“What’s that?” He nodded to the dough as she formed the blob into a big ball and started working it.

“It’s going to be challah. What’s up?”

“Are you standing on a stool?”

“Yes. I’m too short to knead well otherwise. You look … healthier.”

“I’m on cold pills. Why does it smell like a pepper mill in here?” He looked around, trying to find the source of the overwhelming scent.

Reena rolled her eyes and closed the container of her sister’s soup. “Is this twenty questions, or are you going to tell me what we have to talk about?”

His eyes shifted to the door. Why did he seem nervous? Had something happened with her father? Had Dad found out about Reena’s job? Crap, did Nadim discover they’d made the finals in the contest? She hadn’t planned on telling him about it—since she wasn’t sure what to do about it yet. She squeezed the dough against the worn wood surface.

“Okay,” he said as he sat on the barstool. He took a long breath. “I don’t know if you know this, but I got here to Toronto a couple of weeks before moving into this building.”

She didn’t know that.

“I stayed with this distant friend of the family. Some aunty and uncle I’d never met. Anyway, I went out a lot because they were a little … cold … and … ” He paused, mesmerized by her hands on the dough.

“And what?” she said, hoping he would get to the point. If the point would be particularly sharp for her, she’d like to get it over with as soon as possible.

“And I met someone. At a bar. And we … well … met up several times that week.”

Reena squeezed the dough. Why the hell was he telling her this? She didn’t even know he existed back then. Why would it matter if he hooked up with someone before they met? She’d already pegged him as a player, and she had no intention of going along with this blasted arranged marriage anyway …

She slapped the dough on the counter, glad to have an outlet for her frustration. This couldn’t be jealousy, could it?

Nadim continued. “Sharon. She’s a kindergarten teacher. And … camp counselor. It was casual. I haven’t seen her since I moved to this building and didn’t expect to hear from her. But she called me late last night. She had to tell me … ”

Holy shit. Nadim had knocked up this kindie teacher and now he had to marry her, which meant he couldn’t marry Reena. Dumped by the fiancé she didn’t even want. Figures. Could this week get any worse?

Nadim continued. “She needed to let anyone who could be exposed know. And I have to tell you now, since you are at risk, too …”

Reena froze. She’d seen this after-school special before. Kindie teacher gave Nadim some STD, and he exposed Reena to it. She’d need blood tests and antibiotics and … wait. She hadn’t even kissed the guy …