I finish it as I climb the stairs to my apartment, each buttery bite a reminder of how thoroughly I’ve failed at keeping my distance. Every time I try to be professional, to be just her landlord, I end up deeper in whatever this is between us.
And the worst part is, I’m not sure I want to stop it anymore.
CHAPTER 5
lena
LOVE AT FIRST BITE
One Week Later
I never cry over emails. Even when my inbox was inundated by rejections left and right.
But right now? Right now, I might cry.
Congratulations! You’ve been selected as a contestant in the New Vegas Dessert Showcase!
I blink at the words on the screen. Then I blink again. Nope. Still there.
The New Vegas Dessert Showcase is THE competition. The big leagues. The kind of event that could change everything for my bakery.
Fame. Exposure. Investors. A line out the door every morning.
If I win, Moist wouldn’t just be the weird little bakery with the terrible name anymore.
It would be a landmark.
I press a shaking hand to my forehead, inhaling deeply. Okay. Don’t spiral. This is good. This is huge.
I start pacing, brain already spinning through logistics. The competition itself is brutal—only the best make it past the preliminary rounds. The judges are Otherkin, humans, and culinary critics alike, and they’ll be looking for something that isn’t just delicious but visionary.
Which means I need a showpiece.
Something spectacular. Something that stops people in their tracks.
I grab my recipe journal, flipping to a blank page. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for years, so why does my mind feel so empty?
I jot down a list of my best ideas.
Ensaymada cream puffs? No, too simple.
Ube leche flan Napoleon? Getting closer, but not a showstopper.
Calamansi chiffon cake with a sugar-glass wave? Maybe...
I tap my pen against my chin, staring at the page.
It’s not just about the dessert. It’s about the presentation. The experience.
The theme for this year’s showcase is Wanderlust.
A concept that means movement, travel, longing for something beyond.
I close my eyes, letting the word sink in, searching for what it means to me. Not what it means to the judges or the other contestants.
But, what it means to Magdelena Reyes, the girl whose grandparents crossed oceans to make a life somewhere new, whose parents still speak of growing up in The Philippines with that soft look in their eyes, that mixture of nostalgia and pride that I’ve come to recognize as uniquely theirs.
Wanderlust isn’t just about the places you’ve been. It’s about the places that live in you.
