*Rani*

"I'll call when I need to be picked up."

I tell our chauffeur Sanjay as I step out of the door he's holding open for me and into the warm summer morning of London. "I don't know how long this will take."

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait here miss Kapoor ?" He asks, closing the door behind me with a soft thud. "It is no problem at all, Ma'am."

I smile at him. I like Sanjay. He is always friendly and smiling. A small man in his forties with a wife and three kids that he loves to show me pictures of.

"There is no reason for you to sit here and wait for me, Sanjay. And please- call me Rani".

"Oh your father would not like that miss Kapoor."

He walks slowly toward the driver door to enjoy the morning sun a bit longer. "But you just call then, and I'll be here as soon as possible."

I watch him drive away before walking up a flagstone path to an old warehouse door and ringing the door chime.

I'm here because my father has hired a professional photographer to create a portfolio and, I'm meeting the photographer in an old warehouse that has been renovated into a state of the art studio.  I'm kind of excited about keeping this appointment because the pictures are for my fiance in india, whom to this day I have never met.

The door is opened by a tall man with black hair, with kind eyes and a friendly smile. He offers his hand as he greets me: "Ahh! You must be miss Kapoor, I'm Silas the photographer for your photo session this afternoon. Please come through."

"Thank you, Silas it's a pleasure to meet you." I nod, shaking his hand briefly, then followed him inside. "And please, call me Rani".

"Okay then, Rani. I have an assistant ready to help us create the look for the photo shoot. If you'll just tell her what you need she will do her best to give you exactly what you're looking for," Silas informs me with a warm smile. He escorts me across a huge room filled with photography equipment, leaving me in the care of a middle-aged woman whom he introduces as Iris.

As I am sitting in a chair having  my hair and makeup done, Silas it setting up for the shoot. After a couple of minutes a man comes striding confidently through the door, walks over to Silas hugs him like they've known each other for years.

"Hello Tom,old friend. I just need this photo shoot done, then I am ready."

"No problem, I am not in a hurry." Tom laughs, his voice melodic and warm.

I watch him from across the space and make a few observations. Tom is quite tall, and is casually dressed - wearing faded jeans and a comfortable T-shirt. He also has one of the most handsome faces I've ever seen. His best feature seems to be the beautiful smile constantly waiting to emerge on his lips. His sandy-ginger hair is a tossled mess of curls and he's constantly running a hand through it as he talks to Silas.

"He really is handsome that one." Iris says, winking at me as she applies mascara to my lower eyelids. "And such a sweetheart, too. Oh to be twenty year younger."

I can't help but giggle at Iris. "Well yeah I guess he's not a bad looking bloke," I shrug. Am I staring too much? Had she noticed that I found him attractive. "Well, you never know - maybe age isn't important to him."

"Don't be silly, my dear. I am much too old to keep up with a man like him. No, Tom needs as someone young and spirited as he is. Someone to take out on the town and have adventures with," Iris smiles at me, like she knows something I have yet to discover.

Suddenly I see Tom approaching as if he is on a mission. He stops behind Iris, flashes a devilish grin in her mirror, and kisses her on the cheek. "Iris, darling - don't you look beautiful as ever."

"Tom, you charming bastard you. Don't toy with an old woman like that," She chuckles. Blushing slightly, and shaking her head.

  Then, for some reason, his eyes focus on the mirror to catch my gaze, and I find him looking me directly in the eyes. But, his face was still turned toward Iris. "Oh but you're old Iris. You're quite like a fine wine, darling." Tom raises a brow. "You only improve with age."

"Oh stop it you..." She says, waving him off. "This is Rani by the way, isn't she just a doll?"

"Yes, Iris she certainly is." He's now turned himself in my direction offering a polite hand, which I gladly accept. "Hello, Rani. My name is Tom. Lovely to meet you."

He's close enough for me to notice his eyes. They're warm with a glint of amusement in them, like he has a secret or he is thinking about something amusing. "Hello, Tom. Pleasure meeting you as well." I'm not entirely sure why, but my face feels flush. Please, please let me not be blushing.

"I could probably get in trouble for saying this. But you have the most beautiful eyes, Rani" He
says softly, looking right into my eyes with no shame.

I hear Iris behind me giggling, and that's all the confirmation I need... I'm definitely blushing. I am not really used to such compliments, but honestly  - I don't spend much time with men that aren't family members.

"Thank you, that was very kind of you to say." I mumble as I look away.

"Well I mean it". His eyes flash to Silas for a moment, then back to me.

"I promise you that you are in good hands with Silas, he's brilliant at capturing true beauty".

Looking down, I notice my hand is still in his, and I giggle nervously. "Iris is right I think, you really are a charming scoundrel. May I have my hand back please?"

