The Runaway Bridegroom Read Online Free PDF Page A

- a first in his life. Was he running away from a college student of all women? He refused to face the issue.
     
    RANVEER RANG THE BELL OF Shikha’s dingy apartment at exactly 8.15 pm. She rushed to the door and opened it to give him a wide smile. He was wearing a rich cream churidhar-kurta in tussar silk and looked good enough to eat. A closer look showed Shikha the minute self-coloured embroidery on the kurta . Hmm—the man had great taste, it seemed.
       Shikha looked very attractive in the dark red sari and halter-neck blouse. Both the sari and blouse were embellished with heavy gold zardosi work. Her make-up was skilfully applied. While she had tried her best to look twenty-five, she hadn’t quite succeeded.
       “Ready to go?” asked Ranveer, a twinge of a smile on his manly lips. “I like a woman who’s punctual.”
       Shikha almost purred in delight. Having been a secretary all her life, she had the tendency to be a stickler for time. In fact, she was very happy to see Ranveer had arrived on the dot.
       She nodded her black head, the glossy curls bouncing and dancing around her shoulders. She turned around to pick up her red and gold clutch along with the gold-embroidered shawl that she had left on a chair. She didn’t bother inviting Ranveer in as her flat was quite tiny and definitely not something that would have made the centrefold of Good Homes magazine.
       Ranveer opened the passenger door of the sleek and creamy BMW for Shikha. He closed the door gently once she was seated and went around to get into the driver’s seat. He started the car wondering what he had let himself in for.
       He needn’t have worried. The evening wasn’t that bad. Shikha was quite thrilled with her escort and wanted to introduce him to every one of her acquaintances and there were a number of them. They went to meet the bride and groom for a minute and then hung around with the crowd.
       Ranveer did go to parties a couple of times in a month while one couldn’t call him a social animal. He knew how to make the right noises and could hold his drink.
       They left at 1.00 am with Shikha feeling on top of the world while Ranveer felt like an indulgent uncle who had taken his niece out for the evening. He dropped her at her door and went home to spend another sleepless night.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Seven
     
       Shikha also didn’t sleep a wink that night. She looked back on the evening she had spent with the man in her life - or so she liked to believe.
       It had been just wonderful, introducing Ranveer to her friends. Shikha was sure that she had been the envy of all her women friends. Ranveer was so good-looking and possessed excellent manners. He also appeared to get along well with everyone.
       ‘Really?’ The question arose quietly from within the depths of her mind. A frown puckered her forehead as she relived the evening scene by scene. Ranveer had smiled and shook hands with each new person that he met, all of them Shikha’s contacts. He had appeared sociable and friendly, but how much had he actually spoken?
       Shikha’s scowl deepened. She realised that Ranveer had uttered barely a handful of words. She gritted her teeth in irritation. The man was definitely a moron. He had just hung around the whole evening, his glass always half-full, a smile on his face and not much to say.
       It never struck Shikha that maybe Ranveer had nothing to say to her frivolous friends as he wasn’t a party animal; he had nothing to contribute in the way of gossip and he was anything but a Page 3 personality.
       But Shikha equated him to a ‘dumb blonde’. She forgot the successful business that he had set up single-handed; the fifty-odd staff who worked for him and his quietly luxurious lifestyle. She just wanted to scream at him.
       Shikha had invited Ranveer out and he had agreed to go with