I grabbed bottles of rum, whiskey, and bourbon. As soon as I returned to my station, I poured myself a sip of each.
"It’s nine in the morning," Nina teased.
"I have to taste the ingredients to have a sense of the flavor profile," I told her.
"Uh-huh," she said as I poured myself another sip of bourbon. "That looks like more than a taste."
Jack was still sitting at the judges’ table. I watched him over the rim of the glass. Why was he still here? Normally he left to go do whatever billionaire things he had to do. Was he honestly going to sit here the entire day and watch me? He looked at me and smiled in a self-satisfied way.
"Do you even know what you're making?" Nina asked.
"No, but the alcohol is starting to infuse itself in my brain, and I feel an epiphany coming on."
"Drunk epiphanies can lead to really terrible results," Nina warned. Jack was still watching me.
"I need a dessert, a boozy Christmas dessert," I chanted to myself as I racked my brain.
Eggnog. I had to have eggnog. But what to eat with it?
Jack,the naughty elf chanted.You should eat Jack! He tastes like pure snow and pine and sex.
I finished off the rest of the whisky in the glass. Jack stood up from the table and walked over to me. One of the cameramen hurried over to film our interaction.
"And what are you making?" Jack asked, a smile playing around his mouth. "Your last dessert was very impressive. Hopefully you can top it."
Top it… top Jack…Jack on top of…
"Can you tell us what you're making, Chloe?" Zane repeated. "I need footage."
"Sorry," I told him, blinking. That whiskey sure was strong.
"I'm making eggnog."
"With lots of alcohol," Jack said, his smile widening. He stepped closer to me.
"Yes."
"Anything to eat?" Zane prodded.
I looked around and sighed. "Bacon."
"Bacon," Jack repeated, one eyebrow raised slightly. "Sounds interesting."
He was too close to me. Suddenly I needed air. I stepped away from him.
"This isn't working for me right now. I need to concentrate."
"Did you even eat breakfast?" he asked as Zane walked over to film Nina.
"Jack!" Hartleigh called. She made a pouty fish face and stuck out her chest. "Jack! Come look at what I'm making."
Jack grimaced. "I’ll see you later," he said to me, lightly touching my hip and letting his hand slide down. He hurried away as Hartleigh stomped over to my work table.
"I know you're after Jack! I know you're trying to steal him from me."
Maybe it was the alcohol on an empty stomach, but Hartleigh looked unhinged. It seemed as if her eyes were twitchy and not really focused on me.
I poured myself another sip. "Jack is a grown man," I said. "He can make his own decisions."
