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

told me that her parents would never accept someone who wasn’t Indian. I swear, he purposely picks women who’re going to break his heart.”

“You know he met Divya while trying to crash Pooja’s wedding? I saw it on social media. Divya was marrying someone else four days ago and got cold feet. I’m worried about him, Mom. I don’t want to see him get hurt. It’s obvious he cares about her.”

Marilyn sighed. “He’s been like this all his life. I don’t know whether he’s faster at falling in love or out of it. I’ll try talking to him tomorrow.”

Divya’s stomach dropped. Marilyn had just put into words the thing she feared the most. When Ethan told her he loved her, she wanted nothing more than to say it back to him. To tell him that she had been picturing what it’d be like to introduce him to her family, to have him dress up in an Indian sherwani and celebrate the upcoming Diwali holidays with them. She had started thinking of things that she’d never considered before. But she’d never told anyone she’d loved them. Not even Vivek. The best she’d been able to tell him was “ditto” when he’d said it to her, and she hadn’t truly meant it. For her, love was something that happened once in a lifetime. With someone that made her heart explode. That someone was Ethan. But she didn’t want to be yet another girl that he was in free fall with. He’d said that he expected her to break his heart, but somehow she knew he’d be the one shattering hers.

She heard plates clinking, then the door open and close. She waited a few more minutes, then quietly slipped back into the backyard.

“Wow, this pie is amazing, where did you get it?” Heather exclaimed.

“Divya brought it from the Florida Keys.”

“Mmm, why haven’t you brought this for us before, Ethan?” Matt cut himself another piece. “Did you take her skydiving with Buck?” The way he said it, Divya got the feeling that it was something Ethan did all the time. Maybe it was his standard date for all those girls he’d fallen in love with.

Everyone pitched in to clear the table, and Divya liked the easy way they worked together. The kids carried the plates to the kitchen while Marilyn and Heather packed up the leftovers, and Matt, Ethan and Bill moved the extra dining room chairs back inside. Divya stood back and watched, listening to their banter, watching Ethan light up from the inside.

Matt, Heather and the kids left to get the kids to bed. Ethan began loading the dishwasher, and Bill wiped down the kitchen counters.

“Coffee, Divya? Or do you prefer tea?”

“Whatever you’re having.”

Marilyn started the coffeemaker. Divya watched Ethan load the dishwasher, arguing with his dad about the best way to position the dishes. Her brother Arjun liked to cook, but she’d never seen him clean. Rani was working hard to teach him how to wash dishes. Divya and her siblings had grown up with servants who did the cleaning after family meals, under her mother’s supervision while her father and brothers retired to the living room for a nightcap.

Marilyn handed Divya a coffee cup, and they went to the front porch and sat in the rocking chairs.

“You know, I really don’t mind you and Ethan sleeping in the same room,” Marilyn said.

Divya’s cheeks burned. “My parents are very old-fashioned. It wouldn’t feel right.”

Marilyn smiled. “I can tell your mother raised you well. Thank you helping with the kids tomorrow.”

“It’s my pleasure. They seem wonderful.” Divya meant it. Two of her closest friends were married with kids, and while she adored her pseudo nieces and nephews, they were spoiled. Matt’s kids seemed to be well-grounded, the way she’d like to raise her own kids. The thought stopped her cold. Why was she thinking about children?

Marilyn looked toward the Lexus with the bow on it. “I don’t know what Ethan was thinking with that car.”

Divya bit her lip. She hadn’t heard the full exchange between Ethan and his parents regarding the car, but from the face he carried with him to dinner, she knew they’d rejected it, just as she’d suspected they would. It wasn’t her place to say anything but what did she have to lose? It wasn’t as if she was trying to impress his parents or audition for the role of his wife. She might as well help him as a friend.

“You know, he was really excited to give you the car. It would mean a lot to him if you’d accept it.”

“I don’t know how many times we’ve tried to explain to Ethan that we don’t want money or gifts, and yet he doesn’t seem to get it,” Marilyn said irritably.

Divya’s heart clenched. “Do you know that during the pandemic, he donated most of the money he earned to people who had lost their jobs and healthcare workers? He still pays the salaries of those employees who died from the virus or can no longer work so their families are okay. He goes around giving ridiculous tips. He’s not like the other billionaires in the world who spend their money buying mansions.” Her voice nearly cracked as she thought about how excited he’d been to give his mother the car. “He’s not trying to throw his money around. He feels lucky to have it and wants to share it with the people he loves most.”

Marilyn blew out a breath. “We don’t want to hurt his feelings. It’s just that the money seems to have changed him. He used to take the kids to the park, and now he wants to take them to Paris and London. That’s not how I raised my boys, and it’s not how Matt wants to raise his kids.”

Divya chewed on her lip. She didn’t know Ethan’s parents and maybe she should keep her mouth shut and stay out of the whole situation. “Ethan loves the way he grew up. This is not about