Chapter 37

After breakfast, Aria made her way back to her villa with Trek padding happily by her side. The sun was high now, warming the paths between the palm-lined courtyards of Veda Islands, and for once, she wasn't in a rush. Her thoughts, however, were a swirl of everything that had happened—from waking up under Kabir's devastatingly skilled mouth, to laughing over croissants and coffee, to the look in his eyes that made her feel like the only thing that mattered in the world.

She gathered her laptop, charger, notepad, and headphones, then clipped Trek's leash and made her way back. When she returned to the poolside terrace, Kabir was already back in work mode, reading glasses perched on his nose, his shirt rolled at the sleeves again. It was unfair how someone could look like a CEO in linen pants with a coffee in hand and still make her knees weak.

He didn't say anything, just glanced up and gave her a knowing half-smile as she settled into the lounge chair across from him.

Trek wasted no time—he wandered over to Kabir, nosed his leg, and then unceremoniously curled up right beside him, resting his head against Kabir's foot like he had claimed him.

Aria raised an eyebrow. "Wow. Just like that, huh? You're his now."

Kabir looked down at the pup with a faint smirk. "He has good instincts."

Trek wagged his tail as if he agreed, eyes fluttering shut as he melted into the tiles.

And with that, they began to work.

It wasn't a dramatic shift—just quiet understanding. She set up her laptop, pulled open her schedule, and slipped on her AirPods. Kabir kept to his documents, flipping pages, making notes, occasionally glancing toward her in the moments he thought she wouldn't notice.

But she did. She noticed every look.

Her phone lit up with an incoming call from Paul. She accepted with a sigh.

"Paul."

"Well, well, well," Paul's voice was already too pleased. "How's the queen of luxury doing?"

"We're working," she said quickly.

"Mmhm," he hummed. "Working by a private pool at a six-star property with a sinfully attractive billionaire hovering like a bodyguard?"

She tried not to glance at Kabir, but failed. "Paul—"

"I'm just saying. You sound like a woman who's recently been ruined and resurrected."

Aria's cheeks heated. "Oh my god."

"Also," Paul continued with wicked glee, "Aisha sent me a picture from breakfast. You know the one where you're smiling like a Disney princess and he's looking at you like he just won the lottery?"

Aria closed her eyes and groaned. "I hate all of you."

"Oh, come on. You're glowing. He looks like he's already planning your wedding menu."

Aria covered her face with one hand. "Can we please talk about work now?"

Paul cackled. "Fine. But just so you know, if there's another mystery photo of a certain Mr. Oberoi feeding you strawberries by sunset, I'm leaking it."

She didn't respond, only glared at the screen until Paul finally cleared his throat.

"Right. Mumbai launch timelines look clean. I've sent over the creative decks. You might want to peek at slide nine—there's a little surprise."

Aria blinked. "Surprise?"

"I may or may not have updated the client name on the deck to read: 'Aria Oberoi & Co.' Just a placeholder."

She hung up on him mid-laugh.

By noon, she had finished three client calls and was in the middle of her last meeting of the day—this one with a client in Barcelona. She slipped into Spanish with ease, her voice fluid and precise as she discussed campaign phasing and projected reach metrics.

Halfway through the conversation, she felt it again—that stare.

She looked up between sentences and found Kabir watching her over the rim of his coffee cup. Not just watching. Studying. Like she'd just grown another dimension.

She wrapped the call with a polite goodbye and muted herself.

"You didn't think to mention you're fluent in Spanish?" he asked, eyes narrowed with something suspiciously like admiration.

"I didn't think it was relevant," she said with a shrug, hiding a small smile.

Kabir leaned back. "You are absolutely full of surprises."

She sipped her water. "That's half the fun."

Before he could reply, Aisha appeared at the edge of the terrace, iPad in hand and eyebrows raised.

Aria gave her a quick smile. "Hi, Aisha."

Aisha grinned. "You've made him… relaxed. That's terrifying."

Kabir rolled his eyes. "Do you have a reason for being here, or are you just here to ruin my life?"

Aisha tapped her iPad. "Your schedule. Which you cancelled. So now I'm here to ask if you plan on being a productive adult today, or if I should start checking availability for wedding planners."

Aria choked on her juice.

Kabir was nonplussed. "I have a new plan."

Aisha raised an eyebrow. "Dare I ask?"

He stood up and motioned for her to walk with him a few steps away. Aria went back to her screen, but kept one ear tuned, because of course she did.

"You trust me, right?" Kabir asked once they were out of earshot.

Aisha blinked. "Always."

"I want to do something different for Aria's last night here."

Aisha's face lit with curiosity. "What are you thinking?"

"A sunset horseback ride. Something private. Just us."

She smiled knowingly. "Ridge trail or water trail?"

"Ridge. Best views," he said without hesitation.

"You'll ride?"

Kabir gave her a flat look. "Aisha, I've been riding horses since I was twelve."

She grinned. "I know. I just wanted to hear you say it."

Kabir glanced back across the terrace at Aria, her fingers absently running along Trek's fur as she stared at her screen.

"She's going to assume I don't know how," he said quietly.

"Let her," Aisha murmured. "She's going to love being wrong."

He didn't respond.

He didn't need to.

Because as he watched her from across the terrace—sunlight catching in the loose strands of her hair, the breeze ruffling Trek's ears—it hit him again with startling clarity:

He wanted this.

All of it.

And this time, he wasn't afraid of wanting more.