Was it Good for You Too? (26 page)

“I never had sex with any one of them,” Amir confessed in a low tone.

Delvin choked on his drink and quickly grabbed his napkin. He shot Amir a look of complete disbelief.

Tailan placed her wineglass on the table as that admission doused her with cold water shock. She searched his eyes for signs of duplicity and found none.

“I … I could not … And they recognized my limitation for what it was,” Amir admitted. “I did not even indulge in our kind of foreplay where I would be intimate with them.” His gaze was nothing short of intense. “I always saved that for my wife.”

She lifted her glass again, took a sip as she mulled over his words. “So basically what you're was saying is that you've only had platonic relationships with the women you've chosen.”

Amir's gaze locked with hers. “That is why there had been so many. They wanted more than I was able to give.”

Delvin took a sip of his wine and said, “Even if you're telling the truth--.”

“He's telling the truth,” Tailan admitted. “It would be too easy to contact the women and verify it, but one thing Amir does not do is lie.”

“But that is of no consequence,” Delvin countered, glaring at Amir. “Because for all this time you've allowed her to
believe
that more was between you and those women. And that was for a purpose too. Unfortunately, it's come back to bite you—and me—in the ass.

Tailan reached for her menu, and while scanning the dishes, she reaffirmed her stance. “Gentlemen, it's all or nothing. Whoever wants to walk away has my blessing. Other than our children—whom I'll never allow to be separated—there's nothing binding either of you to me.”

She peered over the menu and stared directly at her men. “Remember, you two put this into motion. Face it, fellas. Women share men all the time.”

Tailan glanced at her menu again as the men tried to blame one another for their current predicament and exchanged accusatory glances.

She hid a wicked smile behind her menu as she said, “I'll simply know about it, and so will the two of you. The ball is definitely in your court.”

Chapter 32

Amir hated how easily he had adjusted to the idea of sharing Tailan. The night that she had laid down the gauntlet on him and Delvin, he was outraged. But as the days stretched into weeks, and the harmony of his home improved dramatically, his resentment of the situation slowly dissipated.

Tailan was in complete control of their sensuality. She had established strict rules regarding how each man would be involved in her life. Amir had believed that the compulsive selfish streak that coursed through Delvin's veins would take him immediately out of the running. The stubborn worm actually conceded, but only on certain levels—as long as Tailan was married, Delvin would not make love to her. They could share surface intimacies, but it would not cross the line of penetration. Amir was so thrown it took everything in him not to show it. To Delvin's declaration, Tailan only smiled. Amir knew that smile. She believed she could wear him down. Evidently, she didn't know Delvin Germaine as much as she thought.

Tailan had his heart and Delvin's, and the woman had used that alone to make both men yield to a certain degree. Amir wanted to feel more angered by the entire situation, but the results were more astonishing than he could ignore. The tables had definitely turned—now Tailan was doing the very thing with Delvin that Amir had done with the women he had developed loving relationships with.

Truthfully, she and Amir were closer than ever. Their love life had flourished in ways that nearly brought
him
to tears some nights. She had completely changed. The tension that always seemed to follow her was gone. She now took the challenges created by her job in stride. The time she spent with the girls was full-on and engaging. She glowed with an inner light that made him breathless.

Under the shadow of her happiness was the doubt in his own mind that he was not enough for her. Though they never spoke of her private time with Delvin, the jealousy surfaced more often than Amir cared to admit, as well as the fear that at some point, she would leave him for her first love. Sometimes he wondered how Delvin fared in this regard. And there were times that when she came home from being with Delvin, she was sullen, almost unhappy. Probably because she hadn't been successful at getting Delvin to bed her. All this sacrifice on both men's parts to make sure that Tailan's desires were met. But was it worth it?

In some regards, Amir felt blessed to witness such a transformation in the woman he loved. He assumed that eventually, he would understand the reason why she needed Delvin so much. And then, maybe he would be able to fill the void, and she wouldn't need Delvin at all. Right now, that was the only thing brewing in his mind.

So when his parents made an impromptu visit, he feared that the very foundation of his happiness was about to crumble.

* * *

Uma, Amir's mother, swept into the house, giving a cursory glance to the furnishings that she always said were far beneath her son. After all, he was used to the elaborate decor of the family's Skokie compound. Adesh, Amir's father, marched in right on her heels and stood beside her.

Uma inspected the sofa, practically weighing whether she would catch anything if she sat on it. Amir nearly gave her a menacing look. She didn't move right away, but finally edged over to the corner and perched on the end.

“The family has made a new arrangement for you,” she announced in her thickly accented English.

“What
kind
of arrangement, mother?”

“You are to marry Roshni, your deceased wife's sister. The union is the wish of Esha and Roshni's parents, and you will do it to keep our ties with the Sengupta family and to restore your honor.”

“I have honor. And I am already married,” he countered smoothly.

“To a woman who has no morals. A woman your family will never recognize as your equal,” his father said, scowling. “And she is a negative influence on the daughter of the Sengupta family.”

He should have known Tailan's public episode with Delvin would not go unanswered. “That is unfortunate,” Amir said, glaring at the man whose thunderous expression was commonplace these days. “Mother,” he continued, “I cannot do what the family is asking.”

“Listen to me,” Uma implored. “Because she is not a suitable wife, the family wishes you to take on a second wife—an East Indian wife—to raise your daughter.”

“You mean a third wife,” he corrected. “Why is this so important to you? Why is it so important to father?”

She lowered her hands to her side. “You have been disgraced before all of the family because of her public displays of affection with another man. And the family wants to make sure the wealth stays where it should.”

“You mean you do not want my inheritance going to a woman who is not of our culture.”

