CHAPTER 1
TRINITY
I'm piping buttercream roses onto a wedding cake when Maya bursts through the bakery door like she's delivering breaking news from the front lines of celebrity gossip.
"Trinity Lewis, drop that pastry bag and listen to me."
"Good morning to you too." I don't look up from my work. Twenty-four roses to go, and Mrs. Henderson's picking this up in three hours. "Coffee's fresh if you want some."
"Forget coffee. This is bigger than caffeine." Maya slams her phone down on the counter next to my cake stand. "They're casting."
"Who's casting what?"
"Heart of the Horde.Season six. Applications open today."
My hand slips. The rose I'm piping looks more like abstract art than flora. "The dating show? With the orc guy?"
"Thedating show. The one that made Brittany Barbos a household name after she opened that restaurant chain. The one that turned Mack Dennis into the face of that athletic wear company." Maya's practically vibrating with excitement. "This could be your shot."
I set down the piping bag and really look at her. She's wearing her lucky earrings, the tiny cupcakes that dangle whenshe gets animated, and that particular shade of coral lipstick she reserves for what she calls "life-changing conversations."
Oh no.
"Maya, no."
"Maya, yes." She grabs my flour-dusted hands. "Think about it. You're gorgeous, you're witty, you can bake circles around anyone?—"
"I'm also completely broke and running a failing business in a town where the most exciting thing that happened last week was Mrs. Patterson's cat getting stuck in the library book drop."
"Exactly!" She gestures wildly, nearly knocking over my sugar dispenser. "You'reperfectfor reality TV. Small-town girl with big dreams? Relatable backstory? Plus you've got that whole sarcastic-but-sweet thing going on."
I rescue the sugar before it becomes a casualty of Maya's enthusiasm. "The whole sarcastic-but-sweet thing is called 'my personality,' not a television persona."
"Same difference." She's already scrolling through her phone. "Look at this casting call. They want women aged twenty-one to thirty-five who are 'ready to find love and adventure with Korgan the Destroyer.'"
"Korgan the Destroyer sounds like someone who'd destroy my will to live."
"He's actually really sweet. Quiet type. Runs a nonprofit for military veterans." Maya shows me a photo on her screen.
I look at it and immediately wish I hadn't. Because Korgan the Destroyer is... well. Let's just say he doesn't look like he'd struggle to find dates without the help of reality television producers.
"He looks like he could bench press a car."
"I know, right? Imagine those arms wrapped around?—"
"Maya." I pick up my piping bag again. "I'm not going on a dating show."
"Why not?"
"Because I'm a serious businesswoman trying to save her bakery, not a wannabe influencer looking for fifteen minutes of fame."
Maya gives me the look. The one that says she sees right through my reasonable excuses to the scared twenty-six-year-old underneath who still wakes up some nights in a cold sweat about loan payments and eviction notices.
"Trinity. When's the last time you went on a date?"
"I went out with Jake Morrison last month."
"Coffee doesn't count if you spent the entire time talking about commercial oven financing."
