“And you! You had me so worked up yesterday that I practically told Ajay that I was falling in love with him. A general never shares her intentions before the opposition.”

Khunda yawned and licked her paw.

“You’re right. Ajay had told me that I needed to think of us as partners, not adversaries. Well, he knows his partner’s weakness now.”

Raj picked Khunda up and gave her a little cuddle.

“You like Ajay, don’t you,” Raj said in Punjabi as she carried her tired little Chihuahua out of the dressing room. “Hopefully you sleep nice at his house and only wake up once in the middle of the night. You were such a good girl, using your pee pads and sleeping near me. I’m so proud of you.”

Raj put on Khunda’s light fall jacket and attached a harness. Twelve years ago, she would’ve never thought she’d be the type of person to talk to dogs, but here she was, having a full conversation with her new housemate, and doing it with a bounce in her step.

When was the last time she’d felt this satisfied? It had to be before she filed for divorce, before Robert quit working for her, and before he’d asked her to change the nature of their relationship.

Sure, part of her joy was because of her connection to Ajay. And now that she’d made the decision to spend more time with him, no one, especially not her ex-husband, was going to stop her. She deserved to be happy.

She zipped up her vest over a cowl-neck sweater and put on her walking heels while Khunda chased her tail. Raj then carefully strapped Khunda into her pet stroller. The partial awning was tied back so Khunda could enjoy the view, and her overnight bag, along with Raj’s, was already tucked in the storage basket underneath.

Kaka helped carry the stroller down the front steps.

“Where are you going?” he asked. “I just got home from my trip and you are running around already.”

“I’ve been busy! Why don’t you go home?” she said to him in Punjabi.

He blinked owlishly at her through his wide-rimmed spectacles. “Then what would you do for dinner? I’m making subzi with roti. Eggplant.”

“As delicious as that sounds,” she said as she adjusted the strap of the purse that she’d grabbed, “I am going out. I’ll eat it for breakfast. Or you take it with you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Kaka gave her a narrow look and then said, “Call me if you need me to pick you up.”

He patted Khunda’s head and went back into the house.