Secrets of a Bollywood Marriage

Her love couldn’t have been that strong. Couldn’t have been real. Perhaps it had been simply desire. Infatuation. Maybe she had been in love with the fantasy hero he had created onscreen.

When he’d seen her standing in the billiards room tonight, his first thought had been that his mind had been playing tricks. He had dreamed of Tina every night and his wishes had spilled into his waking moments. Yet this time her beautiful face was bare and her ebony hair stood up in spikes. Her wrinkled and loose clothes concealed her gentle curves. He hadn’t been dreaming. She had finally returned. He’d thought this was a sign that she wanted to save their marriage. Instead she wanted to break the bond between them.

“I don’t want to be your wife,” Tina said.

Dev braced himself as those words pierced him. He was going to change her mind. All he needed was time and the fire that had slowly extinguished between them would burn hot and strong again. Only this time he wouldn’t ignore the signs of trouble. “Play along for the next two months and I will not contest the divorce,” he lied.

“Two months?” She shook her head. “That’s too long.”

It wasn’t long enough. “Pretend to be a devoted, adoring wife. It shouldn’t be a problem for you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

He wondered now how much of the love she expressed had been genuine. If it had been real, how could he have lost it so quickly? “You’re an actress. You can do it.”

Tina cast him a suspicious look. “And what do you mean by devoted and adoring wife?”

“We act like a happily married couple.” At this moment, he would accept the fake intimacy and forced smiles. Anything that he could build on. “There are people watching us all the time. Servants, the public, our colleagues. We can’t give them any indication that we’re going to get a divorce.”

“Does this mean you’re going to act like a devoted and adoring husband?”

He frowned. “Yes, of course.” He didn’t need to pretend. His conduct shouldn’t be questioned. “We will share this house and a bed.”

She held her hands up and took a step back. “I’m not agreeing to that.”

Dev gritted his teeth. Where was the newlywed bride who had been so eager to start their married life? Where was the seductive woman who would find him at his desk in the middle of the night and drag him back to bed? “You are in no position to negotiate.”

Tina bent her head and curled in her shoulders. She wrung her hands and whispered something to herself. Dev watched as she struggled to make a decision. She acted as if she was making an unpalatable deal with the devil.

She suddenly lifted her head and met his gaze. “I will stay here for two months,” she said furiously. “I will act like a devoted wife if I have to, but I am not having sex with you.”

“Wait until you get an offer before you reject it,” he said coldly. There had been a time when she couldn’t keep her hands off him. Did she hate him that much? Was this plan to regain her love impossible? “But we will need to sleep in the same bed.”

“Then you’ll need to sleep with one eye open,” she said with false sweetness.

“Tina, nothing you say or do is going to scare me off.” He leaned down until his mouth almost brushed her ear. “Or are you the one who’s scared? Worried that you’ll reach out for me in the middle of the night.”

“No!” She jumped back as if she’d been burned. “That was before I learned that you were not the kind of husband I wanted.”

And he had two months to prove to Tina that he was the only man she needed. “We need to return to our guests,” he said as he reached for her hand.

She crossed her arms tightly. “I’m in no mood to party.”

“I don’t care.” Dev continued to hold out his hand. She had finally come back into his life and he wanted her at his side. He wasn’t going to give her any excuse to create more distance.

She threaded her tense fingers in her short hair and looked down at her jeans. “I need to change first.”

“No.” She would barricade herself into the room the first chance she got.

Tina’s lips flattened into a stern line as she debated her next move. Dev was tempted to grab her hand and gather her close. Hold her tightly against him until their heartbeats were in unison and their movements were one.

“Dev?” A familiar lilting voice carried through the courtyard.

Dev swallowed back an oath when he heard Shreya Sen’s voice. He watched as Tina jerked her head up. She took a step back and glared at him. “What is she doing here?”

“Careful, jaan.” Dev grasped her hand. Her fingers were curled into a fist. “You are supposed to be my devoted wife.”

