Matt stiffened and worked his jaw.
I had his attention now.
“I don’t care if they win.”
“Of course you do,” I cooed, sticking the candy thermometer into the chocolate. It was almost there. I gave it a stir. “You surely don’t want to go back to the bars and boardrooms where your other billionaire friends hang out and sit there while they give you shit for your humiliating loss. It’s going to be the talk of Manhattan, how Matt Frost was whipped by his former fiancée and her boy toy not once but twice.”
“It doesn’t matter if I lose,” he said, grabbing my arm and making me drop the candy thermometer into the pot.
Shit.
“They aren’t going to care.”
“Yes they will because you’ll be a loser.” I tried to fish the thermometer out with a spoon.
“I won’t; this is a meaningless competition.”
“Looooseerrr!”
“Stop it!”
“Loser! Loser! Loser!” I ribbited.
Matt’s nostrils flared.
“Now,” I said, waving the chocolate-covered spoon at him, “are you going to let your ex walk all over you or are you going to pick up a whisk and win this competition?”
His mouth was a thin line. Then his face relaxed in understanding.
“I know what you’re trying to do,” he said, giving me a flash of teeth. “You think you can play to my ego and help you bake. Too bad.”
“You need to help me!” I shrieked, finally giving up on the candy thermometer. Could you blame it? Who didn’t want to take a bath in a pot of warm chocolate?
“I need this win. You can’t do this to me.”
“I absolutely can.”
I picked up the pot and slammed it on the counter.
“You better fish that candy thermometer out of there,” Matt said in a mocking tone, stepping into my personal space bubble. “You might make someone sick.”
He was making me sick. I turned back to the stove to grab my fork. I had to win. The cheesecake had to go into the oven soon. We were running out of opportunities for him to help. I looked at the clock then the other bakers.
Ugh. Everyone else’s cheesecakes were already out of the oven and cooling.
My dish was a mess.
It won’t matter how good or bad it is if you get disqualified.
I couldn’t give up now.
I stepped up behind Matt, reached around him, and grabbed each of his hands.
He made a strangled noise as I pressed the full length of my body against him.
I think I severely miscalculated.
I was height challenged. And Matt was six feet five with long arms and huge hands that I could barely reach. I smooshed my boobs against his back… his very muscular, hard back.
