And stunning.
Erin flicked the trailing strands of her ponytail away from her face, once again feeling irritably sweaty and grubby in her shorts and vest, and wondered what it was about Indian women that made them appear so immaculately untouched and untouchable.
‘Nalisha …’
Nalisha looked up quickly from the pile of letters, blinked, then smiled. ‘Erin! Oh, it’s so nice to see you again. And you look so, er, workmanlike.’
‘That’s because I’ve been working.’
‘Ah, yes, in the junk shop.’
‘Antiques actually. And this
is a lovely surprise. We weren’t expecting you until …’
‘I know.’ Nalisha shook back her glossy hair to display cobalt-blue chandelier earrings shimmering against the perfect melted-chocolate skin. ‘I do hope it won’t be inconvenient. I needed to escape.’ She smiled conspiratorially at Erin. ‘Much as I adore my parents, they still fail to realise that I’m grown up when I go home. I was in danger of being smothered.’
Oh, if only …
Erin smiled, thinking that if she’d needed to escape that much, Nalisha must have been able to find masses of more exciting locations than sleepy Nook Green. She really didn’t trust her motives an inch.
‘Mmm, I think all parents are the same.’
‘Indian ones, definitely.’ Nalisha jangled an armful of glittering blue and green bangles and indicated the desktop computer. ‘Oh, and I’ll have to have a word with Jay about his systems here. It’s all so archaic.’
‘Sophie still organises the correspondence the way she did it for Mr Howes,’ Erin said quickly, angry at
any
criticism of Jay. ‘He owned the surgery before Jay and liked letters to be personal. Jay agrees. And everything clinical is on the computer. It all works perfectly.’
‘Really? How quaint. Still, I suppose it’s probably quite up to date for you out here in the sticks.’
‘God, yes. We’ve only just stopped using quills.’
Nalisha narrowed her pussycat eyes. Then she laughed. ‘I don’t think Jay needs you to fight his battles for him.’
‘I know he doesn’t.’ Erin smiled
back, hoping the smile reached her eyes. ‘So, while he’s still in surgery, would you like me to check if the Bates Mo– er, the White House has any vacancies for the next couple of days? It’s a lovely place and –’
‘Actually –’ Nalisha
flicked her silky dupatta over her shoulder ‘– I’ve cancelled my room there. Deena said it wasn’t necessary. And I’m not just staying for a few days. I’m staying for the rest of the summer. Oh, and Deena said as I’m practically family, that I could stay here. In the cottage. In Jay’s spare room.’
For the rest of the summer? In Jay’s cottage?
‘
What?
’ Erin shook her head. ‘But you can’t! I mean, does Jay know?’
If this was Jay’s idea she’d kill him – and then call off the wedding.
‘Not yet,’ Nalisha said softly. ‘I can’t wait to tell him. You see, Deena said, as you and Jay aren’t going to be living together until after the wedding, there’d be plenty of room …’
Erin groaned. Bloody Deena! And Nalisha couldn’t –
couldn’t
– share Jay’s cottage. Not for weeks, not even for a few days. She just couldn’t!
‘Actually, I find it very sweet that you and Jay are so circumspect.’ Nalisha’s voice held a hint of laughing malice. ‘I’d have thought, given his very obvious, er, charms, you’d have moved in here with him ages ago.’
Erin clenched her fists. She really,
really wasn’t going to rise to this. The reason she and Jay didn’t live together was
because
of Deena – Tavish, too, but mainly Deena – who had made it abundantly clear that living together before you were married was a slur on good Indian families. Even in the twenty-first century. She and Jay had gone along with it to keep the peace, and also because Erin had thought it would be rather romantic not to move into the cottage until after the wedding, and, of course, with her living just across the green, they still managed to have plenty of secret sexy sleepovers.
And none of it was Nalisha’s business. None of it!
But could she rest for one second, knowing that Nalisha was going to be spending nights and nights under the same roof as Jay? Of course she trusted Jay, but she didn’t trust Nalisha one little bit …
Oh God, this just got worse and worse by the minute.
‘Oh, this is going to be so much fun.’ Nalisha pushed the files and folders away and stood up in a waterfall whisper of silk. ‘I thought once I’d visited all the relatives and exhausted the retail therapy, the gap between my jobs would be boring, but not now. I can’t wait to get busy and organise everything here. Not just this ridiculous computer set-up, but all your wedding poojas as well.’
‘We’re not having any poojas,’ Erin said sharply. ‘And weren’t you going to speak to Deena about that?’
