Charmed

The lucky one

Aditi crawls into the wooden box as Nikita instructs. She keeps her eyes on Shubham the entire time, her heart jumping when he winks at her. Once she's inside he teases her with an "abracadabra" and then starts sawing... What the audience doesn't see is that she's curled up on one side of the box, her knees drawn up to her chest while the other side has a pair of animatronic feet, they move as if they are real.

Watching the feet flex at the ankles when the boxes are separated, she breaks out in guffaws of laughter. "I had no clue how this worked," Aditi grins from ear to ear when he helps her out.

"I prefer my assistants in one piece," he teases, earning an arched eyebrow from Nikita.

"Yes, I suppose that is beneficial..." she rolls her eyes playfully. "This was fun but I need to get back to the bakery."

"Sure, I'll walk you to your car," Shubham strolls beside her, opening her door when they reach the vehicle.

"Thank you," she finds herself mesmerized by his eyes. She's about to slide into the car when suddenly Shubham stops her and pushes her against the car. His hand comes up to cup her cheek, his thumb moving softly across her skin. Her hand moves to his chest, bunching the material of his shirt in her palm. Aditi sees the fire in his eyes briefly before his mouth lowers to hers, hot and hungry and coaxing. It doesn't take long to escalate, and soon she's kissing him back just as passionately. His hands move to her waist and sink under her top so his palm presses against the bare skin of her lower back while his tongue seeks out hers.

She pulls away and takes in a stuttering breath while his mouth moves down her cheek and to her neck, where he sucks on the skin right above her collarbone. Her hands grip his hair and he moans against her.

The blaring sound of a car horn causes Shubham to step back. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself," he tells her earnestly.

"Don't apologize. You're some kisser!" she runs the pad of her thumb over his bottom lip.

As much as he wants to suck it into his mouth, throw her over his shoulder, and have his way with her, he knows this isn't the time. "Have you ever taken a ride on the high roller?"

"No," she shakes her head.

"Would you like to go on it?"

"Seriously? I'd love to."

"I'll get us tickets...are you free this weekend ?"

"Yes, that would be better, I have off the following day."

"I'll give you a call," he leans in to kiss her cheek then steps aside so she can slide behind the wheel. Once she buckles the seat belt, he pushes the door closed and doesn't move till her car is no longer visible in the traffic.

"I knew this thing was huge but I guess I never realized it was gigantic," Aditi mentions to Shubham when they enter their cabin to ride the High Roller. It's a 550-foot tall giant Ferris wheel on the Sixth Avenue street and is currently the world's tallest Ferris wheel, 9 feet taller than its predecessor the Singapore Flyer.

They move to the back to make room for the others that join them. Shubham pulls her against him when someone bumps into her.

"Excuse..." the woman's voice trails off when she notices Shubham. "You're him, Shubham Jain?"

"I get told that all the time but no, I'm not him," he shakes his head back and forth.

"You sure look like him," the woman remarks skeptically.

"The guy only wishes he was as good-looking as me," Shubham waggles his brows.

"I'm sure the real one isn't as obnoxious as you," she huffs, turning her back to him.