“Yeah,” Merrie said, raising her hand. “Can I get a new bake-off partner?”
“Thank you so much,bake-off contestants, for your excellent desserts,” Anastasia said.
“Except for ours,” Merrie muttered beside me.
“Everyone had a better dessert than us. Even the box cake lady had a nice dessert.”
“To be fair,” I whispered to Merrie. “Janet was paired with an award-winning pastry chef.”
Still, Merrie had been right—a part of me hated losing, hated being in last place
There is a fan voting component, I reminded myself.You still may not get kicked off.
Wait, I told myself,No. this was the point. This was the plan. Sabotage the competition, get kicked out of the bake-off, and lock yourself up in your office and try to avoid Christmas as much as possible. This is a good thing. You executed your plan perfectly.
“Could Merrie, Matt, Hensley, and Brody please step up to the front?” Anastasia said, waving us up with a smile
Hensley was clearly checking me out as I walked to the front of the stage. And it was obvious that purposely stood right next to me. She was closer to me than Merrie was.
Merrie wrapped her arms around herself.
“One of you got the most judges’ points and one team the fewest,” she said. “Brody and Hensley, you are the winning team this round for the judges’ pick. Matt and Merrie, I’m sorry to say, but the judges gave you the lowest amount of points.”
“Because her cheesecake wasn’t even done,” Hensley said nastily. “Honestly. A woman who can’t even bake—what is even the point of her anyway?”
Had my ex always been such a terrible person or was I just now seeing it?
“Everyone, remember that the team with the lowest total score from both the judges and the fan voting goes home. Bake-off fans at home, if you want to keep your favorite team in the competition, vote, vote, vote!”
15
Matt
“Terrible showing,” Eli said when I walked into the office. The St. Bernard lumbered behind me. When I’d gone home to change into a suit that didn’t smell like cake and smoke (or like Merrie), I had heard him barking as I rode up the elevator.
Caring for the dog was a good distraction from the bake-off—well, mainly from Merrie. She hadn’t said a word to me after the competition, just given me the evil eye.
Don’t feel bad, I told myself.
I didn’t feel bad.
However, I did want to feel Merrie against me again.
She had been so soft and warm against my back. It had been cold, and I swore I could feel her nipples through the suit fabric.
It wasn’t. You were imagining it.
Hensley hadn’t been lying that I was gone a lot the past few months. A while had passed since I’d gotten laid. It wasn’t as if I was in any way attracted to Merrie.
You should just go out and sleep with one of the tourists.
I looked out the window. The Christmas market was in full swing.
I don’t need any more Christmas in my life.
The St. Bernard wagged his tail at Eli.
“A puppy!” my friend exclaimed.
