“If my grandmother could see me, she’d laugh at my fortune.” Raj approached Kaka and leaned in to give him a smacking kiss on his bearded cheek. “You should be packing. Your flight for India leaves in a few hours.”

“What do I need? My family is there to take care of me.”

Raj felt a pang of guilt. She’d called Kaka right after she’d gotten married and asked the man who’d taken care of her family’s home since she was a little girl to come and take care of her in New York. She made sure he had ample time to visit his grandchildren and brothers and sisters in Punjab, but she was too selfish to let him go so he could return to India permanently. The thought of living without the one constant source of love in her life frightened her.

He guessed her train of thought because one minute he was scolding her, the next he was cupping her cheeks and kissing her forehead. “You’ll be fine, gudiya,” he said gruffly.

“I know. I’ll still miss you.”

A timer buzzed softly in the distance and Kaka’s eyes went wide. “I forgot the bloody kheer I made.” He dashed toward the kitchen.

He’d made her kheer. Her favorite sweet rice pudding. Knowing Kaka, he’d probably stocked her freezer with a bunch of other things, too.

“I’ll taste the kheer when I get back from lunch, and then we’ll head to the airport!” she called out.

She had twenty minutes to get to the restaurant where she was meeting Mina. Luckily the restaurant was near the animal shelter where she volunteered on weekends, so if the meeting went poorly, she could pop in and cuddle with the dogs.

She was never allowed to have a pet back in India because her parents always said that animals in the house were bad luck. After she moved to the U.S., school, marriage, getting her business off the ground had taken up so much of her time that all she could do was play with the puppies at the shelter periodically. There had also been Robert’s allergies. Now that he was going to be out of her life, and she was starting over, she’d finally get that dog she always wanted.

With images of warm snuggling dogs in her head, Raj grabbed her bag and opened the front door. She almost ran straight into her ex-husband. Robert stood on her stoop with a fist raised, ready to knock.

“Is there a reason why you’re knocking on my door during the workday?”

His mouth pursed. “Is there a reason why you’re home during a workday?”

“I don’t believe that’s your business anymore.”

He leaned forward, peering into the house. “And you’re alone? You’re usually swarmed with assistants and staff.”

“Not your business, Mr. Douglass. Your turn.”