“Thank you,” Kelly said, jumping to her feet to get a first look at them. “These are gorgeous.”
“Yours is beautiful too.”
“Are you going to help me taste them?”
“You first,” Brenda said.
Kelly took a seat and picked up her fork. She wasn’t sure which one to start with.
There was an intricate layered dessert in a parfait glass. Layers of mousse and the thinnest almond cookies she’d ever had. There may have been a little hint of cayenne in the chocolate fudge layer, but if it was there, she couldn’t taste it. The conversation hearts had been crushed and layered between the chocolate and cookie layers. On top, a dollop of thick-whipped icing with a conversation heart that read 4EVER YOURS.
“Try this one,” she said, handing it off to Brenda.
The next dessert was a chocolate-almond petit four in a non-traditional rectangle shape. A bright red cayenne chocolate drizzle added the slightest hint of heat in contrast to the rich cake, and a chocolate disk lay flat in the center of the cake with a gold 50 dusted on it.
“This one is so good.” Kelly loved the presentation too. “You have to try this one.”
Brenda took it and pushed her fork into the cake. “You’re right. This one is really good. Pretty too.”
“I might be in trouble.”
“You only have to beat one of these to stay in the round.”
“True,” Kelly said. “Okay. Then I can admit I love this one.” She pointed to the petit four. “I’m begging someone for this recipe after the show.” She picked up the third competitor’s entry. Heart-shaped cookies. “These hearts are pretty, but they just don’t seem enough to celebrate fifty years of marriage.” She bit into one of the dark chocolate shortbread cookies. Frosted with a glossy chocolate icing that was spicy with not only the cayenne, but it tasted like paprika or some kind of seasoning salt too. “An interesting contrast.”
“Interesting isn’t always good.” Brenda took a bite of that one. “I’m not sure of that one.”
“It’s not going to be easy though.”
“Which one do you think you would eliminate?” Brenda lined them up. “We’re not even considering you in the elimination round.”
“I think I’d probably eliminate the parfait. It was good, but I didn’t get the heat from the cayenne at all.”
“I think I’d eliminate the last one. The shortbread thingy. It had more of a Valentine’s than anniversary look to it.”
“Yeah, and that was tricky, because my mind kept wanting to go to Valentine’s Day too. I mean, that’s what the show is called.”
“Right, but you need to listen carefully to what they’re asking for. You don’t want to be eliminated for that kind of mistake.”
“I don’t want to be eliminated at all.” Kelly’s hair was wet against her neck. She wasn’t sure where she stood with this group, and that was amping up her nerves.
Kelly recognized the whistle ring tone she used for texts from Sara, then realized she didn’t have her phone.
Brenda patted her pockets then looked at Kelly’s phone. “Oh, gosh. You can see this.” She held Kelly’s phone out to her.
Kelly started laughing. “Aww. Sara knew I’d be missing Gray.”
“That pig is yours?”
She nodded. “Sure is. He fit in a teacup when I got him. He’s a lot bigger now, but I was already attached. He’s really sweet. Sara works for me, and she’s taking care of Gray while I’m here.”
“I’ve never known anyone who had a pet pig.” Brenda looked at the picture again. “He is cute though.”
Brenda’s radio came to life again. “Everyone back on set. Individual kitchens.”
“Oh my gosh.” Kelly’s knees went weak. “This is it?”
“It is.” She extended a hand to Kelly to help her stand.
“Wish me luck.” Kelly headed to the door and tried to remember to breathe.
Brenda gave her a thumbs up.
Over the speakers, a voice directed the contestants to stand behind their counters on the green X.
Kelly located the green X on the floor and moved into place.
“Thank you. In five…four…three…two…”
The LIVE light went green, and Kelly felt like she was probably close to the same shade. She pasted a smile on her face.
She heard the welcome back from the commercial, and then the judges began talking about the desserts in this round.
“Not an easy round to judge,” Chef Georgie said.
Martin’s voice boomed. “Each of our contestants are back in their individual kitchens. We’re watching them on the screen here in the studio audience. Chefs, in front of each of you is a covered plate.”
Kelly’s stomach churned.
“You’ll each raise the cover and whoever doesn’t have a Valentine on their plate…I’m sorry, you have been eliminated.”
Kelly’s hand shook as she placed it atop the shiny dome.
“Ready? Go!”
She lifted the plate, her eyes filling with tears of anticipation. Then she spotted the bright, funny Valentine on the plate. The kind you’d exchange in grade school. She picked it up and waved it in the air. “Yes!” She held her hand to her heart and leaned forward to catch her breath.
Judge Chef Abraham spoke. “I’m sorry, Frank. Your dessert was quite delicious. We enjoyed the dark chocolate shortbread, but the flavors were a little all over the place and since you left the conversation hearts out completely, we had to eliminate you in this round.” The New York accent only made the message sound even harsher.
“I’m sorry. Frank Wells, you have been eliminated from this round,” Martin said.
Frank said, “It was an honor to even be on the show.”
Kelly lifted her chin toward the speaker with a weird sense of guilt for eavesdropping.
Martin continued, “You’re the Executive Pastry Chef at the Elk Traxx Ski Resort in Colorado.”
“That’s right,” Frank said.
“Thank you for being a part of this competition.”
Kelly perked up. She couldn’t wait to hear the rest, but then the mic went silent.
Four minutes later, the audio came back on in her kitchen. “And then there were three,” Martin said. He made the closing announcements
