Ajay grinned as he rolled his sleeves to his elbows. “You’ve made things more interesting since you’ve showed up, Rajneet Kaur Hothi. I’ll give you that.” After forwarding the address she’d sent to his driver, he got to work.

He put his surround-sound speakers to use and played some music on low. There was already a bottle of white from his family vineyards chilling, and it took no time at all for the sounds of garlic, onions, ghee, and cumin seeds to sizzle in a wok on his restaurant-grade stove.

Ajay liked to say that his mother taught him how to cook, but in all honesty, his mother had refused to let him in the kitchen. It was her domain and she did what she wanted. It wasn’t until he started working long hours after college that he realized if he wanted home cooking, he’d have to do it himself. And then the art of putting dinner together, even if it was only to feed himself on late nights, relaxed him. It was the perfect transition he needed after a long day.

It didn’t hurt his sex life, either.

He’d set the chicken to simmer and the naan in the oven to warm when his phone buzzed.

FRONT DESK: Mr. Singh, we have a Ms. Hothi here to see you.

AJAY: Send her up. Please also add her to the list of approved visitors.

FRONT DESK: Yes, sir.

Anticipation hummed in his veins as he filled two wineglasses. He took one of them to the door with him and opened it just as Raj stepped out of the elevator. She looked elegant in her cream sheath dress with short sleeves and a boat neck. For the first time, Ajay could see the elegant curve of her neck, since she’d scooped her hair up in a loose ponytail. Raj paused when she spotted him, surprise etched in the tired lines of her face, changing to approval at the glass of wine in his hand.

“I hope that’s for me,” she said.

“You sounded like you could use it.”

“I could, yes.”

She gave him her large tote to carry and slipped the wineglass out of his hand. Ajay moved just enough so she could enter his apartment. She had to brush past him, and the look she shot him over her shoulder had Ajay grinning. She knew exactly what he’d done.

Ajay waited as she removed her heels and then followed her silently into his kitchen.

“This is . . . wow,” she said as she stopped in front of the windows. “My brownstone could never compete with the view.”

He put her tote down next to his briefcase and moved behind her. “Even if you had the option of a penthouse, it wouldn’t accomplish what you were trying to do.”

“Oh?” Her lips pursed, naked of any lipstick. “Do tell what you think I was trying to accomplish.”