Since Nayna had a lot of time on her hands—even reality TV could only take up brain space so much of the time—she got a ride out of town several times that week, then hiked across the rocks to the foot of the glacier. She’d made a spur-of-the-moment purchase of proper cross-training sneakers and a light jacket in Christchurch, and they came in handy. Her canvas trainers were just not supportive enough for the rugged environment, and it could get cold in the national park.
It was a good walk, the glacier at the end her reward.
To mix it up, she did a number of the other short hikes through the park, sticking to the well-posted paths—she had no intention of ending up lost in the wilderness.
She also met several lovely people—hikers, tourists, and locals. The bakery a twenty-minute walk away from her cabin recognized her as a regular by the third day. She’d never had such delicious baked goods in her life. Or maybe she was overcompensating with carbs. She didn’t really care. Cream doughnuts with raspberry jam were the best doughnuts.
But as she lay in bed on the ninth day since her self-imposed exile, Nayna admitted her intense loneliness. She missed the constant buzz of life in a family home, missed sitting up drinking chai with her grandmother, teasing her mother about the soap opera’s latest twists and turns, even missed her father’s dry comments from behind his newspaper and Madhuri’s giggles when she dropped by.
She missed Raj most of all.
He’d messaged her a photo every day, the fiend. The man was getting very good at shockingly sexy selfies that didn’t show his abs. A shirt partially unbuttoned. A towel held casually to block the view. A shot of his back taken in the mirror. More pictures of him reading, along with an update that made her laugh: Mr. Darcy is finally not being a dick. I might like this guy after all. Tino at work is reading it too now. Mostly in public, where women can see him.
Nayna saved every single photo and message but didn’t reply except for a message every forty-eight hours confirming her status as alive: The local possum gang hasn’t swarmed me yet.
Lord help her, what was she going to do?
It turned out she was going to switch on the television and watch reruns of a home-renovation show full of men in hard hats. Outside, the quiet darkness shook its head at her, clearly judging her choices.
When her phone lit up with an incoming text, she grabbed it in grateful desperation.
It was ísa, who Nayna knew was currently camping with Sailor and his family: How’s the whole ‘running away to the jungle’ thing going?
A freaking jungle would’ve been noisier than this, Nayna replied in the midst of the cocoon of silence that surrounded her. They have baboons in the jungle, right? And baboons are noisy. It’s so QUIET here I keep expecting to hear ghostly wails and rattling chains. She’d never realized how much of a city girl she was until this trip—where were the sirens in the night, the neighbor on their other side blasting his music too loud, or the car backfiring and turning into a drum in her dreams?
ísa’s reply came quickly: I am currently suffering from the curse of peace and quiet and nature as well. Do you think the ghost will come with a dashing duke to rescue you?
I’m more into the stubbled-jaw, blue-collar man these days, Nayna admitted. Do you know what I’m watching right now? A rerun of a home-renovation show full of construction types. Every time one of them picked up a hammer or began handling lumber, she’d imagine Raj doing the same, his muscles flexing, and then it was all over. I hate myself.
Why don’t you invite Raj to join you? Have a little fun away from prying eyes.
Nayna stared at her friend’s sinful suggestion. And stared.
ísa was right. Why didn’t she invite Raj to join her? It was arrogant of her to think she could make this decision alone when the two of them were in this together; whatever happened, the fallout would hit them both. She’d talked to her bosses and was doing some remote work so she could have more time off. Raj might not be in a position to leave his business… but she could ask.
She pushed the Call button before she realized that it was freaking late at night—or early in the morning, depending on your view of things—but it was too late by then because he’d picked up.
“Nayna?” His voice was rough, a sleepy growl.
Toes curling into the sheets, Nayna said, “Sorry I woke you.” Actually, she wasn’t sorry if that was what he sounded like when he woke up—at least if this all collapsed and she ended up a shriveled old maid just like Auntie Babita had warned, she’d have the memory of this conversation with him.
“Is something wrong? Do you need help?”
The sharp concern in his rapidly awakening voice turned her heart to mush. “No,” she said at once. “I just…” A deep breath. “I was wondering if you’d like to join me for a couple of days.”
She’d expected silence, shock. Raj’s family was pretty traditional, and though the two of them had been plenty naughty together, this was going into more dangerous territory altogether.
But he replied at once. “Where are you?”
Nayna took the risk and told him.
“Hold on.” Sounds of movement that had her imagining him rising naked from his bed, his hair tumbled and his eyes hooded with sleep.
A minute later, he said, “I’m pulling up flights on the laptop. I see seats open tomorrow morning to Christchurch. I’ll hire a car and drive from there.”
Nayna hung up a few moments later so he could concentrate on making the bookings, her heart pounding and her mouth dry. When she could finally string together words, she messaged ísa to let her know what was going on.
Her best friend replied: Take my advice and do every dirty thing you’ve ever dreamed.
Nayna bit down hard on her lower lip as she responded to her friend, then put her phone on the bedside table, intending to sleep. Of course, her brain wasn’t about to cooperate. It raced and raced. Raj was coming to her. And this time there were no parents, no prying eyes, just the two of them in a town of strangers.
No rules. No boundaries.
Nayna dreamed of tangled limbs and sweaty bodies… and the chance to find out who she and Raj could be together when no one was interfering, when the choices they made were theirs and theirs alone.
* * *
After a little hunting, Raj had lucked out by finding an opening on an early-morning flight to Hokitika. His plane had stopped in Christchurch first, before continuing on to the small West Coast town. He’d already booked a rental and picked up the SUV only minutes after landing.
It was a drive of under two hours to get to Franz Josef, but he wouldn’t have risked it if he’d felt in any way sleep-deprived. New Zealand roads were well-paved for the most part, but they could be winding and lonely out this way. If he had a wreck, he’d be waiting a hell of a long time for someone to find him.
However, he was wide awake, excitement pumping adrenaline through his veins. When Nayna had throttled back her messages and replies, he’d braced himself for rejection. At the same time, he’d kept up his photo campaign so she wouldn’t forget him; it had taken teeth-gritted control not to go any further, not to push as he wanted to push.
But if the reward was this, he’d do it all over again.
Swinging through Hokitika township, he bought a large cup of scalding-hot coffee as well as a bagel, both of which he wolfed down before beginning the drive. It was a smooth one, no gridlock to worry about. Just stunning native forest and a wild coast.
He stopped only once along the way, to help a motorist resecure a couple of kayaks that had begun to slip from the roof of the other man’s vehicle. It was just past eleven when he rolled into Franz Josef. The town was wide awake but quiet, the vast majority of those who came here not party people but hikers and backpackers interested in the glacier and the other natural beauties in the national park.
Pulling over, he grabbed his phone and checked the instructions Nayna had given him on how to get to her cabin. He followed them to the letter and soon found himself going down a narrow pebbled drive surrounded by the dark green of native ferns and trees.
The cabin stood at the end in splendid isolation.