Kareena sighed as she admired the newly restored interior of her BMW again. The drink holder situation wasn’t ideal, but man, did her car look good.
The night sky was clear, and the air was warm enough to roll the windows down. Prem crushed his chalupa wrapper and tucked it back into the bag at his feet. He turned to her, his knees hitting the glove compartment in front of him. “You know? I didn’t think this car would be so . . . tiny.”
“It’s built for speed, and it’s perfect,” Kareena said. She scowled at him. “Have some respect for my vehicle.”
Prem took her empty box as well, and after she finished wiping her hands on the napkin, he took it from her and linked her fingers with his.
Prem squeezed her hand. “Can I ask you something?”
Kareena nodded.
“Has it sunk in yet for you that I dropped to one knee and proposed on live television?”
She snorted. “No, not at all.” They were planning on going ring shopping in a few days. Even though they’d only known each other for four months, Prem knew that she’d want to pick something out on her own. Maybe when they found the right ring, it would seem more real. The idea of having a real symbol of their commitment together was more and more exciting the longer Kareena thought about it.
“It hasn’t sunk in for me, either.” Prem cleared his throat. “I know we haven’t talked about a wedding date, but I’m assuming your sister is going to kill you if you set the wedding any time close to her event. Which means we’re not getting married for a while. I want to be with you, though. In your space. Is your dad still postponing his retirement until you buy the house from him?”
“I think so. But don’t worry, the time will be here before you know it.”
“Not nearly fast enough,” Prem said. “I’m ready. I want more. With you. With us. More dates. More trips to the shore. More scrambled eggs with chaat masala in the mornings. The sooner the better.”
He pressed a kiss against the corner of Kareena’s mouth. She shifted until their lips met. She tasted hot sauce and Prem and cupped his stubbly cheek. This is perfect, she thought. This was worth waiting for.
When they pulled apart, Kareena swiped a thumb over her bottom lip and enjoyed watching Prem’s eyes narrow on the gesture.
“For now, are you coming home with me?” he asked.
“I’d like that.”
He leaned in to kiss her again, but Kareena’s phone buzzed in the car mount. Her sister’s name flashed across the screen.
“I’ll get it later,” she said. “She is probably calling to make sure I got her apology text.”
Kareena pulled Prem back in for another kiss, but her phone began ringing again.
Prem sighed. “You might as well pick it up.”
She groaned but answered the phone. “Bindu? What’s up?”
“Kareena? Listen, I need a favor.” She sounded like she was in the middle of a crowd. The dull echo of an overhead speaker buzzed faintly in the background.
“Where are you?”
“The airport.”
“What? Where are you going?”
Bindu let out a giggle. “Loken and I are eloping! We’re headed to Vegas. We don’t have classes until next week, so we’re just going to go, get married, and be done with it!”
“Oh my god, Dadi is going to kill you.” Just the thought of her grandmother finding out that one of her granddaughters got married without family around was like envisioning a bomb detonating. And that bomb was dangerous.
“About that,” Bindu said. “Can you cover?”
“Bindu, how the hell am I supposed to cover your elopement? Dadi is going to be on the first plane out, where she’ll find you and drag you by your hair down the Las Vegas strip back to the airport, and back to New Jersey!” The very thought of Bindu forgoing the entire wedding that she’d been planning for months was the most outrageous thing that her sister could do.
“Just make something up, okay? Oh! They started boarding. Love you, Didi.”
“Bindu, wait—”
Kareena heard the click of her sister hanging up the phone and pulled her cell away from her ear to look at the blank screen. “Damn it. She put me in a position, again.”
“Who says you have to help her out?” Prem asked. He was sipping from her drink. “You can always just tell Dadi where your sister is when she asks. Let Bindu figure it out later.”
Her gut reaction was to disagree with him. Of course, she’d cover for her sister. But then again, even though they’d made up after her engagement party, Bindu didn’t seem like she had changed all that much.
“You know what?” Kareena said. “You’re right. Why am I worried about it? Bindu’s life, Bindu’s problem.”
Prem leaned across the center console and began nibbling on her jaw. “We’ll deal with it in the morning.”
“We?”
Prem cupped the back of her neck and squeezed ever so gently. “We’re a team, Rina, honey. We have been from the start, but it just took us a bit of time to figure things out. Now we have a lifetime together.”
Epilogue
Indians Abroad News Dear Readers, I, as I’m sure all of you are, am keeping up with the fascinating love story between Dr. Dil, or Dr. Prem Verma, and Ms. Kareena Mann that began on the South Asians News Network during The Dr. Dil Show. The couple has announced their engagement, and I for one am incredibly happy for them. Their story teaches an important lesson. It’s better to take a chance on a match once in your life than never experience partnership at all. Because never can be too late.
Mrs. W. S. Gupta Columnist Avon, NJ
Prem & Rina’s Taylor Swift Playlist
22
Look What You Made Me Do
Blank Space
Delicate
I Knew You Were Trouble
New Romantics
Don’t Blame Me
I Know Places
Willow
Call It What You Want
Wildest Dreams
Cruel Summer
State of Grace
Cardigan
You Belong With Me
Acknowledgments
When I first conceived of the idea to write Shakespeare-inspired romances, I wanted to use Shakespeare’s plays as a vehicle to focus on the nuance in my American desi culture. What does arranged marriage mean to desis versus non-desis? Why are people my age embarrassed to talk about successful arranged marriages? And why is dating as an educated older South Asian woman STILL so difficult? As you can see, this is a tall order, and I honestly don’t know if I tackled it all in this one book, but I did learn something about myself.
That we all deserve the love we want.
This revelation would not have happened without the support I received from my agent, Joy Tutela at David Black Literary. I also have to thank the woman who has my back even though I’m a hot mess when she has to support me, Elle Keck. Your friendship means the world. Thank you also to the production team who worked so hard to get this book out on time! You have my eternal gratitude, Shelby Peak, Rachel Meyers, and Robin Barletta!
Thank you to my family, specifically to my sister Shikha Sharma, who always fights for me, even when I struggle to fight for myself. To my baby brother, Shiv Sharma, for buying my books even though the idea of his oldest sister writing romance weirds him out. To my friends Tracey Sumler and Smita Kurrumchand, who are always my hype girls. Thank you for literally listening to me reading this out loud to you and telling me that it’s not boring.
Thank you to my early readers, Tracey Livesey, Joanna Shupe, Dee Ernst, Megan Bannen, Nam Patel, and Andie Christopher. You all helped me get to the finish line! Thank you to my early morning writers crew that held me accountable, including Adriana Herrera and Alexis Daria. Thank you to Sierra Simone, whose advice about Shakespeare pulling punches was my guiding light throughout this entire novel.