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“Excuse me?” he blurted out.
Candy’s eyes widened. “Do tell!”
“Your brother is terrible when it comes to throwing away food containers. When he finishes lunch meat, he puts the empty bag back in the fridge!”
There was a shocked look on his face. That made Candy laugh even harder.
“I do not!” he insisted.
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Your roommate and I made sandwiches yesterday. The honey-glazed turkey was all gone.”
“There was one slice left in the package when I put it back.”
“It was the size of a postage stamp!”
He shook his head. “That’s not how I remember it. Ryan must’ve eaten some.”
“Oh, it was definitely you.”
We were crushing it. Smooth and real, with just the right amount of playful teasing. Maybe I was a better actor than I thought. At least, when I had a good partner.
Candy smiled at us both. “This is all fake, isn’t it?”
I nearly choked on my water. “What?”
Braden sighed back into his chair. “Goddamnit, Candy.”
“What do you mean, fake?” I asked, still trying to keep up the charade.
Candy gave me a look. “Nadia. You’re insulting my intelligence.”
“Son of a bitch,” Braden muttered. “Yeah, this is all fake.”
Disappointment washed over me. It was the kind of real acting practice that was hard to come by, and it was being cut short. I thought I was doing so good!
“How did you know?” I asked.
She sipped her mimosa. “I’ve got an eye for actors.”
“Well, I am an actor.”
She gestured with her drink. “There are actors, and then there are actors. No offense. I bet my little brother barely gave you any time to prep. He’s bad with details and planning.”
Her smile was soft and comforting. She knew this wasn’t my fault, and she wasn’t trying to insult me. Instead, it felt condescending.
I blinked. “This isn’t the first time he’s tried this, is it?”
Candy snapped her fingers and pointed at me. Braden groaned.
“He tried the same thing at Christmas,” she said.
“It was a dry run,” Braden quickly explained. His face was beet-red. “Candy sniffed it out pretty quickly.”
“She didn’t even know where you lived,” Candy said. “The least you could do is get your details straight first.”
I slumped back in my chair. “So I never had a chance?”
Candy patted my hand. “Sorry, honey. The cards were stacked against you.”