‘Was I?’ Nalisha frowned. ‘I really can’t remember. No, I’m going to have a lot of fun sorting out a mehendi night for you. Oh, and then there’s the tilak …’
Erin sighed heavily. ‘Forget it. I’m not that ignorant of Indian ceremonies, you know. OK, the
sagai
and
sanji
may have bypassed me, but I know all about mehendi – that’s a sort of Indian hen night with lots of sweets and rituals and henna tattoos, isn’t it?’
‘Well done.’ Nalisha’s eyes
glittered. ‘It traditionally prepares the bride-to-be for her passage from innocent virgin to red-hot lover, but clearly, in your case, it’d be far too late.’
Erin laughed. ‘Years. And my perfectly normal and absolutely traditional British hen night is already organised, thank you. And as for the tikka –’
‘Tilak. That’s for Jay actually.’
‘What’s for me? Something nice, I hope?’ Jay, having shed his gown and mask but still in his operating scrubs and drying his hands, appeared from the surgery and stared at them in astonishment. ‘Nalisha?’
‘Surprise!’ Nalisha shimmied from behind the desk and hurled herself into his arms.
‘Yes, isn’t it?’ Jay looked at Erin over Nalisha’s head, his eyes asking a million questions.
Erin, as always on seeing him, felt her heart do a little bumpety-bump of divine-pleasure-mixed-with-lust. Seeing him with Nalisha in his arms hurt more than she could ever say.
She returned the eye-meet and raised her eyebrows. ‘Nalisha’s arrived early. Isn’t that wonderful?’
‘Er, yes … I mean –’ Jay grinned ‘– two beautiful women waiting for me – what more could a man ask for after a tricky operation.’
‘Erin’s assured me that me being here a bit early won’t be a problem, which is very sweet of her. And we’ve just been talking –’ Nalisha smiled, not moving away from him ‘– about the wedding celebrations and –’
‘How’s Tulisa?’ Erin broke in, not caring if she was being rude or not. ‘Is she doing OK?’
‘Mother and babies doing
fine.’ Jay grinned, gently removing Nalisha’s arms from his neck. ‘All nine of them.’
‘Nine? Blimey.’
‘Yorkshire terriers don’t usually have more than four pups per litter, so yes, Tulisa needed a bit of help, but she’s a tough little girl. Bella’s just tidying them up and we’ll keep them all in overnight and monitor them for a few days to make sure she’s feeding them OK, but they should all be fine to go home as soon as the stitches come out.’
Nalisha yawned. ‘Too boring. I’ve honestly never understood, Jay, why you’ve wasted your incredible brain and amazing surgical talents on being a vet. You could have become a proper doctor and specialised in real life-saving, life-changing surgery and done, well, anything.’
‘Jay is a proper doctor. A very talented surgeon. And a bloody good one,’ Erin said hotly. ‘For animals.’
Nalisha shook her head. ‘I still fail to see why.’
‘Because I love animals.’ Jay said quietly. ‘Because animals need care and good medical treatment and life-saving surgery and procedures, just as much as humans do.’
‘Rubbish.’ Nalisha shook her head. ‘I simply can’t understand why anyone could become emotionally
attached
to an animal.’
Erin sucked in her breath. Even if she’d liked Nalisha before, that would have been the death blow.
‘Good job we’re not all the same, then, isn’t it?’ Erin said quickly. ‘And thanks to Jay’s brilliance, Mrs Blundell will be delighted that her beloved Tulisa and the puppies are all going to be OK.’
Nalisha gave a derisory sniff. Erin ignored her.
‘Anyway,’ Jay said quickly, ‘Bella will be on call overnight if they need her – which I’m sure they won’t.’
Bella lived in the flat above the
surgery so it was easy for her to nurse the relatively few in-patients.
Erin grinned. ‘If I know Bella, Tulisa and the puppies will all be upstairs with her as soon as your back’s turned. Her flat usually looks like a menagerie. I’m just glad they’re all OK.’ She took a deep breath. She was going to be grown up about this. ‘Right, sorry for interrupting you, Nalisha. Obviously you and Jay will have loads to talk about, and I’ve got a window display to sort out for Uncle Doug so I’ll make myself scarce and –’
‘You can’t just leave me like that,’ Jay said in mock horror. ‘I’m a man in need of a stiff drink. It’s not every day I bring nine new lives into the world.’
‘Save the celebrations for tonight,’ Erin said. ‘It might be a bit cooler then. And you’ve got afternoon surgery to get through, not to mention hefting all Nalisha’s luggage into the cottage.’
‘Uh?’ Jay frowned. ‘Why would I do that? Why aren’t we going straight to the Bates Mo– er, the White House?’
‘Ah.’ Erin gave a mock groan. ‘Silly me! Another change of plan. Nalisha’s staying in your cottage. Didn’t you know?’
‘No, I didn’t.’ Jay looked shell-shocked. ‘Nalisha?’
