The Man Ban

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Harper didn t believe in karma.

Unlike her best friend Nishi, the most beautiful bride she d ever seen, who waxed lyrical about how meeting Arun at a Diwali celebration in southeast Melbourne had been fate, how they d taken one look at each other and fallen madly in love, how a psychic had predicted this when doing her chart at the time of her birth.

Nishi had been her best friend since high school, so Harper didn t disillusion the loved-­up bride. Her cynicism could easily explain Nishi s version of fate : meeting Arun was random, it was lust at first sight considering they ended up shagging the night they met, and the tall, handsome, rich doctor the psychic predicted was a generic promise given to thousands of hopeful Indian parents after the birth of a daughter.

But Harper had to admit, being maid of honor and witnessing Nishi and Arun exchange vows earlier today, there d been something almost magical about the couple so sure of their love they d committed to each other in front of five hundred guests.

Five hundred guests who would hopefully take one look at the food she d styled and gush on every social media app.

Harper needed work. Food styling may be her passion, but it didn t pay the bills half as much as her previous career in catering. She needed a big break, and Nishi had assured her that among the throng of five hundred were many online influencers. All it would take was one photo, one perfect pictorial image of her beautiful bondas, precise pakoras, or vivid vadas, and she d be on her way.

As the guests mingled in the outer foyer of the Springvale Town Hall, she cast a final critical eye over the buffet tables. Two trestles lay end to end along an entire wall of the hall, laden with enough food to feed a thousand. The crimson tablecloths were barely visible beneath gold platters piled high with delicious Indian finger food, with squat ivory candles casting an alluring glow over everything.

She d never styled a job this big and

USA Today bestselling and multi-award winning author Nicola Marsh loves all things romance. With seventy novels to her name, she still pinches herself that she gets to write for a living in her dream job. A physiotherapist for thirteen years, she now adores writing full time, raising her two dashing young heroes, sharing fine food with family and friends, cheering her beloved Kangaroos footy team, and curling up on the couch to read a great book. She lives in cosmopolitan Melbourne, Australia.