“Yes. And I’ll extol it more when I eat it later. Oh, and this.” He pointed to the plastic-bag-wrapped plate he had placed on the counter. “This is proof that your mother likes me. Maybe not as much as you like me, but it’s a start.”
Well, at least she liked someone. “What is it?
“Keema maani. She gave it to your dad to give me.”
Keema maani, or keema paratha, was one of Reena’s favorite dishes, and she had never quite mastered the art of making them as well as Mum. Fragrantly spiced ground beef enveloped between layers of flaky flatbread. When Reena attempted it, the paratha dough always broke while she rolled it, or the beef and the paratha melded to a gummy mess.
Mumknewher keema maani was Reena’s favorite. She always made extras and put them aside for her before anyone else could eat them. At least, she used to. Reena frowned.
“She didn’t make me any?”
“Well”—he put his arms back around her—“I have every intention of sharing them with you.”
He kissed her again, and she forgot all about this newest parental slight and settled into the kiss. He was smiling when he pulled away. “What smells so good?”
“Just lentil soup. Plus, I have crackers and dips for when Marley and Shayne come over.”
He grinned as he walked toward her front door. “Let me change outta this suit. I’ll be back. Gotta say, having a girlfriend who lives across the hall is ridiculously convenient.”
Reena smiled as she heated up the keema maani in a pan. They’d go great with the lentil soup. He was right. It was amazing to have someone to share her meal with, someone who brought her baked goods and lived right across the hall.
One more tick in the pro column with her new boyfriend. Soon the con column would be a distant memory.
***
After dinner, Reena found herself herded to the sofa for a short make-out session. But a door knock forced her and Nadim apart. Answering it, she found Marley, Shayne, and an enormous bottle of pink champagne.
“This,” Shayne said, holding it up, “is celebratory bubbly because I saw the other videos in the contest. You are so making it to the next round.” He grinned before quickly frowning. “Jesus, what have you two been up to? Making out or something? I thought this was a fake relationship?”
Totally transparent. Reena clearly needed acting lessons.
“How did you know?” Reena asked as Nadim took the bottle from Shayne.
Marley laughed as she pointed a perfectly manicured finger at Reena. “You look like you’ve had a shot of collagen to your lips, and he’s wearing your lipstick.”
Reena shot a glare at Nadim, who was trying hard not to laugh while wiping his mouth on his sleeve.
“So much for a secret,” she muttered, heading into the kitchen to grab the snacks and wineglasses.
After they were settled in the living room, Reena explained: “We’re just dating. Casual. Not engaged and not telling our families.”
“Sure. Whatever. No problem,” Shayne said, dipping one of Saira’s crackers into the hummus. “Bang like bunnies, I don’t care. Marley and I saw this coming a while ago, though.”
They did? They should have done the decent thing and told Reena. “Can we not talk about our personal life right now? What are we going to do for our next video?”
“Ourvideo.” Shayne smirked. “So now it’sourvideo, when before it was just yours…says the girl who didn’t want a boy toy.”
Marley frowned at Shayne. “Ignore him. Shayne’s a little salty today. Anderson dumped him. He said everything was too intense.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Shayne. That sucks.”
Shayne glared at Marley. “We are not talking about me right now. What’s the theme for the rest of the videos?”
Reena shrugged. “Round two is Farm-to-Table at Home. If we get past that one—”
“Whenwe get past that one,” Nadim interrupted.
“Fine. When we get past that one, round three is the one at the FoodTV studios. Theme is family picnics. I think we’re supposed to be grilling for that. Then the final one, if we’re still there, is back at our home—but they send a professional camera crew. Theme is Celebrations at Home. I think with the timing they want us to do a Thanksgiving meal, but really any celebration meal would work.”
