“Actually, I don’t,” I told her. “See, this bake-off thing is not my style. I’m here as a favor. I need to be voted off of Christmas Island this week then go on with my life.”
“I need to win this bake-off,” Merrie railed, waving a cake pan at me. “I need this money, and if you want your rent, then you need to participate, or we get disqualified.”
“Hm,” I said, tapping my jaw. “Let me see. Do I really want your rent money? I don’t know. I could write it off and not have to suffer five more of these bake-off events. I’m going to take option B.”
“It’s not just my rent money,” Merrie cried. “I owe—” She clamped her mouth shut.
“Let me guess. Did you take out a personal loan to finance all those overpriced ornaments?” I asked, widening my eyes. “I’m shocked. Shocked, Merrie!”
“You’re such an asshole.”
“Yeah, but I’m a rich asshole.”
“You can’t be that rich if you’re participating inThe Great Christmas Bake-Off,”she retorted and stalked off to the pantry area.
I scowled. Around us the other contestants were working in tandem, measuring ingredients and chatting with their bake-off partners about their desserts.
“It’s too bad they didn’t pair us up.”
I stiffened. Hensley trailed her fingers down my back. I could feel her nails through the suit fabric.
“Really,” I spat, twisting away from her touch. “I would have thought you liked being with your co-cheater.”
Hensley’s perfectly made-up face twisted into a scowl. I glanced over at Brody. He was flirting hard with Anastasia.
“You know what they say about cheaters,” I said feeling vindictive. “If they cheat on someone with you, then they’ll cheat on you.”
“Brody says that men and women can be friends, that it’s perfectly natural,” Hensley snapped.
“Translation, he doesn’t think you’re worth him giving up his freedom. Not surprising.”
“Matt,” she said a desperate whine in her voice, “I made a mistake, one mistake.”
“It was more than once.”
“It was just because you were gone for work so often.” She placed a hand on my arm.
I shook her off. “Don’t make this my fault; you ruined our relationship.”
“And I regret it every day,” Hensley said. Tears were forming in her eyes.
What if she had made a mistake? What if it was my fault that she had cheated? After all, it was probably my fault that neither my parents nor my sister hadn’t wanted much to do with me.
“Please,” she said, her lower lip trembling.
But no. There was no forgiving cheating.
“We’re over, Hensley,” I said harshly.
She grabbed my suit jacket. “This isn’t over. I’m going to win you back. No one loves you like I do, Matt.”
“So, you refuse to help bake, but you’re going to let the woman who cheated on you gaslight you and convince you to take her back?” Merrie stomped over to the baking station, knocking her basket into Hensley and dumping the pile of ingredients on the counter.
Merrie made a face at Hensley, who left in a huff. Part of me was glad.
“I wasn’t,” I snarled as Merrie picked up the packets of cream cheese and shoved them down the front of her shirt.
“You can’t feed people that!” I said, reaching to take the packets from her only realizing at the last minute that that would mean I would have to stick my hand down her shirt.