“Devoted?” Tina exhaled sharply. “Oh, I’ll give you devoted. I’ll give you such a performance that you’re going to wish you never made this deal.”

CHAPTER THREE

“DEV, WHERE ARE YOU?” The click of Shreya’s high heels announced her arrival before the woman appeared on the stone path. “I said I would act as the hostess, but that didn’t mean—oh, Tina!”

“Hello, Shreya,” Tina replied as calmly as she could while the anger swelled against her chest. Hostess? This woman who everyone wanted Dev to marry—his parents, the industry, the movie fans—had been the hostess in her home? How often had this occurred?

Tina glanced at Dev for confirmation. An explanation. He didn’t look at her, and why would he with the Bollywood goddess around? Her husband had welcomed Shreya with a smile but she couldn’t read his expression. Would he really be that blatant? Would he have installed his first choice of a wife in their home?

“I didn’t know you were back,” Shreya said as she ran her manicured fingers along her long black hair.

Liar, Tina thought with a tight smile. Shreya would have heard that Tina had made an appearance at the party. The woman not only wanted to run interference at any possible reunion, but she also wanted it to be known just how close she had become with Dev for the past few months.

Tina didn’t need to hear it from Shreya. She had learned quite a lot in the rolled-up tabloid that was crammed in the bottom of her purse. The cover story had been a mix of fact and speculation, but it was the snapshots around Mumbai that had been like a dagger to the heart. How long have these two been lovers? Dev said that he had been faithful, but Tina wasn’t so sure. He shared a past with Shreya and she wondered if they had reunited once he’d got rid of his wife.

Tina glared at the other woman. Shreya Sen had been voted one of the most beautiful women in the world. Tina reluctantly admitted the glamorous actress was stunning. She managed to be sexy and elegant at the same time. Tonight she wore a short and strapless red dress that accentuated her golden skin and feminine curves.

Shreya’s gaze swept over Tina’s casual clothes and bare face. “Nice haircut,” she murmured.

Tina’s hands clenched into fists and she refused to touch the short tufts. Instead she flashed a brilliant smile and curled her hand around Dev’s arm. It was painful being this close to him. Once she had clung to this man, believing he loved and cherished her. Now she knew he would break her heart without a second thought, that he was doing this for a business deal.

She trembled as she rested her fingers against his muscular arm. Tina gritted her teeth when he covered her hand with his. She knew it was part of the act but she felt trapped.

“Thank you,” Tina said hoarsely to Shreya as her pulse kicked hard. “It’s a very popular style in America.”

She felt Dev’s arm tense as he looked down at her. Their gaze held and Tina realized she had just revealed where she’d been for the past few months. She needed to guard her tongue before she confessed everything.

“What do you think of my new look?” Tina prompted Dev.

“I like it,” he replied, his eyes darkening as he reached up and tweaked the spiky ends between his fingertips.

He hated it. Tina knew he would but that didn’t stop her. It may have been the deciding factor for such a dramatic change. She had wanted a fresh start and was prepared to shed her old self. Cutting her hair had been symbolic of the new and improved Tina Sharma. She’d regretted it the moment she had walked out of the salon.

“America?” Shreya’s loud voice jarred Tina out of her daze. “Is that where you’ve been? People have been treating it like it’s a secret.”

“I wanted some privacy while I recuperated.” Tina said as she rested her head against Dev’s shoulder. Her throat tightened as she remembered how easy it had been in the past to make this simple gesture. “I could stay in America and not be noticed.”

“Oh, Tina.” Shreya clucked her tongue and shook her head. “You didn’t need to go that far away. I’m sure you could walk around Mumbai undetected.”

Tina took a deep breath as the cutting words found their target, like a stiletto under the ribs. She didn’t need the reminder that her career was almost dead and that it had never reached the same heights as the guests at the party. “I wasn’t willing to take the chance.”