That left Elara seven, opposite her.
“Chefs! Your mentors!”
Beyond the hedges, the doors opened and steps crunched along thegravel. Elara tried to look indifferent as she studied her station, opening cupboards and inspecting what tools she had to work with.
Steps halted at her side, and she popped up with a brilliant smile for herold friend.
“Nice to see you again—”
Her smile dropped.
“Hello, Ellie.”
13ELARA
“Gaetan?”
He wasn’t supposed to be here. No one from her past waseversupposed to be in her life again, yet here he was in the freshest-looking Professionnelle uniform she’d ever seen on him. And his eyes, aside from a little redness, were entirely clear. And he smelled… clean.
“What are you doing here?” she whispered.
“I heard you needed help.”
“From who?”
“Curly-headed chef from Le Cœur. Said his name was Escoffier. At first, he said he was wanting to hire you, then he said he was your Patron. Well,Elouise Auclair’sPatron.”
There were only a handful of Professionnelle bakers in the Restes. Had Nikolas accidentally selected Gaetan, unaware of their connection?
Elara found Nik watching her over a glass of wine. His frosty eyes gavenothingaway.
Gaetan was a staple of the Restes, a man people looked to for comfort and stability. Perhaps that was part of Nikolas’s plan, too. He wanted the Restes to rise, and what better way to prove that than having someone like Gaetan rise with them?
“Does he… Did you…”
Someone would hear. Either the contestants or the Counseil. She couldn’t trust that they wouldn’t have eyes and ears everywhere.
Gaetan touched her shoulder, leaning in to make them look as if they were having a moment like all the other chefs. Maybe they were. Itseemed unlikely considering she’d almost burned down his bakery the last time she’d seen him.
“Restes stick together.”
Her lip wobbled, but she nodded.
“Thank you.”
This had to be a horrible coincidence.
Still, Gaetan Arnaud didn’t have the luxury of a name change. He might’ve walked away from the rebellion before the bombing, but he’d been an accomplice until the week before. The Counseil wouldn’t have mercy on him if they figured out his past. And if they did? It’d be a quick trip to discovering her own. They’d both be thrown in prison… Or worse.
Gaetan slapped the table. “Let’s get to it!”
Elara took out her recipe book. “You quit drinking.”
“I was reminded there are reasons to be sober. Let’s win this.”
He was too chipper. Too eager to dance to the Counseil’s tune.
“Gaetan… What did they tell you? About winning and losing today?”
