Accidentally Engaged(31)
Why had she agreed to this? Reena wanted to rub her face, but Marley had contoured her within an inch of humanity. Her feet hurt. The lights were in her eyes. Laughing and making a drunken midnight snack was one thing, but this felt so much more real.
Nadim rubbed her upper arm. “We’re doing fine, Reena. Don’t be nervous. Pretend no one else is here. It’s just you and me.”
She looked into his dark eyes. Warm and so kind. She nodded.
“All right, take it from the top,” Shayne said.
They got through the intro sounding less like cartoon characters this time. And Reena managed to get the flour, salt, and oil in the bowl without freezing again.
“What’s the point of this step?” Nadim asked as he rubbed the oil into the flour.
“We’re coating each grain of flour in oil. It helps with tenderness.”
He wagged his eyebrows. “I agree. Lubrication always helps with…tenderness.”
Reena’s head fell forward in laughter. “I can’t believe you said that. Here, I’ll add water. Keep squishing it with your fingers.”
She poured warm water into the flour mixture as he mixed with his hands.
He hummed with pleasure. “This is surprisingly sensual. I’m not sure I’ll be able to watch you knead bread again without blushing like a schoolgirl.”
She giggled. It appeared Nadim didn’t need to be drunk to be comfortable and flirty on camera.
While the dough rested, she showed him the simple curry. First they lightly fried mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and curry leaves before adding onions, crushed garlic and ginger, and tomatoes. Finally, the diced potatoes, cauliflower, and peas.
“Cauliflower is a weird vegetable, isn’t it?” Nadim said as he stirred the pan. “Did you know that it comes in four colors, but similar to people, white is considered standard.”
Reena tried hard not to snort with laughter again while his bubbly morning show host-type banter continued. “It’s a flower, isn’t it? You should totally carry a head of cauliflower as your bouquet at the wedding. Purple, green, and orange, though. No boring white.”
Shayne had been spot-on—Nadim was like a brown Jamie Oliver, with a genuine enthusiasm that felt downright infectious. And he was affectionate—he repeatedly touched her arm or put his hand on the small of her back. His playfulness helped her fight through the stage fright. Their final sequence, as they rehearsed, had Reena tearing off a piece of the round flatbread, scooping up some curry with it, and feeding it to Nadim with her fingers.
“Mmm…Tastes like home. But also tastes like new beginnings,” he said.
“Beginnings?” she asked. He hadn’t said that in their rehearsal.
He grinned widely and turned to the camera. “As you can tell from my accent, I’m new here. I was worried about being comfortable in this country, but I quickly learned that our common food can make any beginning can feel like home.” He planted a quick kiss on Reena’s lips before Shayne yelled “cut.”
CHAPTER TEN
Good lord. If their drunken potato bhajias video managed to beat hundreds to get a spot in the contest, the maani/aloo gobi matar video was going to win it.
With Nadim’s heartfelt enthusiasm, his affectionate gazes, and that off-script speech about food and home, getting through round one seemed inevitable. Reena didn’t have to see the footage to know that her fake fiancé had the ability to turn the insides of anyone watching into mush.
She wanted to win, but…ugh. Her emotions were tied up in knots she couldn’t come close to untangling. Gratitude. Euphoria.
Fear.
She’d been pushing down her growing attraction pretty well so far, but faking an engagement added a new layer of complication to their already bizarre relationship. She couldn’t let herself forget he was acting. He didn’t mean those loving gazes, and subtle brushes on the hand. The firm, warm weight on the small of her back.
That kiss.
“Wow,” Shayne said, turning off the bright lights. “You were fantastic. Both of you. But seriously, Nadim, you were born to be in front of a camera. You two are going to rock this.”
Reena forced a smile in gratitude and quietly started cleaning up, hoping to hide how off-kilter she felt. The sun had set, and with the powerful LED lights off, the dim room seemed to revert back to the real world. The loving fiancé was just her neighbor, pretending. The skinny designer jeans were cutting off circulation and giving her an epic muffin top under a borrowed silk blouse. She bit the inside of her lip. She shouldn’t be doing this. This creative and fun project to distract her from her problems was only amplifying them. She hadn’t anticipated the crushing low after coming down from the dazzling high.
Marley rushed out to meet her date while Shayne finished packing his equipment.
“So, I’ll cut and edit as fast as I can,” Shayne said as he opened the door, “and upload the video to the cloud for you to look at on the weekend.”
“Take your time. We’re not submitting until Sunday night after I get back from Amira’s,” Reena said, following him into the hallway. She held open the exterior door for him.
Shayne smiled at her before climbing down the stairs. “You okay, Reena?”
“Yeah. These shoes are just killing me. Can’t wait to get out of them. Thanks again, Shayne.”