Page 9 of Let Me Win You

“It’s not far to my hotel now,” I said, trying to ground my mind in reality.

“Why are you staying in a hotel?” he asked. “You don’t live in the city?”

“No. I’m from a small town. Flat Field. Have you heard of it?”

“No.”

“No one usually has.” I snorted a laugh. “It’s about a five-hour drive from here. Jessica and I grew up there. And now, we have a bakery together. We came to the city for the Fantastic Cake Decorating Challenge.”

“What’s that?”

“You haven’t heard of it?” I gasped in shock, then admitted, “It’s huge, but not as big as some others, I guess, especially if you aren’t a baker yourself.”

Since Invi wasn’t in the industry, he understandably didn’t hear about it. Tomorrow, the final round of the challenge was going to be broadcast on national TV. A lot of people would become aware of it then. But today, it was still mostly a secret to the general public.

“It’s a new challenge,” I explained. “Twenty bakeries from all over the country have been competing for the title of the best cake decorator. The semi-finals were today, with only two of us left to compete in the finals tomorrow.”

Early in the afternoon, I felt a tingle of excitement at that fact. But it had worn off by now, leaving nothing but a maddening vibration of anxiety in anticipation of the next day.

“I can’t stand competitions,” I confessed. “The stress is too nerve-racking. I keep reminding myself that it’s not about winning but?—”

“What is it about then?” He looked shocked by my admission.

“Oh… I don’t know. Exposure? Teamwork? Skill improvement, right?”

“Nonsense. Why compete if you’re not trying to win?” He said it with such a firm conviction that I had to ask.

“Do you like competing?”

He grinned. “It’s my most favorite thing. The thrill of going for the prize and winning it is incomparable to anything else.”

“Well… I don’t know. We’ve made it to the finals, but I’m not even sure if I can handle the last day now. It’s so much pressure, and it keeps building up with every round we win. If it wasn’t for Jess, I’d probably just drop out at this point. Second place is good enough.”

“Second place means someone else bested you. Do you think you could live with that? Without even trying to win?”

I could absolutely live with being the second best if that meant I didn’t have to go through all that stress tomorrow. I couldn’t even stay in my hotel room tonight, afraid that the anxiety would kill me.

“Second place in such a big competition is amazing,” I argued. “I would be completely satisfied with it, despite losing the prize money. But Jess has been dreaming about it so much. We stayed up many nights, working on our cake designs. She wants to win so badly. I can’t let her down. And also, if we drop out now, it means Aidan wins. And…aargh,” I groaned. “I can’t stand that guy. He’s so cocky. He’s already talking about himself as the winner. It’s infuriating, even if he’s probably right. We’ve never won anything before. This is our first challenge ever. We’re a small bakery?—”

Invi stopped abruptly, and I shut my mouth.

“Nicole, dearest, your mindset is all wrong on this one. Why do you settle for second place already when you still have the chance to win the first?”

I pondered his question for a moment but had no answer to give him other than that I’d prefer the path of least resistance at this point. Chances were, we’d end up coming second anyway. If I could spare us the aggravation of the competition, I would.

“Have you never lost, Invi?” I asked in turn. “Do you not know how rotten a failure feels?”

“Oh, I have lost, my dear. I’ve lost too many times to count. And every loss burns through my very core like fire, for eternity. But every time, it just makes me more determined to win the next time. There is nothing I wouldn’t do to win, Nicole. Nothing.”

The passion in his words was real, and I admired his drive.

“I wish I had your endurance and determination, Invi,” I sighed.

“I’ll lend them to you.” He grinned. “Whenever you need.”

There was something about his smile that made me want to stare at him all night long. I didn’t even notice as we walked past my hotel.

“Oops, sorry. Those glass doors behind us? That’s me.” I pointed at the entrance.

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