Harlequin Desire January 2021--Box Set 1 of 2 by Maisey Yates (free biff chip and kipper ebooks .txt) 📕

“Sorry!” Ethan yelled back. What was he thinking? They had to get off the landing field. Now was not the time to kiss Divya or tell her how he felt. They went to the shack and removed their harnesses and jumpsuits.

She was silent as he motored back onto US Route 1. He would’ve liked to have stayed in the Keys for a couple of days, but it was his parents’ anniversary. He wanted to take Divya to meet his family. But not before he told her where he stood.

That connection he’d been searching for with Pooja, the one he thought he was crazy to want, had come to him in the form of yet another woman who was totally unavailable. But he wasn’t going to let her go without a fight.

He pulled onto another dirt road. “Get ready. This is going to be one of the best meals you’ll ever have,” he said lightly. Divya’s silence was heavy in the air, but she cracked a smile as they looked up at the sign that read Joey’s Love Boat.

A bar and kitchen were set up on the sandy shore. The dining room was a houseboat. A young girl wearing a tank top and shorts asked them to wait until a table opened up. There was a small beach area next to the boat, and without discussing it, they both took off their shoes and went to dip their toes in the cool water.

“What did you mean when you said we can’t be friends?” she asked without preamble.

“It’s exactly what you think, Divya.”

He turned and put his hands on her arms. Her body softened and she moved closer to him until their noses touched. A lump formed in his throat. “You were right Divya, when it’s the right person, you don’t need a lot of time to know. It took Vivek three weeks to know that you were the one for him. It’s only taken me three days. I love you, Divya.”

She froze, then stepped back from him.

“Your table is ready.” The waitress appeared, holding menus. Ethan let go of Divya and she turned away from him. His heart sank deep into his toes. This was why he’d jumped today, to find the courage to tell her how he felt. She could choose to end things now, but he didn’t want to be with her unless she knew he was in it for real.

Every minute he spent with her, he knew he’d be in free fall. He wanted to know how she felt before it was too late to pull the parachute.

The hostess led them onto the boat. There were only ten tables, each covered with a colorful tablecloth and adorned with fresh flowers arranged in beer bottles.

As they sat, the boat rocked slightly, causing a little of the water the waitress had poured into their glasses to slosh over the rims. The afternoon was hot and muggy, and he noticed Divya fanning herself. “I should’ve warned you we were going someplace hot so you could’ve dressed for it.”

“You should’ve warned me that things were going to get hot between us.”

The waitress reappeared to take their orders, and Divya asked him to order for them. He ordered coconut shrimp, fresh mahi-mahi, and as the waitress was leaving, Divya asked for a rum punch.

“Need a drink, huh?” he quipped.

“We need to talk.”

While a part of him had hoped she’d tell him she loved him too and was ready to be with him, he hadn’t really expected it. That wasn’t how things worked for him. Like everyone else in his life, she was about to reject him.

“I need to tell you the real reason I don’t want to get married.”

He leaned forward. Was she finally going to trust him with what she’d been holding back?

“Remember I told you about Sameer’s car accident?” A lump formed in her throat and she felt the sting of tears in her eyes. “He was hurt pretty badly, but he recovered fine, or so we all thought. Then we went into lockdown, and I noticed he started acting strangely. At first, I was worried he had the virus, but when I pushed to call the family doctor, Sameer told me that he hadn’t given up the pain medications from his accident. He’d been buying them illegally and couldn’t get them because of the lockdown. He was in withdrawal. He didn’t want the family to know, he was so ashamed.”

“So you hid it from them and helped him through it.” Ethan wasn’t surprised that Divya had nurtured her brother through his addiction.

She nodded. “It wasn’t just about protecting his health. Arjun’s wife, Rani, was pregnant, and they were in Vegas for the lockdown. Sameer had taken on Arjun’s business responsibilities so Arjun could focus on his family. The last thing Sameer could do was manage a multibillion-dollar empire while going through withdrawal. I was already involved in the business, so I took over his responsibilities. No one knew that I was doing his work. My family still doesn’t know.”

“Is Sameer still struggling?”

She nodded. “He says he’s fine. He hasn’t relapsed for almost six months, but in two months, we’re going to be launching a new hotel in DC, and I know what the stress does to him.”

“Why can’t another family member help him?”

“The only person who could handle that kind of responsibility is Arjun. But he can’t leave Vegas and return to India. His daughter, Simmi, was born with a heart murmur. She’s had surgery, but she needs to be constantly monitored, and she can’t travel. That’s why my wedding was in Vegas. It would kill Arjun to leave Rani and Simmi alone.”

“What about your sisters?”

“Sameer is too manipulative for my younger sisters to handle. The last time he relapsed, it took me weeks to figure it out and I was watching him like a hawk.”

“So you’re going to dedicate your life to helping him cope?” Ethan couldn’t keep the disbelief