Dad then took Reena’s hands and recited a series of prayers for their happiness, health, and prosperity before pulling her into a hug. “Congratulations, Reena. I really wish you all the best.”
“Thank you, Dad. Seriously. Thank you so much for this.”
“No, I feel like we should be thanking you,” Dad said as he stepped back to put a hand on Mum’s shoulder. “Your mother is going to teach me to play cards. She says poker will help me in my business.”
Reena’s eyes widened. Her father? Poker?
“It will bring us closer, too,” Mum explained. “We must let each other into our lives.” Reena clutched Nadim’s arm, resting her head on his shoulder. She would never stop letting him into all the parts of her life.
“Imagine.” Mum looked at Dad, eyes dancing with joy. “Two children married, and the third engaged. We are very blessed.”
Dad seemed uncomfortable with all this familial joy, though, and started searching the room. “Did Saira speak to you?”
“No. About what?”
Dad frowned. “Saira? Come!”
Saira appeared, rolling her eyes. “Steve was just about to tell me what’s in the lentil soup…”
“Tell her what we talked about last night,” Dad ordered.
“Fine.” She turned to Reena. “Dad still hasn’t finalized a lease for the corner unit in the Diamond building. I proposed he rent it to me. To us, actually, if you’re willing.”
“You want to go into business? With me?”
“Yes. The space is perfect for a store/café. Or bakery/store/café. You’re the best cook out there, and we both know a thing or two about retail management. And then the cookbook—who’s to say we can’t pitch the project together? Hell, I know the food will be better with your help, and the publishers will probably cream themselves to get a name attached to this FoodTV contest of yours. The cookbook could tie into the café, gaining us more exposure.”
After cringing at Saira for sayingcream themselvesin front of Mum and Dad, Reena felt an unfamiliar optimism blossom in her core. It was a preposterous idea. A ridiculous, ambitious, wonderful idea. Owning her own café instead of working numbers. Surrounded by bread instead of cubicles.
“How can we afford it?”
“With a partner,” Dad said. “Put together a business plan, and maybe I’ll invest. I think it might be a good idea to sell your building and focus on the Diamond project completely.”
Mum grinned. “I asked Leon if he would help with your business plan, and he’s offered to mentor you to help get it off the ground. He wanted to hire you at Top Crust, by the way, but Angie wanted the morenumbersperson. Leon always lets his employees have the final say for staffing their own departments.”
Holy shit. Leon Bergeron, the president of Top Crust bakery, offered to mentor her to help start her own bakery?
“Wait, Mum, is Leon doing this so you’ll finally let him into your poker club?”
Mum nodded. “Probably. But sometimes we have to make sacrifices for family. And if we let men in, then your father can join, too. We’ll have to change the name.”
Reena laughed. Oh, lord, to be a fly on the wall in that poker game. Reena thought about it. This venture would mean working with her father, her mother, her sister, and her mother’s friend. A terrifying prospect, but…It was just a proposal. She wasn’t committing to anything.
“Okay. Let’s talk about this and maybe put together a proposal.”
“Yay!” Saira squealed, hugging her way too tight. Reena felt so good about this idea. She was ready to build this with her family.
Marley cornered her next. “Love is in the air. Look,” she said, pointing to the area where the FoodTV cameraperson was setting up big LED lights on poles. Shayne stood nearby with his arm around Anderson Lin. Shayne was staring fondly at Anderson’s earlobe, probably considering taking it in his mouth. And Anderson was an adorable shade of pink.
Reena giggled. Then stilled. If Anderson and Shayne were going to be a thing again, she needed to come clean about everything, no matter what it meant for the contest. She pulled on Nadim’s arm and guided him toward them.
“Anderson, before we film the segment, Nadim and I have a confession. We weren’t really engaged when we entered the contest.” She explained everything, their parents setting them up, their refusal to be married, and the fake engagement to enter the contest.
Anderson frowned. “So, you’re not really married?”
“Yeah, we’re married now, but we weren’t engaged when we made the videos,” Nadim said.
“So, you weren’t a couple back then?”
