“I’m not telling him,” Reena said, turning the ringer off the phone. “Why would he do this with me?”

“Didn’t he already do it with you?” Marley asked.

“No. Well, sort of. He didn’t know we were supposed to be a … you know … a couple. Engaged. I just told him it was supposed to be two people.”

“Of course he’ll do it!” Shayne said. “You spent the entire night with him, and don’t tell me that the only cooking you two were doing was in the kitchen. You’re totally into each other. Drinking together, making midnight snacks. Not to mention he won’t stop texting you! You’re already as good as engaged, according to your parents. He has both the face and the voice for TV. Wouldn’t mind him in a kilt at all.”

Reena tucked her phone between her thigh and the seat. “He did me a one-time favor. That’s it. We’re not into each other.”

Marley and Shayne stared at her. Reena considered turning the ringer on her phone back on so the sound of bagpipes would cut the tension.

“Maybe you could ask him if he’s willing to do more videos?” Marley finally said. “I agree with Shayne. Nadim would be perfect for this. You can pretend to be engaged.”

Reena threw her hands up in exasperation. “I can’t exactly pretend to be marrying the man that my parents have arranged my marriage to, can I?”

Shayne slowly shook his head. “I don’t think I fully understand Indian culture.”

Her phone vibrated under her leg. Ugh. She lifted it and took a look.

Nadim: You calling me a hipster may be a case of the pot calling the kettle black, little Miss Hipster Scratch Cooking and Baking Bread like it’s 1890.

Nadim: Not that I want you to stop baking bread. Ever. And you must let me try more than just your fougasse.

Nadim: I could smell something you were baking today. If you have any extra … I’m just saying.

Reena sighed as she shoveled a bite of rice in her mouth. God, she needed this comfort food. Life had become uncomfortably complicated.

“Let’s at least see the video,” Shayne said, putting his hand out for the phone. “Whether you continue or not, I need to see how a couple of drunk boneheads managed to end up as finalists in a contest with hundreds of entries.”

Reena sighed. To be honest, she wanted the answer to that question, too. She moved to the other side of the table so the three of them could watch together and started the video.

And holy crap. Nadim looked good. Reena barely even noticed herself, but Nadim was charming, charismatic, and enthusiastic on-screen. His attention was completely on her, but still somehow it was all about the food. She shivered when screen Reena buried her face in his chest, and when they both nearly fell over laughing at the end, she understood why they were picked. They were magnetic.