She crossed her arms, revealing the barest sliver of skin between the hem of the sweater and the waistband of the jeans.
I just wanted to run my hands down her and rub my fingers along that strip of skin.
Instead, I leaned over to whisper to her. “You have straw in your hair.”
She reached up to grab at her curls. “And you’re about to get flour all over your nice suit,” she hissed.
“Brody and Hensley were the judges’ favorites in our last round while Matt and Merrie with their upside-down cheesecake were the least favorites. But hope is not lost because we are now going to hear the fan favorites.” Anastasia opened an envelope and pulled out a card.
Merrie picked at her sparkly red nail polish, clearly anxious.
“The team with the least number of fan favorite votes is Kerrie and Stacy.”
The two girls hugged each other.
“And the team with the most is Matt and Merrie! That means you two are safe for another round.”
Stacy had started to cry.
“Unfortunately, ladies, because you were in the bottom three for the judges in our last round, we have to say goodbye and wish you a merry Christmas.”
The eliminated contestants hugged Anastasia then were escorted off the stage.
“For your next bake-off challenge, we are harkening back to the Victorian era. Jelly roll cakes with their festive swirls were a popular dessert in the mid-1800s. Your bake-off challenge today is to create a modern festive version of this popular cake. Feel free to get creative. Since we are in a small town that has a robust local farming community, we want to showcase that. While pantry staples are available to you, for anything extra, let’s go local! Ida’s General Store and farmers’ stalls in the Christmas market are open to you to shop for ingredients.”
“And you were worried,” I said smugly as Merrie and I followed the other contestants off the stage.
“No thanks to you,” she sputtered. “You tried to sabotage our chances of winning.”
“Excuse you,” I pressed a hand to my chest. “I was the one people were voting for. They all thought I was very attractive.”
“That was because they didn’t have to be on a baking team with you, your ego, and your incompetence.”
“I’m extremely competent,” I argued. “It’s not like baking is difficult. You just follow a recipe. It’s not computer science.”
“Oh yeah?” Merrie turned around abruptly and jabbed a finger at me. “Because you were really struggling the last time.”
We headed across the street to Ida’s General Store.
“Stay behind the rope,” Ida shouted at the townspeople who were crowding around the store.
“There is filming going on. Bakers are trying to pick the perfect ingredients. They need concentration; they do not need your Yorkie terrier trying to chew off their legs. Yes, I saw your dog attack Art, Minerva,” Ida said loudly to another senior citizen.
I picked up a basket and handed it to Merrie. She handed the basket back to me.
“Don’t worry your handsome head about the shopping,” she said. “You can just carry the fruit.”
I hated shopping. It was boring and tedious. I had a personal chef prepare meals for me a few times a week or I went out to eat. I did not cook. I certainly didn’t go to grocery stores.
I sighed loudly as Merrie sniffed an orange, the tenth or twelfth one she had carefully inspected.
“Can you please hurry up?”
“You have to have the perfect fruit. I will not compromise quality. I am not going to be in the bottom again.”
I shifted my weight. Our basket was empty except for a single pomegranate.
I looked around. Brody was laden down with two full baskets. He was trailing Hensley through the store. She saw me looking at her and blew me a kiss. I quickly averted my gaze.
