Where the Lotus Flowers Grow Read Online Free PDF Page B

a bucket of water on her. I doubted anyone had ever spoken to her that way. Liam smiled at her, further throwing her off. That smile remained frozen on his face, as though they were having a friendly conversation, but the green in his eyes had brightened with a simmering rage.
    The women nervously knotted her colorful dupatta . Liam had no idea how much work went into planning a Hindu wedding or how ridiculous she’d look if she had to tell her guests to go to another hotel. Or judging from the smile on his face, maybe he did.
    “You cannot. I have paid for the room for two nights. We have booked the banquet hall.” She crossed her arms, an expression of righteousness, but her shoulders shook slightly. I almost felt sorry for her.
    “I will be happy to refund your money and find alternative lodgings for your party.”
    “That…that won’t be necessary.”
    “Good. Now then, what is the problem?”
    She pointed toward me. “I gave her a list with a specific item. She returned with the wrong type.”
    “That can easily be fixed. I’ll send someone else to get exactly what you need. Why don’t you return to your room? I’ll have some vouchers for our restaurant brought to you as well.”
    She nodded her head, clearly too stunned to speak.
    “What item did you want, madam?”
    “The girl...the girl has it.”
    “Her name is Mary. We’ll get it to you.”
    Liam stuffed his hands in his pockets, watching the woman and her friend walk away. His jaw unclenched as soon as they were out of sight. He turned to me, lifting an eyebrow. I held up the list, pointed to the door, and then back to myself in some kind of ridiculous pantomime I hoped he’d understand. I’ll get it. I’ll make this right. When he didn’t respond, for reasons I couldn’t understand myself, I let out a barrage of Hindi stating the same. It was the automatic response I had with foreign guests.
    Still, he was silent. He shifted, his face focused straight ahead as if there were something interesting in the long corridor ahead of us. I decided not to wait for his dismissal. I walked away, but his footsteps clicked behind me, his shadow reflecting on the white marble floors casting over me. I headed the back way through the employee entrance. The steady click of his shoes gave way to hard thuds as the floor switched from the marble to the soft rug, each sound pumping more blood to my heart.
    He cleared his throat. I paused. Pivoting toward him, I tried to ignore the tension in every one of my muscles. He opened a door to a vacant banquet room and jerked his head, indicating I should enter. Taking a much-needed steadying breath, I walked inside. “Sir?” I asked, embarrassed by how timid and weak my voice sounded.
    He closed the door behind him and leaned against it. The air suddenly felt thicker and warmer against my skin. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the inevitable.
    “How many languages do you speak, Miss Costa? I believe you fully grasped each of my botched attempts at an introduction.”
    I was struck silent by his question.
    “How many?” he asked again. I was wrong. It wasn’t a question, but a demand.
    “Four fluently. Two not as fluently.”
    “Do you know how many I speak?”
    I shook my head slowly.
    “One. Just one. Luckily, it’s one you know. I’m not playing charades with you. You can communicate with me just fine, Lotus Girl. In fact, you speak the Queen’s English a damn sight better than most Englishmen.” He leaned in closer to me, the safety of our gap disappearing. His voice dropped to a husky whisper, sending a silent shiver through my whole body. “So when you speak to me, Mary Costa, bloody well use words I can understand.”
    I swallowed, every cell in my body urging me to run. I could handle Kishore’s unwelcomed advances. I could ignore a mean guest berating me. And I could take a lot worse, too. But Liam Montgomery’s challenging stare was not something to be handled or ignored. “As you wish,