Sunny stared at my arm.
I stared at her mouth, then forced my gaze back to her eyes.
Her cheeks went pink.
Caprice made an aggravated sound. “Please tell me the arm is still in frame, because I don’t have time to reset caramel.”
Joelle glanced up from the plates. “Do we need a towel?”
Sunny set the bottle down with great care. “We need no commentary.”
“You caramelized me,” I said.
“It’s an improvement. You were very plain.”
“Sunny,” Caprice said, “clean the arm, redo the drizzle, and keep us moving.”
Sunny grabbed a towel and stepped around her table. “See? Producer says I’m allowed.”
“I didn’t hear allowed.”
“I heard implied urgency.”
She reached for my forearm with the towel.
I should’ve stepped back. There was no reason to let her touch me. It was caramel. I’d had worse things on my skin. Ash. Sap. Blood. Grease. Foam. Sweat. Nothing worth a fuss.
But Sunny’s fingers closed lightly around my wrist, and my useful thoughts went quiet.
Her hand was warm. Small compared to mine, but not fragile. Short nails painted red. A faint dusting of flour or graham crumbs clung to one knuckle. She wiped the caramel from my forearm in one slow pass, and I felt the drag of the towel through my whole body.
My cock twitched again, stupid and hungry, and I locked my knees like that would make me less of an idiot.
She looked up.
We were close enough that I could see the freckles across her nose. Close enough to catch the sugar on her breath. Close enough that the white apron between us couldn’t make me forget the curves underneath it.
“You got it?” I asked.
Her thumb paused against my skin.
“Almost.”
The word came out softer than her usual banter.
Sunny released me and took one clean step back. “Right. Obviously. I was preventing a sticky emergency.”
“Public service,” I said.
“Exactly.”
Caprice stared at her clipboard. “I’m scheduling a full extra hour for Round Two if this is how long condiments take.”
The comment broke the moment cleanly. Sunny returned to her station, and I flexed my hand once before I picked up another marshmallow.
We finished the first batch without another caramel incident, though Sunny kept her squeeze bottle pointed away from people. I kept my attention on the coals. Mostly.
The judges tasted on camera.
