Husband For Hire

42. South Sea Pearls

42. South Sea Pearls
Indian chai was magical.
* * *

Two pairs of Nike socks.

An undershirt, a Louis Vuitton cashmere roll neck sweater, and a luxury white blazer zipped up.

One pair of jeans.

I added a designer scarf and a limited edition beanie in my outfit.

While the cold water shower was de-stressing, I knew I was due for a cold in a few hours if I didn't layer up.

As I pulled on my Jimmy Choo fur boots which I thanked myself for adding to my suitcase, Ashar decided to speak to me.

"Are you going somewhere?" he asked. "A trip to the Himalayas?"

I didn't answer. Because of him, I had to take an icy shower.

I pulled my hair back and realized the gauze on my temple was sliding off. I took if off and threw it in the trash can.

"I have a first aid kit," Ashar said watching me. He went to his suitcase and took a white plastic box with a red plus sign.

"I'm fine," I informed.

"No. You don't want to get an infection." He shook his head and gestured towards the bed. When I didn't move, he sighed. "Anmol, sit down."

Not meeting his eyes, I took a seat next to his paperwork. I held my hair back and tilted my head to allow him to put the dressing. He stood in front of me and started working like the nurse at the hospital yesterday.

"Someone's grumpy this morning," he remarked as I sat with my jaw set. "I'll talk to Baba. We'll make sure you don't have to take a cold water shower again."

I side-eyed him wordlessly as he held back his smile. He obviously enjoyed putting me in an inconvenience.

"What's the plan for today?" He continued talking. "Is Baba taking you all shopping again?"

"No plans." I shrugged.

He finished putting the dressing and closed the box. Once he had it returned to his suitcase, he began wrapping up his paperwork. I got up to check my phone.

"Do you want to come with me?" Ashar asked.

I looked at him confused. "Me?"

"I won't be long." He nodded as he held his binder in his hands. "Aara wanted some Indian clothes for her and Rosie. She told me to make sure I take you with me. She doesn't trust my fashion sense."

"Okay, I'll go." I was now in a position where I didn't know how close I wanted to get to him. He surprised me by asking me to tag along with him.

When was the last time he had asked me to go somewhere with him? It'd be wishful thinking I was going on a date with Ashar today.

I almost laughed at the thought of a "date" as I followed Ashar downstairs.

We told everyone that we'd be back and I was going with Ashar. No one batted an eyelash. Jhanvi beamed at me and even gave me a small double thumbs up as I was leaving.

If she thought this was progress, she was wrong. Ashar didn't care about me one bit.

The absolute worst part was Baba's car had a flat tire. And he had no spare. That left us at the expense of a mechanic who would take some time.