He looked at her with that mischievous grin that was too damn appealing. “You’re right,” he said, plucking her phone out of her hand. “Which leads me to wonder if this time waiting for it to load would be better spent.” He tossed the phone to the other side of the bed and lowered his lips to hers.
It was a good while before Reena managed to actually check the standings. But she wasn’t complaining. And she certainly wasn’t complaining when she saw they were in second place, only a dozen votes below the Jeffs. They were moving on to the semifinals.
***
Marley dressed Reena simply for the studio, a pink T-shirt and long yellow pleated skirt with platform sneakers. Thankfully, it was still unseasonably warm for late September, and the skies were a perfect blue again. Ideal picnic weather. Reena had been a complete ball of nerves leading up to the day, but Nadim’s firm hand on the small of her back gave her the strength she needed as they walked into the low-rise TV studio downtown. After checking in at security, they were led to an outdoor courtyard space behind the building. A handsome man dressed completely in black and wearing an audio headset greeted them.
“Reena and Nadim! Welcome! Wow, you two have the exact same energy you have in your videos. Makes our job easy, to be honest.” The man was East Asian and had unbridled enthusiasm along with high cheekbones and full lips. Reena liked him instantly. “I’m Anderson Lin,” he said. “So great to finally meet you.”
Tic Tac ears! Reena grinned, struggling to resist conspicuously looking at the man’s earlobes. Then she remembered that this delightful young thing had dumped Shayne, which meant she had also had to start resisting the urge to outwardly glare at him.
Nadim, thankfully, had no scruples and behaved like a perfect gentleman. “We’re thrilled to be here!” He shook Anderson’s hand. “I never imagined we would get this far when we made that drunken bhajias video.”
“That video was epic,” Anderson said. “I can’t believe it was unplanned. You two were made for the screen. Let me take you to meet the other contestants. Then we’ll get you set up at your station.”
The courtyard wasn’t huge, but it was full of people and camera equipment. Four small cooking stations had been set up in the middle of the space, each with a two-burner cooktop and a gas grill. Off to the side, big tables were piled high with ingredients for the challenge. Reena peeked and saw pretty much what they’d told her to expect. Fruits, vegetables, and several different cuts of meat.
The other three pairs who had made it to the semifinals were the Jeffs, the front-runners from Winnipeg; Nate and Amanda, a Black couple from a small town north of Vancouver; and Luc and Renée, a white francophone couple from suburban Montréal. Reena had been pleased when she saw who was in the semifinals, although a touch disappointed for Hala and Maya, the Syrian mother-and-daughter team, who were also from Toronto.
The others were as nice and supportive and pleasant as they had been in their videos. After a bit of small talk with them, Anderson brought Reena and Nadim to their station.
“We’ll go over the rules for everyone in just a minute, but first Lana will be coming by with a makeup kit. She’ll do a quick touch-up—these high-definition cameras can be a little uncharitable, so you’ll want powder.”
Anderson suddenly stepped closer to Reena and Nadim. “But while we’re alone…I know this is a bit awkward…I am not sure you know that I know…actually used to date your friend Shayne.”
Shit. This was it. The end of the charade. Anderson, of course, knew Shayne and knew this engagement was fake. Damnit. Why hadn’t she anticipated this? Reena tensed, not sure if it would be better to come clean, or to double down. Nadim put his arm around her waist. It appeared he intended to double down.
“So,” Anderson continued, leaning closer to Reena, “this is probably not my place, but…”
She wasn’t getting the Asler scholarship. She was going to be disqualified. Humiliated. Sent home with nothing but a security tag with a bad computer printout of her face.
Anderson smiled sadly. “Is Shayne…you know…dating anyone right now? I mean, like, seriously dating?”
Reena blinked. He wasn’t going to expose them? All Anderson wanted was to maybe hook up with Shayne again?
She was relieved but knew she couldn’t tell Shayne about Anderson’s fact-finding here. What would happen if Reena and Nadim won the whole thing, and Shayne and Anderson became a couple again? Anderson would realize his boyfriend’s friends weren’t actually engaged or married. Reena would have to stop hanging out with Shayne, which would mean seeing less of Marley. A family rift would start, and she wouldn’t be able to explain to Mum why she could no longer go to Marley’s parents for their annual Eid party, and—
Nadim leaned in and whispered in her ear, “Don’t worry, this is fine.”
Reena exhaled. Anderson was still watching her with an adorable, hopeful expression. He ran his hand through his hair. “I just…well, I mean, with the contest I need to stay fair, so I won’t call him now. But…” He looked away, a slight tremble on his lower lip. “You ever get scared when something fits a little too perfectly? Like maybe it’s just not humanly possible for something to work so well, so you look for problems that aren’t there?”
Reena blinked at Anderson, not sure she liked this mirror put up in front of her.
“Shayne’s really into you,” she said. “You should talk to him.”
Anderson bit his lip. “I will, I will. Just…do me a favor—don’t tell him what I said here. I need to figure out how to fix things. Oh, here’s Lana!”
Saved by the makeup artist.
Lana was chatty, too. As she brushed powder on Reena’s nose, she said, “You two make a cute couple. How’d you meet?”
“Through my parents,” Reena said, relieved she could tell the truth.
“Cute! They set you up?”
“Yep,” Nadim answered.
“Have you set a wedding date yet?”
