scrounged up enough courage to try to seduce Aadith, he had gently pushed her away after a single steamy kiss. She had felt bewildered and insecure that he had found her unattractive. Monica’s comments afterwards had left her humiliated to the core and she had refused to see Aadith when he had repeatedly tried to meet her. She had known that he was moving away shortly, so until then she’d avoided running into him.

Well, that was then! She had been an anxious teenager with an unrequited crush on him. Not so now. Yes! She was attracted to him but that didn’t mean she was going to cower from him while he flaunted his girls in her face.

‘I have no intention of hiding from you. You’re just going to have to accept that I’m not going to join the line of fawning females desperate for your attention,’ she said boldly.

Never had a woman roused his interest so much. She made him furious one moment and the next he wanted to bury his hands in her hair and ravage her mouth. Striving for a mock apologetic tone and not quite managing it, he said, ‘The feeling is, of course, not mutual. I’d join any queue to win you over.’

Nina looked at him in frustration. He was the very devil. The serpent in paradise. Here she was trying to keep him at arm’s length, while he was using every trick in the book to get under her defences with a lot more success than she was having. Nina gritted her teeth and was about to snap back when the beautiful young girl from before walked up to them and slipped her small hands into his. She turned to smile at Nina with an enquiring look on her face. From up close she looked to be no more than seventeen.

Nina’s eyes flashed fire. If he needed to boost his ego playing with a girl so young she thought she wouldn’t ever be able to respect him. She could not hide her contempt.

Aadith, picking up on it instantly, glared at her and said, ‘Nina, this is Lila Khan, the daughter of Malik Khan, the co-producer of this movie. Lila aims to direct a film someday so she often hangs around with Vinay on the sets.’

When Nina still looked at him suspiciously he added fondly, ‘I’ve known her for the past ten years and she is an amazingly talented kid.’

Nina noted the hurt in Lila’s eyes but Aadith seemed to be completely oblivious to it. Nina suddenly felt sorry for the girl. She had once been in the girl’s shoes and knew the pain of it. The pain of being regarded as a kid when you no longer felt like one.

The girl’s father, Malik Khan, joined them and congratulated Nina on the success of the event. He shortly afterwards led his reluctant daughter away to meet some other friends of his.

‘What is it about me that makes you jump to conclusions?’ he asked furiously. ‘She is barely seventeen and you thought I’d dally with her? How low am I in your estimation?’

‘Well, you don’t exactly have the reputation of a saint,’ retorted Nina stingingly.

‘Maybe not, but if you’d care to remember I didn’t take advantage of you even then,’ exclaimed Aadith.

Nina blushed scarlet. ‘You’re never going to let that go, are you?’

‘Well, when you insist on painting me pitch black at the slightest provocation, you leave me with little choice.’

Nina knew that this time she’d been in the wrong. Her jealousy had prompted her to jump to an erroneous conclusion about him. She felt compelled to apologise.

‘I … I’m sorry, I did think you were involved with her, although if left up to her you probably would be,’ she said tartly.

Aadith looked at her as if she were nuts. ‘What are you talking about? She’s barely more than a child.’

Nina smiled wryly. ‘She sees you as more than that,’ she said simply.

‘No! What she sees is not me. Not the real me, anyway. She sees the romantic lover-boy/bad-boy image I have,’ he snapped. ‘Sometimes I wonder if anybody even knows there is a real person underneath all the characters I play. Do they see me when they talk to me or only imagine me as any one of the characters I’ve played? It often makes me want to say or do something to break the image everyone has of me until they see just me. Which is why I’m in this current predicament,’ he admitted.

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