“Amir,” she whispered then rose to stand before him. She placed a hand to his cheek. “Son, if you do not fulfill this obligation for the family, I will lose you. I will lose my son. I have already had a daughter taken away.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his gaze flicking between his parents.

“Dhara's death was not an accident.” She shook her head. “She had defiled her purity. The men of Roshni's family insisted that her disgrace be paid for with …” Uma's lids dipped.

Amir gasped and turned from his parents, trembling with an anger he had every right to feel. The implication of his mother's words was agonizing to hear. All this time, he had believed that his sister's death was a result of an unfortunate accident. To know that it was a misguided honor-killing filled him with more rage than grief. They had kept this information from him; they only told him now to manipulate him.

He had always treaded a thin line between his culture and his heart's desire. Being an American raised in an extremely traditional East Indian family had always been a struggle for him. He had done everything they had asked of him, even forgoing his dream of becoming a doctor to go into the family's business of introducing East Indian cuisine to the very Americans they held in such low esteem. Couldn't they allow him this one small slice of joy that being with Tailan brought him?

Amir turned to face his parents, his eyes brimming with unshed tears. “Yet, I'm expected to take another bride from the same family that killed my sister? Though I have already fulfilled my obligation with my marriage to Esha?”

Uma gripped his hands. “If you do not marry Roshni and satisfy this family's new obligation, then the Sengupta family will take great insult.”

Amir stepped away from his parents and turned to see Tailan descending the stairs. Her expression was blank. He was certain she had heard everything. Their bedroom had no television or radio, and there were no other noises in the house because the children were visiting with Delvin.

Tailan grimaced before saying, “Do what you have to do. I can't very well love you if you're not alive.”

“They won't harm me,” he said to Tailan.

“That might be true,” Adesh said, almost relishing his coming announcement. His tone put Amir on full alert. “But if you do not comply, and the Sengupta family feels it is because you have an unnatural attachment to Tailan, then …”

Amir whipped around to Tailan. Her normally golden skin was practically white. “Well, that solves that doesn't it?” She leveled an icy gaze at Adesh that revealed how she felt about him.

“Mother, give us a moment to discuss this,” Amir offered.

“No need to discuss anything,” Tailan said, perching on the bottom stair. “I like breathing; you like breathing. It's as simple as that.”

Adesh's lips slanted in a sly smile. “Good. She is more sensible than I gave her credit for.” He hurried to the door before Tailan could let loose with something that dismantled his manhood—a regular occurrence when those two went head to head. “I will wait in the car.”

Amir looked at Tailan before focusing on his mother. “I will only consider your unreasonable request if you help me find Dhara's children.”

“That is impossible!” his mother said, her raven eyes widening to the size of saucers.

“The family sent them away as though they were lepers!” he barked. “I want to find them, care for them. They are
my
bloodline. I will share my inheritance with her children.” He looked at Tailan. “With all of my children.”

Tailan nodded, and he took that to be significant.

“And another thing,” Amir began. “I will not live in Skokie. My life is with the woman I love.”

“He will marry Roshni but live here,” Uma said to Tailan. Then she turned to Amir and offered, “Move Roshni here away from the family so it is less likely someone will find out that you are still with Tailan.”

“Mother that—”

“I know how you feel, and I am trying to find a way to a suitable solution,” Uma said.

Amir studied his mother with keen eyes. This was so unlike her. She sided with his father in most things. She had really only rallied against Adesh twice. Once, when she convinced him to allow Amir to finish his education at the university. The second was when Amir insisted that he would marry Tailan—a woman who was not of their culture, or he would break from the family completely. Under his stark gaze Uma eased back over to the sofa and sat down, her head low.

He lowered to his knees in front of her. “Mama, you can be censured, even punished for suggesting something like this.”

She lifted her face, unveiling a bitter smile. “When they killed Dhara, a part of me died with her. If they kill you …” Uma shivered from the internal thought.

Amir slipped into the seat right next to her. “So you will help me find them?” he asked.

She lowered her gaze to their clasped hands. “I know where they are.”

“Why did you keep it from me?” he asked.

“I did not want to prolong your pain. There is nothing you can do to help them.”

“You cannot believe that!” he said, pulling his hand away. “You know what it is like for children who do not have family to claim them.”

She avoided his gaze for several moments. “They are in an orphanage in Mumbai. How will you bring them to America?”

“We could adopt them,” Tailan offered.

Amir looked to his wife. “You would do that?”

“You loved your sister, and they are a part of her and you,” she said, rising from the bottom stair and joining them on the sofa. “And it's the least that I can do for you, with everything you've done for me.”

Amir's heart felt a stab of dread that he might lose the most precious thing he had, mostly because of how he had mishandled their relationship. If he had never brought that element into their marriage, if he had been more steadfast in his efforts to bridge the gap between his family and Tailan, she would have held steadfast to their vows, and she would not have been an easy target for Delvin. He was certain of it. “I love you.”

“So it is settled,” Uma said smoothly. “You will marry Roshni—before the families.”

Amir blinked at his mother, astonished at how easily she could enter his home and demolish his entire happiness. “Mother I cannot just—”

“Amir, please do not look so defeated,” she interjected. “I am not the monster you think I am. I understand what love is. You will still spend your time with Tailan, the woman you love.”

“Why are you defying father this way?” The question jumped from his lips before Amir realized it.

Uma's dark pools turned glacial. “Your father,” she spat. Her eyes became vacant as she quickly reined in her emotions. “I believe it is the way to keep you alive and for you to have the woman you want.” Uma treated him to a rare smile full of more joy and contentment than any other he had ever seen from her. “Arranged marriages worked well in my day. Not so good now since children are so willful, so headstrong. Like my Dhara.” She looked back at her son. “Like my Amir.”