Chapter 23 - Nadia

I was the kind of actor who fed off of other people’s emotions. That’s how I was as a person, too. If my friend was in a bad mood, I would quickly mirror their emotion. If my acting partner felt uncomfortable, it made me uncomfortable.
And now Braden was acting weird and awkward. Like he’d said something he hadn’t meant to say, and now he wished he wasn’t here. Which, in turn, made my own anxiety increase.
Being totally under-dressed for a nice restaurant didn’t help.
“We’re early,” Braden said absently. “You have time to relax, and practice some of the things we’ll say. Just…”
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.”
“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.”
My disappointment at not getting to practice some real acting morphed into a deeper fear. What if this is the end of our arrangement? Would Braden let me stay at their place if I wasn’t pretending to be his girlfriend? I didn’t want all of this to end before it ever started!
“Well, that’s why I did the test run,” Braden said. “Thanks for the help, Candy.”
But Candy was resting her chin on her fist while studying me. It felt like an x-ray, having my insides revealed. “I think you could make it work.”
I blinked. “Really?”
She spoke like she was a judge issuing a ruling. “You were more natural than the last girl. I think I might’ve been convinced if I wasn’t already suspicious of my baby brother. It’s worth trying.”
I glanced at Braden. He was nodding along like he agreed. Maybe this wasn’t over just yet.
“You seem like you really want this scheme to work,” I said.
Candy craned her head and groaned. “I do want it to work! Our parents are driving me nuts. The more they think Brady’s gay, the more pressure they put on me and Elizabeth to settle down and pop out grandkids. Which is not happening any time soon. So I would love for them to put some of their hopes on my brother.”
She drank the rest of her mimosa in three long gulps.
“We’ll give it a try,” Braden told me. “If it works, then it works. And if not…” He shrugged. “We gave it our best try.”
“And we’ll practice more, too,” I said with a pointed stare. “Going into a situation somewhat blind isn’t ideal.”
“Alright, alright. We’ll practice. We can rehearse before our show’s rehearsal.”
“Enough about our parents and my brother’s sexual preferences,” Candy declared. “Tell me, Nadia. Is The Proposition as much of a shitshow as my brother claims?”
“It’s worse!” I said. “It’s a shitpocalypse!”
She giggled and accepted another mimosa from the waitress. She looked at Braden and said, “I like her. It’s too bad she isn’t your girlfriend.”
I blushed as the waitress took our orders.
The rest of brunch was pleasant, and a lot more lighthearted. I was able to relax and enjoy the meal—and the company—since I wasn’t focused on trying to deceive someone.
Candy insisted on paying for brunch. “We inherited a lot of money from our grandmother,” she explained. “Not trying to flex. Just saying I insist. I’m the one who chose the restaurant, and I had three mimosas.”
I held up my hands. “Next time I’ll pick the restaurant and pay.”
Right after saying it, I realized there wouldn’t be a next time. Unless it involved their parents. But Candy only smiled and hugged me, and told me it was a pleasure to meet me.
While Braden went outside, I visited the ladies room. When I came out of the stall after, Candy was washing her hands in the sink.
“I still can’t believe we didn’t fool you,” I said as I stepped up to the sink next to her. “I thought I was crushing it.”
She smiled politely. “You were convincing.”
“Not convincing enough.”
She dried her hands and turned to me. Her face was serious. “Want to know the real reason I knew? You sat down, and my brother kiss you on the cheek. Then he put his arm around you while we talked. Two totally normal gestures for a couple.” She pointed at my chest. “But you blushed seven shades of red. Like your crush had finally held your hand at recess.”
I paused with my hands on the paper towel dispenser. “Shit.”
“Yeah,” Candy nodded. “It was a little obvious.”
“Not sure how I’m supposed to fake that,” I said. “Can’t control an involuntary response like that.”
“Sure you can. Just takes practice.” She pursed her lips. “My brother has that effect on women. I’ve seen it all his life.”
She surprised me by hugging me. I squeezed her back, and it lasted a little longer than a polite hug. Like she genuinely cared about me.
“Just be careful,” she said in parting. “I’ve seen my brother break a lot of hearts.”
I found Braden waiting outside. He was texting on his phone. “I like your sister,” I told him as I shouldered into my coat. “She seems fun.”
But Braden wasn’t listening. “Just got a message from Andy. We have to get to the theater.”