‘Your mother said it would be fine.’ Nalisha pouted prettily. ‘I’d assumed she’d mentioned it to you. Oh, it won’t be awkward, will it?’
Come on, Jay, Erin willed. This is where you tell her that it’ll be very bloody awkward indeed.
‘No.’ Jay grinned. ‘It’ll be great.’
Erin groaned.
‘We’ll have time to catch up properly, and the spare room is always made up for anyone who can’t stagger home.’ Jay looked delighted. ‘It’s a great idea, isn’t it, Erin?’
Erin looked at him. Men! Didn’t Jay
have a
clue
?
‘Oh yes. Great,’ Erin said coldly, ‘I’m so glad that’s all sorted. And once you’ve moved Nalisha’s luggage in, she can tell you all about the tikka.’
‘Tilak,’ Nalisha corrected. ‘As you well know. That’s what we were discussing, Jay, when you came in.’
‘Oh, I’m not having a tilak,’ Jay said cheerfully.
‘Your mother said I must try to persuade you.’
‘Did she?’ Jay frowned. ‘Well, she’s going to be disappointed then. Honestly, I don’t want a tilak ceremony, which –’ he looked at Erin ‘– traditionally excludes women and involves all the men of the family gathering together and saying prayers while the nearest male relative applies the tilak mark to my forehead to mark my passage from –’
‘Virgin to red-hot lover?’ Erin raised her eyebrows.
‘
What
?’
‘Well, I’m just guessing here, but as Nalisha’s kindly explained the meaning behind my mehendi, I’m assuming that this tilak-thingy is much the same for you.’
Jay laughed. ‘And as I’m sure you’ve explained to Nalisha, you’ll be having a normal hen night and I’m having a stag night with my friends. As per good old British traditions.’
‘I have, yes.’
Nalisha shrugged. ‘To be honest, I couldn’t care less one way or the other. But I promised Deena I’d try. Which I have. Now, can I move my stuff into the cottage and have a shower?’
‘Of course.’ Jay looked slightly confused. ‘Um – where’s your luggage?’
‘In the car.’
Erin stared at Nalisha. Was she going to make no move to help with her own bags? Nope, clearly not.
Outside, in the dazzling sunlight, Jay and
Erin blinked at the super-expensive, dark-blue sports car. There were designer bags piled into every spare corner.
‘Hell, is all that luggage hers?’ Jay frowned. ‘It’s an awful lot for a short stay.’
Erin raised her eyebrows. ‘Oh yes – another little point Nalisha failed to mention. She’s not here for a few days, she’s here for the rest of the summer. She’s staying until the wedding.’
Jay sighed. ‘Erin, look, I do realise this must seem a bit … well … odd to you. But you are OK with it, aren’t you?’
Erin sighed. ‘I suppose so. Although obviously I’d prefer it if Nalisha was only here for a couple of days and staying at the Bates Motel as arranged and …’ She stopped. ‘No, OK. Seriously, Jay – think about it. How would you feel if I casually mentioned one of my exes was moving into Uncle Doug’s with me for a few weeks?’
‘I’d find it a bit strange, I suppose, and wonder why. But I trust you absolutely, and anyway, this situation is completely different. Nalisha is
not
one of my exes, is she?’
‘Maybe not. But she’s a very beautiful woman who’s a lifelong good friend, and who clearly knows far more about your past than I do. It just seems a little bit … well, odd.’
Jay hugged her. ‘I know it must seem like that to you. But honestly, Erin, Nalisha and I are like brother and sister, and it’s just great to see her again after all this time. Also, this will give you plenty of time together and I just know you’ll be great friends.’
Erin sighed. She had to face it: Nalisha was here for the duration, Jay was happy, and, unless she wanted to risk having an almighty row, she’d just have to accept the situation.
But it didn’t mean she
had to like it. Or Nalisha.
‘… and she’s been amazing.’ Bella grinned happily from the passenger seat, across the scorching interior of Erin’s hatchback, the following day. ‘She’s so sweet and so friendly, which is unusual in someone as gorgeous as she is. She’s not up herself at all. And she’s showed me how to use
shaders on my face to hide the freckles and –’
‘She doesn’t like animals,’ Erin interrupted as they left the leafy high-banked Berkshire villages behind and headed on to the mad dash rush of the A34’s dual carriageway. ‘So I have no idea why you think she’s so wonderful.’
‘Crap.’ Bella’s bright red curls bounced in the gush of hot air through the open windows. ‘Don’t know where you got that from. She
loves
animals. She spent ages with me last night, making sure Tulisa and the puppies were OK. I’m so glad she’s staying for the rest of the summer. Oh, and she’s promised to show me how she does her eye make-up too.’