“Hardly. We’ve got a lot to do over the next few hours.”
“We’ve got this.”
He prepared the cake pans and set them aside, then got right down to work on the one cake recipe he knew meant the world to Kelly McIntyre—the Triple-Layer Honey Almond Cake.
Chapter Thirty
“One hour to go,” Martin Schlipshel announced, then made a visit to each of the kitchens, which only made Kelly want to chase him out with a rolling pin. She had things to do. He traipsed around her kitchen with his microphone, murmuring comments, but she didn’t let him get her off her game. She continued frosting her cakes. All of the elements were coming together just as she’d pictured them, and Randy was an excellent baker in his own right.
“How’s your sous chef working out?” Martin asked her.
She’d hoped he’d do his little recon mission and disappear without pulling her into a conversation. “I couldn’t have asked for a better partner.”
But that really wasn’t true. She’d had the best partner once. She knew exactly what that was like. It was more of a collaboration than giving orders. And there was a silence in the movements, neither having to ask the other for anything—one fluid creation. She still had a box of all those handwritten recipes she and Andrew had worked on. She’d always thought they’d eventually have a cookbook together. One they’d sell in their restaurant. Focus. This isn’t about Andrew.
“Thirty minutes left. Start bringing it home.”
She and Randy started stacking the completed pieces. Everything fit right into place. The open Tiffany blue box was the perfect cake topper.
“Ten minutes.”
She and Randy made a slow walk around the finished cake.
“It looks great,” he said.
“I’m really happy with it. The edible glass diamond is perfect.” She tapped the tag to shift it a millimeter. The words in red, Will You Marry Me?, made her heart stutter. If someone ever asked her to get married with something as elaborate as this, she’d break down in joyous tears.
Martin announced, “One minute.”
“I’m satisfied.” She took a step back from the counter, and Randy took her hand and raised it in the air.
“Time’s up!”
She and Randy turned toward each other and high-fived with both hands.
A moment later, the LIVE light went out, and Brenda came in to get them. “You two worked great. It was like you’d been baking together forever.”
“She’s a great talent. I learned a few things,” Randy said.
“Thank you.”
Brenda said, “This is where you and Randy will say goodbye. We’ll be taking you back to get freshened up, then to hair and makeup while the judges deliberate.”
“Oh, gosh. Randy, thank you so much. I appreciate everything you did. You went the extra mile. That ring box is so perfect.”
“You’re so welcome. You know my girlfriend is going to expect a cake like that from me now.”
“Sorry.”
“No. Thank you, and thanks for letting me be a part of it. I just got my fifteen minutes of fame. My mom is in the audience.”
“No way!”
“Yep. I’m going to go sit with her and watch to see who wins.” He raised his crossed fingers. “I hope everything you ever wanted comes true for you.”
He turned and left, and she felt lonely for a moment. She wished her mom was in the audience too. Or Sara. Someone.
“That’s so sweet,” Kelly said. “I’m so glad for him.”
Brenda hugged her. “I’ve got something sweet that came over your phone earlier for you. I think it’ll add to this perfect moment.”
“From Sara?”
“Sort of.” Brenda handed Kelly’s phone to her. There were two pictures, one right behind the other. The first was a postcard of the New York skyline at night, the other a note from Andrew on the reverse side. “That was so sweet.”
“Is this the same Andrew on your call list? The one we went to dinner with?”
She nodded.
“Seemed like a nice reunion from what I could tell at dinner the other night.”
“It was, and I’d give anything to be sharing this experience with him. There’s a lot of history there. Not all of it good.”
Brenda gave her a sly wink. “Not all of it bad either, from what I saw.” She led Kelly to the dressing room. “You’ve got ten minutes to freshen up and get changed.” An identical uniform hung on the back of the door. “I’ll be back to get you.”
Kelly stretched her arms over her head, then slowly bent to the side. Her limbs felt heavy. If she sat down now, she might never get back up. Eight hours of competitive baking was a long day. Her muscles ached, and her eyes burned from being under the bright lights all day.
The judges were judging her entry right now. Her stomach knotted.
She grabbed the change of clothes, raced into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She put a shower cap on her head and jumped in, letting the hot water pour over her. She silently counted out the seconds to one hundred eighty, then stepped back out of the shower. Her body relaxed a little as she quickly changed into the clean clothes, then threw away the shower cap and ran a quick brush through her hair.
Brenda hustled her down the hall to hair and makeup.
Kelly sat in the chair, and three people came from different angles around her all at the same time.
Then Brenda’s phone rang. “Yes. Okay. Right. In Studio A?” She put her phone in her pocket. “Slight change in plans.” She grabbed Kelly’s hand. “Come on, we’re going to the stage.”
“Not the kitchen?”
“Nope. Not sure what’s going on.” A line creased in Brenda’s forehead. “They’re going to do an on-stage interview. They want you to walk straight out. You’ll see your cake there on a table. There’s a blue box taped on the stage to the right of the cake. Stand in the box.”
“To the right of the cake. Blue box.” Kelly nodded. “Got it.”
“Good luck.”
Chapter Thirty-One
From his spot just off stage, Andrew could see
