“So, you think you two are so great together because of your shared cultural background?”
He laughed. “No! Not only. But we do have that bond. Honestly, I think food is why we work so well. I love being with someone who loves cooking and eating as much as I do. It feels like home, you know?”
“You two are an inspiration. If you win this thing, I’m going to insist the network give you a show dispensing relationship advice while cooking.”
Reena managed not to cringe. The thought of her giving anyone relationship advice was so laughable. And them together—the only advice they could give was how to grift others to win free cooking courses.
Because, as Nadim told her, this wasn’treal.
“Whoops!” Michelle pointed at the grill. “Smells like your corn might be a little too blackened. I’ll leave you for now, but I’ll be back to see what happens with that chicken!”
Sure enough, the corn was almost completely black on one side. Reena sighed as she turned the cobs around. Nadim’s hand landed on her waist.
“I screwed up,” Reena said.
“It’s okay. We’ll serve it blackened side down.”
They managed the rest of the hour with no more burned food or broken skin, and Reena felt better about their finished meal. She still worried that her little screwup with the corn might cost them votes, but after peeking at the other contestants’ finished picnics, she saw that theirs weren’t all picture-perfect, either.
After the filming, all the contestants met up for a giant picnic to taste the food they’d prepared. This was followed by a tour of the FoodTV studios, and finally a five-star tasting meal at a top restaurant. Reena thoroughly enjoyed herself. The other contestants were charmingly supportive of one another and so damn nice that she hoped they would somehow all win. The Jeffs were particularly delightful, and Reena was stoked that Jeff Gryzbowski even shared his recipe for the Polish baked cabbage they’d made in round two. Like good polite Canadians, no one asked intrusive questions, and it didn’t feel like she and Nadim were faking anything—because they weren’t. They might not actually be engaged, but they felt like a couple.
After dinner, they all went to the cocktail lounge in the hotel lobby to chat some more. All in all, it was a great evening with her boyfriend. She realized then just how much she wanted to keep him.
***
On the way up the elevator to their room after leaving the bar, Reena smiled at Nadim.
“I had fun tonight,” she said.
“Yeah, me too. Man, you Canadians, though. I was so ready to throw down and be competitive, but everyone was so…pleasant. Cooperative.” He chuckled.
“I think they only picked nice people.” She squeezed her hands together. “I mean it, though…I know you’re doing all this as a favor for me, but…I’m glad you are. I’m enjoying doing this contest with you.”
“I’m having fun, too.” He kissed her briefly.
There was more she needed to say, but she didn’t know how. She wanted to tell him that hanging out with other people, pretending they had a future, letting others think they were in love, felt right to her. Didn’t feel fake. She wanted to ask him how it felt for him.
But when they walked into their room on the twentieth floor, she was speechless. The curtains on the floor-to-ceiling windows were open, and the CN Tower was illuminated brightly like a beacon in a night sky dotted with glimmering lights. As a lifelong city girl, the nonstop cacophony of cars and movement soothed Reena. This was a magical night. She couldn’t risk popping this bubble with difficult conversations. She walked to the window and looked out.
Nadim came up behind her. “Quite the view,” he murmured. “Toronto is so beautiful at night.”
Reena nodded, leaning back against him.
“I love the hum of cities,” she said.
Nadim wrapped his arms around her waist. “The honking cars, drunk screams, and sirens are oddly comforting.”
She chuckled. “You’ve pretty much always lived in cities, right?”
He shook his head. “No, not really. Yes, in Dar es Salaam, and in London, but my private school was in the English countryside. And, of course, I had holidays and such.”
“Do you think you always wouldwantto live in a city?”
“Not sure. I used to think so.” His arms tightened around her. “I wanted the fast life. Wild parties and free-flowing drinks.”
And hot women. And yachts. Night and day from his life now. Reena wiggled free of his grip and went to open her bag.
“Why did you want that from your life back then?” she asked slowly. She regretted saying it almost immediately. She looked at him, but his facial expression was closed. He didn’t want to talk about the past, not now.
