“That just adds to the taste,” she teased him. “I can’t believe you haven’t been to a bazaar or eaten street food. You need to see more of Mumbai.”
“I was born and raised here,” he reminded her.
“Not my Mumbai.” She flashed a smile of thanks to the paan walla as she accepted the stuffed beetle leaf that lay on a small square of tin foil. As Dev paid with rupees, Tina tucked the treat in her mouth, resting it between her teeth and the inside of her cheek. She tilted her head back and moaned. “Ah, now that tastes like home.”
Dev looked away abruptly. As if he couldn’t stand the sight of her. Her stomach twisted and suddenly she wanted to spit out the paan. “Are you sure you don’t want to get one of your own?” she asked.
“I’m sure.” His words were clipped with anger. “Let’s go find some chaat.”
Tina hated his mercurial mood. He had never acted like that before and yet it was happening constantly in the past two weeks. Just when she thought they had found a truce, it slipped away. It was like dark storm clouds rolling in suddenly and blocking out the sun.
She also noticed that he hadn’t touched her in two weeks. The briefest touch and flirty banter teased her, had her waiting for his next move, but nothing happened. He didn’t hold her through the night or swoop in for a kiss.
She was glad about that. Just thrilled. Tina always knew that this day would come, when he no longer found her attractive. It was bound to happen. She may not have a hold on his senses, but he would never know how weak she was for him.
“Aloo tikki sounds good, doesn’t it?” she asked with determined brightness. “I’ve always had a weakness for potatoes. Ooh, no. Forget that. What about panipuri?” Her hands fluttered in front of her mouth as she thought about the crispy treat that was filled with spicy water. “I haven’t had that for ages.”
“You could have had that months ago if you had returned home with me.”
Tina decided to ignore that comment. “We should move faster before someone recognizes us. And unless you want to start a mob, stop giving money to the beggars.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Dev’s attention was straight ahead as they navigated the busy sidewalk.
“You keep slipping rupees to anyone who asks,” she said. “They’re going to follow and ask for more. And the other beggars will see that you’re a soft touch and it’s going to get out of hand.”
“It’s okay, Tina. I can always get more. I just...” He snapped his mouth shut and gave a shrug. “I can’t help it.”
“I know.” Dev didn’t know what it was like to go hungry or worry about money, but she could tell how much it upset him to see the suffering. He had always refrained from asking her what it had been like to live in extreme poverty. Tina was grateful for that. She wanted to protect him from the ugly truth.
“Oh, look.” She grabbed his arm and pointed at the magazine racks in front of a DVD store. “Movie magazines!”
“I know you love reading these rags, but you can’t believe everything they say,” he warned.
“I read these all the time when I was trying to break into the business.” She turned the carousel until she found the weekly magazine she had always enjoyed. She gasped when she saw an old picture of herself on the cover. “Bollywood’s Bad Girl?” she read the headline.
“That reminds me,” Dev said as he watched her flip through the magazine to find the story, “how did your meetings go with your agent?”
She winced. “I don’t want to talk about it.” If there had been any good or promising news, Tina would have immediately shared the information with Dev. It was difficult to share the disappointing news with someone who had the Midas touch.
“It couldn’t be that bad.”
“Yes, it could.” Tina paused and glanced up at Dev. “The shampoo company dropped me from my endorsement deal because of my haircut.”
He nodded as if he wasn’t surprised. “I’m sure they had a clause about you changing your appearance without their permission.”
“And I lost out on a role,” she admitted as her shoulders slumped. “One of the Kapoors got it. I should have known. The director is a cousin.”
Dev hesitated. “You know, Arjun Entertainment...”
She immediately straightened her shoulders back and continuing flipping through the magazine pages. “Thank you, Dev, but I can’t work for you.”
“But you can work for my competitors?”