Logically, Reena knew that Nadim’s life had continued after that night when they had kissed. He still went to work every day, and apparently shopped on his lunch hour. He probably went to the Sparrow after work and laughed with Steve. He wasn’t sitting at home in three-day-old pajamas and dipping sourdough bread into melted rocky road. Life just kept going for him.

And it would keep going. She had no doubt Nadim would be successful. In her father’s company and even in his love life. He was smart, charismatic, and so handsome. And she would still be just Reena, watching all that from the sidelines.

She was used to looking in from the outskirts of success. A memory flashed through her mind. Years ago, their community had organized a kids’ trip to an amusement park. Reena couldn’t deal with roller coasters, not unless she was okay with wearing regurgitated funnel cake and fudge all day, but Amira and Khizar loved them. Reena still spent the whole day with them, in line for hours for extreme rides, each one bigger and more stomach churning than the last. And each time they got to the front of the line, Reena would step aside, watching her best friend and her brother squeeze into the hard seats and buckle themselves in. They’d still be spinning and laughing when they exited the ride, and Reena would join in the mirth, drunk on their pleasure and thrill.

And that’s what life felt like. Everyone taking a deliberate step onto a roller coaster while Reena stood by happily, anticipating their highs with them. But after the ride rolled off leaving Reena in a cloud of dust and happy smiles, who did she have left? Not Amira, the friend who’d left to live her own life. Not Khizar, four hours away and about to become a father of twins. Not even Saira, who was recovering well on her own. Now she could add another name, Nadim, to the list of people who she needed more than they needed her.

It was a sobering thought.

“You okay, Reena? Something happen between you and Nadim?” Marley asked.

“No.” Another lie.

“He’s a cool guy. Even if you’re not interested, you should thank your parents for setting you up with him.” She giggled. “Clearly they’ve been taking notes when we talk about our favorite Bollywood stars in from of them.”

Reena chuckled. “Nah. They didn’t pick him for his ‘Shah Rukh Khan meets Shahid Kapoor’ looks, they picked him for his father. Believe me, there is no goodwill to me in this arrangement.”

“Well, I’d say it worked out. If nothing else, you have a new friend and a new fake fiancé to enter contests with.” She shrugged. “It’s more than you had before.”

Maybe. But considering how empty she felt after only a few days apart from this new friend, she wondered if maybe she would have been better off without Nadim Remtulla in her life.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Reena had had a Google Alert set up for her name for years—harking back to her blogging days when it was important to know when she was mentioned online. It had been silent for months. But after checking her email once back in her apartment, she saw several new alerts—the first of which linked to the main landing page of the FoodTV Home Cooking Showdown.