Sink or Swim (Beach Kingdom Book 3) by Tessa Bailey

Author:Tessa Bailey [Bailey, Tessa]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, mobi
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Tessa Bailey
Published: 2019-08-16T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Jiya wore black to dinner.

It wasn’t an intentional decision to dress like a pallbearer, but she stared down at her black tunic and matching leggings now, wishing she’d at least thrown on a colorful necklace to hide behind, so her grief wouldn’t be quite so obvious. Though the shadows under her eyes she’d had no luck concealing were probably the dead giveaway, rather than her outfit.

She swallowed with an effort and picked up her fork, prodding the fragrant curry her mother had prepared for their guests. Normally, the intoxicating smell of garlic and tamarind made her stomach double in size to accommodate all the food, but it was currently the size of the pea. So rebellious to the idea of food, she was afraid to offer it a bite.

Sensing eyes on her, Jiya glanced up and smiled at Mrs. Chauhan.

Her date’s mother.

At the head of the table, Jiya’s father sat, happily tucked into his curry, a lot like Mr. Chauhan, while the mothers were visibly searching for a jumping off point in the conversation.

“Ajay graduated from Columbia. Business school,” Jiya’s mother said, beaming that hundred-watt hostess smile at Jiya, where she sat at the other end of the dining room table.

Across from her date.

You are on a date.

Jiya squared her shoulders and nodded politely at the man who’d arrived with his parents twenty minutes ago. Their mothers were taking turns bragging about their children’s accomplishments, which was one percent nice and ninety-nine percent awkward. She hadn’t exchanged a single word with the man being presented as her potential husband yet, but there had been some shared eye rolls over the proceedings that gave her hope.

Yes. Jiya was determined to give this evening her undivided attention.

Her heart was inside of her chest, beating as usual.

It wasn’t in the house next door, bleeding all over Andrew’s bedroom floor. That was simply how it felt. But she’d given Andrew the chance to stop tonight from happening. He hadn’t taken it. He hadn’t tried to stop her or offered an explanation. Jiya was done.

The pain she’d been living in since Friday morning threatened to clobber her over the head, so she picked up her lassi and took a healthy sip, begging the agony to subside. Get through tonight. You can get through tonight. Then the next day. And the day after.

“He’s also very tech savvy, aren’t you, Ajay?” his mother chimed in while passing a bowl of basmati rice. “I never have to bring my phone to get fixed. He does it himself.”

Looking kind of sheepish, Ajay leaned across the table toward Jiya. “Tech savvy is her polite way of saying I play too much Minecraft.”

His mother bopped him on the shoulder. “Only when he’s not working, of course. Or reading.”

“Reading Minecraft manuals,” Ajay mouthed.

A genuine smile curved Jiya’s lips, though it was a struggle to keep it locked in place. She took a bite of food and forced it past the never-leaving lump in her throat, studying Ajay across the table as discreetly as possible.

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