Accidentally Engaged(59)
Reena watched him. The modest space that had been between them on the sofa had dissolved as his leg now pressed against hers. His face had slackened as he talked about his grandmother. Reena had never been to Zanzibar, but visiting the island off the coast of her parents’ hometown was on her bucket list. Pictures of spectacular sunsets over the Indian Ocean and the breathtaking old Arab architecture in Stone Town had called to her, but the way Nadim talked about Zanzibar was not someone talking about a cherished vacation spot. He was talking about home, a place with bittersweet memories and a deep sensation of belonging there.
Nadim suddenly took her hand and squeezed. Reena looked at him, wondering if her eyes betrayed the uncertainty she felt. After another squeeze, he lifted her hand to his mouth and kissed it.
“We should go,” Marley said, standing. “We’re all set for Saturday. I’ll find something agrarian-chic for you two to wear. Let me know if you have any ideas.”
Immediately after Shayne and Marley were out the door, Nadim pulled Reena back on his lap and started kissing her neck. If he kept doing things like this, she would never be able to finish a thought about this “relationship,” or about her place in his life.
Later while she was in Nadim’s bed, waiting for him to finish brushing his teeth, her text tone filled the room with the rousing sound of Highland pipes.
Amira: I have been instructed to invite you and Nadim to our house Friday night to hang out with your best friends before we go to the Galahads on Saturday for your little film shoot.
Reena: I’ll have to ask Nadim. Why?
Amira: Duncan insists that he must meet the man away from the chaos at his parents’ place. You know how protective he is.
Reena: How charmingly patriarchal.
Amira: I know. His knight of the round table shtick is getting old. But come early anyway. We’ll let the boys thump their chests and assert their manliness while we catch up.
Reena smiled. Clearly Duncan wasn’t the only one who needed to meet Nadim to make sure Reena’s heart was safe. But she felt fine about their meddling. Truly. Friends who cared enough to meddle were hardly something to complain about.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Reena spent the next few days shopping and researching for their video shoot at the farm. After a few phone calls to her mother and various extended family members, she had a vague recipe that she perfected with Nadim on Wednesday evening. The egg curry was a simple dish, but without any meat or strongly flavored vegetables, the quality of the spices became paramount. And one taste of her sample curry immediately confirmed that the trip to the store that roasted and ground their own spices had been worth it. Nadim proclaimed Reena’s curry to be better than his nani’s version, probably because of the bread she made to go with it—a large stack of parathas, heavy with ghee between flaky layers.
The next morning, Reena was on her way to a job interview when her phone rang. She hit the hands-free button on her steering wheel.
“Hello?”
“Were you planning to tell me you’ve acquired a fiancé to make maani with?”
Crap. Her brother. “Hi, Khizar! Great to hear from you! How’s Nafissa?”
“That’s it? Hi, Khizar? No ‘sorry big brother, I meant to tell you about my engagement.’”
“I’m not really engaged.”
“I figured as much. The bio on the FoodTV site says you’ve been engaged for six months, and I know that guy has only been working for Dad a month or so. What are you playing at, Reena?”
This wasn’t good. If her brother knew, who else could have seen the video? “Since when do you pay attention to the FoodTV website?”
“Nafissa is nesting. She was looking for freezer meals for after the babies are born.”
“Oh, that’s not necessary! I’m coming right after the birth—I’ll cook for you. What kind of stuff—”
“Don’t change the subject—are you and Dad’s new project manager together? Because Nafissa’s comment after seeing the video was ‘humina humina, nudge nudge wink wink.’ That’s exactly what she said.”
Reena snorted. She missed her sister-in-law. “No, we’re only pretending to be engaged for the contest. Don’t tell Mum and Dad.”
“Yeah, of course I won’t. So you’re pretending to be engaged…but you are actually nudge nudging, right? Because there was a lot of chemistry in that clip, and you don’t lie that well.”
It was really impossible to keep anything from Khizar, even with 450 kilometers between them. And she was fine with that—her brother always had her back. She wished he still lived in town.
“Yeah.” She sighed. “We’re dating. Just casually, though.”
“And Mum and Dad don’t know?”
“No, of course not. They still want me to marry him.” Her brother would understand. “Look, Khizar. Can we finish this later? I’m about to get on the highway.”
“Where you going?”
“Oh…just an off-site meeting. I’ll call you tonight.”
She disconnected the call before he could ask her about work, because she knew she wouldn’t be able to keep her unemployed status from him. Khizar would keep her secret about the contest and fake engagement, no question, but it would be harder to get him to agree not to let the family know she was unemployed. Because he’d want to help her. He was supportive and amazing, and she was always happy to hear from him, but he was still her big brother, and also prone to meddling like the rest of the family.