My fingers dig into the notebook. “What did you tell him?”
“The truth.”
“That’s not?—”
The denial dies in my throat.
Itwastrue. In the beginning.
I brought Max a cake because I wanted his vote. I invented reasons to run into him. I fed him baked goods and asked his opinion because every interaction was technically related to the competition. Until it wasn’t, and I started looking for him because seeing his crooked smile became the best part of my day.
And now…
Now I can’t imagine my life here—my life anywhere—without him.
“I didn’t sleep with him for a crown. I wrote that before I knew him.”
Candi’s expression gets as close to soft as I’ve ever seen it. “Either way, he now knows your original motive.”
I glance back toward the judges table. Max is there.
My heart leaps before crashing against my sternum.
Even across the crowd, I can see the exhaustion lining his face. The hurt.
His brilliant green eyes find mine.
I take a step, everything inside me reaching for him.
Max’s gaze drops to the notebook clutched against my chest, and my heart breaks.
I start toward him, but the microphone squeals.
“Contestants to the stage.” Mrs. Abernathy announces. “The judge’s ballots have been cast, and we have the name of our next Crescent Cove Summer Festival Frosting Queen!”
Bakers make their way onto the stage, and I’m swept up in the crowd.
The stage lights are bright against the fading sun, and I squint against them, trying to spot Max through the glow.
“Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s competition,” Mrs. Abernathy continues. “The scores were extremely close.”
The familiar wave of desperation should have crashed over me by now like it has every year before. This time, it doesn’t come.
I don’t need to win the crown or the prize money or to move away to prove that I’m worthy of being in this town. This is my home. Although, it will feel a lot less like it without Max.
Mrs. Abernathy unfolds the result card.
“This year’s Frosting Queen is…”
The crowd falls silent.
“Candi Honeycutt.”
Applause erupts.
Candi gasps as though she didn’t position herself beside the throne the moment she walked out onto the stage.
Mayor Wren places the rhinestone tiara over her dark hair, and she waves to the crowd while Mrs. Abernathy drapes another sash across her chest.