Tom looks down at our hands and smiles. "I kind of like the way your hand fits in mine... it's almost like it was meant to be there." Then, he turns his hand palm up, so my hand lays in it. He does have a point - my hand does seem to fit perfectly in his. I look up at him, then hurriedly pull my hand away and tuck my hair behind my ear. For some reason, I'm fiddling nervously with my hands, now.

Luckily, Silas calls out for me: "If you are ready we can begin Rani, love."

When I start to cross the space, Tom is standing directly in my path, so I have to brush past him on my way to the photography set up. "Excuse me, please" I can feel Tom's eyes follow me as I walk away from him.

As Silas began suggesting poses, Tom decides to sit behind the camera on a crate, watching as Silas takes pictures. Though I try not to look, my eyes are drawn to him as he runs his hand through his hair or stretches that long, willowy body of his, making his shirt slide up and then smoothing it down again.

His eyes catch mine and I look away quickly, feeling my breath catch in the back of my throat as I shyly wist a few strands of hair around my fingers. When I look back up, Tom smiles at me, then winks, making me look down as I feel myself blushing again.

"Tom!" Silas snapped his fingers. "Stop flirting with my client, I need her to focus on me, not you." Silas folds his arms across his chest in annoyance. I'm beginning to wonder how he knew, since he's had his back to Tom the entire time.

Tom rolls his eyes and I can't help giggling, making Silas narrow his eyes at me. I'm trying my best to focus now, keeping my eyes away from Tom, so that Silas can finish our session.
@"I'm going to look these through and edit them. Tell your father that I'll bring them over for him to look through," Silas informs me with a smile.

I smile back at him and shake his hand. "Thank you Silas, I've enjoyed working with you today."

"It was my pleasure, Miss Kapoor. I don't know if anyone's ever told you before but, you're very photogenic. Almost naturally so."

I go to say goodbye to Iris, who hugs me. "A pleasure meeting you sweetie. And watch out for prince charming over there. He seems to have his eyes on you".

"Well I can't tell him what to do with his eyes. But I am engaged, so he better not get his hopes up". I say, shooting a quick glance Tom's way. Something about him feels dangerous because every time I look at him, I can feel my heart beat just a little bit faster which makes me want to leave that much more; so, I pull out my phone to call Sanjay for my ride home. This allows me to just enough time to wave goodbye at Tom before stepping outside to wait for my car and getting a little letting sun on my face.

*Tom*

"Silas, who is this glorious creature? She's not tall enough to be a print model. Is she an actress or some other sort of public figure?" I ask as he begins to pack his things away. Not that it matters particularly, because Rani is one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen.

Silas shakes his head at me and offers a word of advice for good measure: "No, Tom she's just a client in need of my services, and you need to keep your distance my friend. Stay far away from this one - her father is a business man with very deep pockets and the pictures are for her fiance back in India. So you are definitely to keep your paws off".

"But he is in India you say and she is here. So, not set in stone". As I walk toward the door, I can hear her talking on her phone to make arrangements for someone to pick her up, so I'm looking forward to seeing Rani at least one last time.

"Tom - I'm begging you as a friend, please don't start anything you can't finish". Silas calls after me. I can hear him cursing as the door closes behind me.

I was right. I found her just outside the door standing at the top of the stairs, leaning on the railing. I approach her cautiously, but stand so close that my arm is touching hers. "Hello again Rani, fancy meeting you here". I chuckle.

"Yeah, what a coincidence". She turns toward me with a smile as she wets her lips, and tugs at a few strands of hair. Her warm chocolate eyes are looking up at me now. She has an air about her that just draws me in. "So who is picking you up, Mum? Boyfriend, maybe?"

"No, our chauffeur Sanjay". She says, still twirling a lock of hair around her finger. I would love to run my fingers through those silky locks of hers. "My Mother doesn't drive and my fiance is still abroad".

"To bad for him and for you then, because that means he can't take you out on a date". I say, keeping eye contact until she looks away nervously.

"So how about you let me take out sometime? A kind of date, maybe?"

She moves her hand to rest on my forearm, squeezing slightly. "I am so sorry Tom, but I don't date. I've been contractually bound to my fiance since I was twelve years old. My parents are very old fashioned and, not only would they would never accept me dating, an Englishman is right out of the question".

"A white man, you mean". She looks away, slightly ashamed. I reach out gently turning her face towards me. "You don't have to feel ashamed for what your parents think. But... well, your parents would never need to know, would they?"

Rani shakes her head she steps away and hurries down the staircase to the car pulling up. "I am sorry Tom, I can't. You seem like a nice enough guy, but I just can't".

She leaves me standing at the top of the stairs watching as her driver helps her into the car, closes the door and simply drives away. But, something tells me that this won't be the last time I'll ever see this remarkable woman. I hope not, anyway...