Accidentally Engaged(63)
Reena rolled her eyes as she climbed the porch steps and sat on the seat Duncan had just vacated. “Hey, Meer. Want to call off your guard dog?”
Amira smirked as she leaned close to whisper, “Duncan doesn’t trust him.”
They watched with fascination as Nadim stood taller and puffed his chest out before shooting his hand out for Duncan to shake. It wasn’t much use. Even if Nadim stood on his toes, Duncan would be at least three inches taller and a hell of a lot broader than him. Amira’s boyfriend was huge. “Nadim Remtulla,” Nadim said, his voice weirdly sounding deeper.
Duncan’s eyes narrowed even more as he looked at Nadim’s outstretched hand as if it were a dead salmon.
“Is this a glimpse of the dance for dominance among male members of the species?” Reena whispered to Amira.
“Both fearsome, both protective,” Amira responded. “True, one alpha is clearly a more formidable opponent physically, but in this arena, brawns may not be enough to best cunning wits.”
Reena fell over giggling.
Duncan’s head snapped around to glare at them. “What are you girls going on about?”
Amira smiled as she stood up. “Nothing, sweets.” She walked down the stairs, patted Duncan on the arm briefly before giving Nadim a quick hug. “I’m Amira. Reena’s my best friend in the whole world, and she deserves to be happy. Don’t fuck this up.” She patted Nadim’s shoulder reassuringly before turning and heading toward the front door. “C’mon inside. Duncan made venison chili.”
After dinner, Duncan looked at Nadim, sizing him up again. “You look like a man who likes sports. I’m meeting some buddies to watch the CFL game at my friend’s bar. Come along.”
Nadim looked to Reena, clearly needing her to translate CFL.
“CFL is the Canadian Football League. Football like what North Americans call football, not soccer,” she explained.
Nadim rolled his eyes. “You know, the rest of the world has another meaning of the word football so I don’t get—”
“Nadim,” Reena said as sweetly as she could. “Go with Duncan. He’ll find you good beer and you can get to know each other.”
*
“Well?” Reena asked once alone with Amira.
“He’s cute in person. Actually, really cute. I love his accent.”
“It’s already sounding more Canadian. I caught him saying ‘for sure’ the other day, and he’s been calling kilometers ‘clicks’ for a while now.” Reena chuckled. “But is that all? Just cute?”
Amira tilted her head a moment. Reena knew her friend—she had a strong opinion about Nadim but, for whatever reason, didn’t want to say it. Maybe to spare Reena’s feelings? “He’s affectionate. And he’s really into you.”
“I know.” Reena smiled.
“And you’re into him, aren’t you?”
“It’s early, but, yeah, I am. More than I have been for anyone in a long time.” She sighed as she put her feet up on Amira’s coffee table. “I just wish it wasn’t so ridiculously complicated.”
“Is it really, though?”
“Of course! I mean, my parents are trying to set me up with him, and his dad’s all like…marry this good girl, and I’m hardly that. Plus, the secrets—”
“No one can possibly know everything about a person a week into a relationship. And your parents…they seem okay with your choice not to marry him. You’re not usually one to chase drama, Ree, but are you sure you’re not finding problems that aren’t really here?”
Reena folded her arms in front of her. First, Amira was all like, this is complicated, don’t date him, and now she was accusing Reena of seeing drama that wasn’t there? “That’s a low blow, Meer, considering your rant on Monday morning.”
“I know, I know. I’m just…wondering out loud. I hope you aren’t using the drama as a scapegoat for why you’re keeping him at arm’s length.”
“What? This isn’t arm’s length! I brought him here to meet you, didn’t I?”
Amira just shrugged. “You admit you’re both keeping secrets. My question is, why is that okay for you?”
She bit her lip. Objectively, Reena hated secrets, and in theory, yeah, it would be better if they were honest. But what could she do? They’d agreed to no strings and no past. Eventually, if this continued, Reena had every intention of letting him know about her insecurities and about her past depression. But for now, she just honestly didn’t want to talk about it. And if he also had parts of his life he wanted to keep private, that was okay, too. She absently turned away from her friend, focusing on a shelf near the fireplace. A framed picture of a multihued sunset caught her eye. Amira, walking on the riverbank, with shades of orange, purple, and red framing her long, wavy hair.
“Duncan has a thing for sunsets.” Amira smiled, noticing Reena’s focus. “I didn’t know that until we moved here.”
“You two looked so cute sitting out there watching it.”
The contented smile stayed on Amira’s face as she glanced toward the porch. “I’ve never felt like this. Duncan and I have a lot of complications, too. I mean, now we have a mortgage, and he has two jobs, and I’m still dealing with sexist crap at work. Plus, his racist relatives hate that he’s with a loudmouthed Muslim activist, and my Muslim extended family judges me for shacking up with a heathen without being married. But at the end of the day, we just sit out there and watch the sun for hours.” She stood, silent for a moment, before walking over and picking up the picture. “I didn’t know it could be like this. When all that noise quiets, it’s breathtaking. So painfully honest. I’m going to be with him for the rest of my life. I know it.”