Akash

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BY NOON, AKASH FOUND himself elbow deep in rough puff pastry, covered in flour, and studiously avoiding calls from Freddie, Jack, and Aled. They’d all likely heard gossip from Graham, who’d stopped by earlier. His three closest friends would want details on his brief moment with the dishy Royal Marine, but he didn’t necessarily care to divulge any of his secrets yet.

Not without a few glasses of wine.

His old barber friend Jack Sasaki predictably seemed far more interested in Scottie than Hamish. The half-Japanese, half-Cornish man had a serious fetish for rugby—both the game and the players. Akash told him not to bother. The hot-tempered bar manager shouldn’t be dating anyone, not with his anger issues.

Not me, at least.

Of the three Robinson children, Akash boasted the calmest and most balanced temperament. His elder sister took after their mother—strong and intensely forceful at times, but she also tended to separate herself from them for long periods. Shanti, the baby of the family, had an independent streak that could stretch across the globe.

Up until recently, Akash had lived in Fowey with his family, running the bakery with his mum and dad, while his elder sister pursued a career as a paediatrician, and his younger sibling studied fashion design. After a lot of serious thought last year, he’d made the decision to open a second bakery in Cardiff. His family loved him unconditionally, and he loved them, but they could be fairly stifling at times.

Plus the hints.

So many sodding hints about dating.

The elephant in the room as far as his parents went had to be their belief that he’d gotten serious in a relationship. They didn’t understand why he couldn’t settle down and have children. He’d fled to avoid dealing with it, even though Shanti insisted they wouldn’t care.

After all, he’d never brought a date home once. They knew he’d dated. He assumed they thought his “boyfriends” were girlfriends.

One step at a time, Akash, right?

Show them I can live on my own before I explain I’d rather be buggered by a man than marry a woman.

“Akash?”

He glanced up from the Bombay potatoes that he’d been cooking up to go in his Indian-spiced pasties, to find Shanti poking her head into the kitchen. “Shouldn’t you be in class?”

“Lunch.” Shanti danced around the room, all energy and flowing skirts. She hopped up onto one of the few clean counters. “Mummy wants to know if you’re coming home this coming weekend.”

“Why?” Akash grimaced, realising his memory had failed him once again. “What did I forget this time?”

“Their wedding anniversary?”

“Bollocks.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Stop giggling at me.”

“You’ve got so much flour in your hair that you look like Papa.” She reached over to grab a folded towel to toss to him. “How did your blind dates go?”

Akash narrowed his eyes on his little sister suspiciously. “Who’ve you been talking to, Shanti?”

Shanti waved a slender hand toward the tray of cooling pasties. “I’ll sing for my supper.”

Rolling his eyes at her, Akash grabbed a plate to dish one up for her. He put the rest into a basket to go out front. One of his two employees would likely be in shortly to pick them up for him.

With his parents handling the bakery in Fowey, Akash had been forced to hire additional help to run the front of the bakery. He preferred to be in the back creating all of his Hindi-Cornish fusion delicacies. When a pair of twins came looking for work, he’d hired them on the spot; Alice worked in the early mornings with him, while Alex helped in the afternoons.

The nineteen-year-olds were generally sweet and cheerful youngsters who’d taken the job to support themselves. They occasionally came in together. It depended on their university schedules.

When Alex had come in one afternoon with a busted lip, Akash forced him into the kitchen and cleaned him up. The story of their not-so-pleasant stepfather came tumbling out of the young man. With the help of several of his friends, they managed to get the twins into their own place not far from the bakery.

Now they seemed to adore him. They often arrived for work early and left late. Akash insisted they take their university courses seriously, allowing them to study on their breaks; Shanti teasingly referred to them as his children—his teenage, blond bombshell twins.

“Well?” Akash returned his attention to his sister, who grinned innocently at him before nibbling at the pasty. “Who told you about the accidental double blind date?”

“Nye.”

“Who?” He thought the name sounded vaguely familiar, but his memory had always been awful. “Is that one of your school friends?”

“Not exactly.” Shanti took an overly large bite and made a show of chewing as slowly as possible.

Must be a boy.

“What’s this Nye like then? Did you meet him at university?” Akash gave her a knowing glance before starting to clean up the kitchen. He had another batch of pasties to make—this time curry-flavoured ones. “Does he treat you well?”

“Bloody mind reader.” Shanti flicked a small piece of potato at him. “He works with Hamish, which is how I know about your being double-booked for a blind date last night. Wyatt apparently told him all about it.”

“He works with....” Akash trailed off, trying to remember what Hamish had mentioned about his former marine mates. Nye? “Is he the one who lost an arm and a leg?”

Shanti smiled at him—a genuinely brilliant expression that he couldn’t recall seeing on her face before. “He’s great, Aki. I adore him. He’s sweet and strong and wonderful. You’ll love him.”

Aki?

His conniving little sister usually only trotted out his old childhood nickname if she wanted him to do something. Akash let her stew in her thoughts while he carefully stacked the dishwasher. He wiped down the surface and finally turned to find her tapping her fingers against the counter impatiently.

“Aki?”

“Shanti.” Akash leant back against the table and folded his arms across his chest. “What am I doing now?”

“Bring Hamish to family dinner this weekend?” She brought her hands up in supplication. “Please?”

“Why? So they’ll be happier with your choice?” He had a sudden flash of insight. Their parents wouldn’t mind Shanti dating an older man—his disability shouldn’t matter to them either. “You’re not preggers, are you?”

“What? No.” She threw another towel at his head. “He wants to get married.”

“Married?” Akash dropped the cloth in his hand. He blinked at her several times, trying to process what he’d heard. “Married? How long have you known each other? You haven’t been in Cardiff that long.”

“A few months.”

“Well, no wonder you want me to be the story Mummy and Papa focus on.” Akash shook his head and dragged his fingers through his hair. “Why am I even considering it?”

“Because you’re the best brother in the world?” Shanti flew off the counter and into his arms. “Thank you. Thank you. Why are you so worried? Mummy and Papa know you’re gay. They don’t mind, Aki.”

“You don’t know for sure that they’re aware of my dating preferences.” Akash had never told them; he’d been too afraid of their disappointment. “You’re assuming.”

“Aki.” She frowned at him with concern evident on her face. “Seriously? It’s the worst kept secret in the family. We all know. I figured you moved to Cardiff to date, yet you never go anywhere outside of the bakery. It’s a big city with no parents staring over your shoulder. Why haven’t you dated more?”

Deciding not to delve into his dismal attempts to date in Cardiff or the fact that he worked more now than he ever had, Akash tried to ignore his sister, knowing it was never a good idea. She ranted on for a good five minutes. He flicked flour at her periodically, which she merely glared at.

“Just leave it. I said we’d go. I’m taking your word that our parents won’t banish me.” Akash held a hand up to stop her from continuing. “If this blows up in our faces, I’m blaming you.”

“It won’t.” She smiled brightly at him, dancing around in a tight circle. “They’ll love Nye—and Hamish. Promise.”

Bollocks.

Easy for her to say.

In his heart, Akash knew his parents loved him unconditionally. He did. Coming out to them had just always seemed like a mountain far too massive to climb; he suspected fighting through his unfounded fears might actually be the hardest part.