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He trailed off. I soon realized why.
Even though we were 20 minutes early, a woman was sitting at our table.
“Brady!” she yelled, jumping up and rushing over to us. Braden grunted as she tackled him in a hug.
She was a punk girl with green dyed hair, cut short like a dollop of picturesque toothpaste on her head. She had drawn-on eyebrows, and wore a baggy blue pantsuit and black heels. A loose sash of gold thread hung around her waist.
“You must be Nadia! I’m Candy.”
She hugged me, and it wasn’t one of those polite hardly-touching hugs. It was a genuine, warm embrace. Like I was part of the family. It instantly banished all of my anxiety and nervousness.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” she said. “I’ve heard so much about you!”
“Don’t believe any of it,” I joked as we sat down. “I’m actually a huge bitch.”
Candy leaned across the table and grabbed my hand. “What a coincidence—me too!”
We giggled like we were old friends. The waitress introduced herself and took our drink orders. Braden got a water so I mimicked him, but Candy already had a half-empty mimosa on the table.
“Brady, huh?” I asked. “I’m going to have to start calling you that.”
Braden rolled his eyes. “Stop it. Only my sisters call me Brady.”
“And now your girlfriend, Brady.”
“Being an older sister means giving you as much shit as possible,” Candy agreed. “You should be used to it by now.”
“From you, sure.” Braden jerked his head at me. “But not from people whose opinion I genuinely care about!”
“What do you do, Candy?” I asked.
“He hasn’t told you?”
I winced internally, but did my best to cover up my knowledge gap. “He claims you shovel brimstone with your tail, but I’m guessing that was a lie.”
She glared pointedly at her brother. “I’m the casting director for a studio in LA.”
“Oh, fun!” I said. “I knew dating into this family was a way to advance my career.”
Braden barked a laugh. “Fat chance. She won’t even let me audition for any feature roles.”
“Because the moment I start showing favoritism toward my family is the moment I lose my job,” she said sweetly. “Besides, you know you prefer the stage.”
I backed my chair out and pretended like I was leaving. “Well, if I can’t use you to get a movie role then there’s no point in dating Braden any longer…”
Braden let out an offended scoff and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me back down into my chair. He held me close for a moment, then kissed me on the cheek. “I’m good for much more than just my connections.”
I felt my cheeks redden from the kiss. “I suppose so.”
Candy put her elbow on the table and leaned on her palm. “So. Tell me how you two met.”
“We’re in the same show together,” I explained. “I’m just an understudy. Braden never even noticed me until I stepped in for the lead during rehearsal three weeks ago. We had a scene together, and then…” I shrugged. “I had him.”
Braden moved his arm to the back of my chair. It was a warm presence against my neck. “That’s not true. I noticed you, I just never had a chance to actually talk to you. Once I did, I wasted no time in asking you out. We’ve been inseparable ever since.”
Candy sighed. “I love new relationships. Everything is fresh and perfect and exciting!”
“I agree,” I said, holding up a finger. “With one caveat. Brady is far from perfect.”
