“I thought you’d call us,” Cadence said, drying the baking dish she rescued earlier and putting it away in the cupboard. “Tell us how the show went.”
Tessa kept her eyes on her sister and off of Liam. Either he had no idea what they were talking about or he did a good job pretending he’d never heard ofOrder Up. She shouldn’t care. He made his choice all those years ago, and it split them apart.
“There hasn’t been a lot of time, really.”
During her flight to Alaska, it struck Tessa how isolated she’d become in her pursuit of greatness. She didn’t have anyone to talk to about what happened. She was too focused on accomplishing, and she let socializing fall to the wayside.
She’d set out to achieve specific goals, never allowing failure to stop her: move to New York, work and learn from the best chefs, and someday run her own kitchen. She’d spent the past five years with her head down, hardly coming up for air. There’d been no time for friends. There had hardly been time for Derek. But he was a chef in pursuit of the same. They understood each other and the severe lack of free time in going after those things.
At least, Tessa thought so until he broke up with her the night before they left for Vegas.I don’t want emotions to come between us. Only one of us can win, Tessa.
“Jerk,” she mumbled beneath her breath.
“What’s that?” Cadence asked.
“The show is fine,” Tessa said, embarrassed that the last bit had been vocalized.
“What show are we talking about?” Liam asked. The lug was still leaning against the door jamb, this time running his fingers along the back of Raven’s neck. The sunlight caught in his tousled hair, showcasing exactly how kind time had been to him. Tessa forced her eyes away.
“You haven’t heard?” Cadence gave Liam a genuine, excited smile, one that said she was proud of her sister. It made Tessa ache a little inside. “Order Up: Las Vegasis the name of it. It’s been airing for, like, the past three weeks. On three nights a week. There are only eight chefs left, and Tessa is one of them.”
Leave it to Liam to size her up with those intimidating eyes, searching for the hidden truth. “So that’s why you’re worried about the paparazzi.”
“Paparazzi?” “Cadence repeated, her eyes widening as they fell on Tessa. “Do we—”
“Ignore him.”
“You didn’t win, did you?” Liam pressed on.
“Excuse me?”
“The show. You obviously didn’t win or you wouldn’t be here.”
Tessa steeled her emotions, the way she had to do not only during the demanding show but throughout her time in stressful New York kitchens, too. “Just because the show is still airing doesn’t mean it’s stillfilming.” Liam’s taunt replayed in her mind, but there was no way he had insider information. Anyone who leaked that would face a hefty penalty, as she was reminded on her way out the door. “How do you even know whatkindof show it is if you haven’t heard of it? Might not be a competition at all.”
Liam let out an unguarded laugh that caused Raven’s tail to swish against the tile. “You never cared about the limelight, sweetheart. Only winning. I dare you to tell me it’snotsome sort of a competition.”
Tessa crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine, so it is.”
“Did you win?” he asked.
Despite how desperately she needed someone to talk to about the show, she didn’t want to give Liam ammunition by admitting a thing. Besides, the contract offered a valid excuse she could hide behind: the fine for leaking spoilers was a quarter of a million dollars. “I can’t say anything about the show until the last episode airs. It’s in my contract.”
“They made you sign a contract?” Cadence asked.
“Of course they did.” Tessa marched up to Liam and hooked her hand around a suitcase strap. Raven looked up at her with wide, expectant eyes, distracting her. She contemplated yet again how difficult it would be to borrow his dog for a few days. She wondered what kind of treats Raven favored, because she was willing to buy a case if it bribed the dog to stay with her.
“You can’t kidnap her,” Liam said for the second time that day.
Tessa spun away after a quick glare, the lighter of the two bags in hand. The other one might make her stumble over her own feet, and she didn’t need to add that embarrassment to her already bad streak of luck. “Doesn’t mean I won’t try.”
“I can get that.” Cadence reached for the bag, relieving Tessa of her load. But this close, Tessa didn’t miss the flicker in her sister’s eyes. Cadence was piecing things together. “Did you . . . rent a car?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
Liam huffed out a laugh behind them, causing Tessa to twist sharply. Over her shoulder she shot daggers at him with her eyes. The look was intended as a warning to keep his trap shut, but Liam had never been intimidated by her.
“I better get back to the shop,” Liam said, giving Tessa a wink that caused tingles to dance in her chest. “Got to run the tow truck out.”
