Page 3 of Holly Jolly Cake Fight
“Well, I hope you liked them. Now, I’m dying to know,” she said to Laurin, “What’s this twist everyone’s talking about? Don’t leave an old lady waiting!”
Laurin shrugged, making Vivvy cackle as she bobbed up and down. “Just got here myself. I’m probably even more clueless than you.”
“You’re not part of the crew?”
“Papa’s a baker, too!” Vivvy told her.
Belle stiffened at that, but only for a second before smoothing her hackles. “Ah, well, good luck to you,” she said pertly before she headed back to the cabin.
Vivvy waited until they were at Gate 5 before sinking to Laurin’s ear and loudly whispering, “I saw Grandma Belle smoking a cigarette!”
“She’s a real person, little lady. No one’s who they seem on TV.”
“Like Candace Coale?” she asked, naming another regular on the network.
“Err, right. Like Candace Coale. I bet she’s not a complete monster.”
“Good, because she's right there.”
Laurin’s gaze snapped up from where he’d been lingering on a discarded box a sparrow was crafting a nest in. Sure enough, Candace Coale was standing ten feet away, well within range to hear what he’d said.
Candace was a beautiful woman, that was undeniable. Not like a pageant queen or a model. No, she had a very specific aesthetic about her. Pâtissière chic, Pauline had once called it.Trendy pastry chef. Average height and a slightly plump figure — although the proverbial camera ten pounds must have been more like thirty on her, because in real life she looked borderline emaciated — with a wardrobe of snug sweaters and A-line skirts to accentuate it. A pretty, heart-shaped face with big blue eyes and lush lips, never accented with more than the simplest make-up, leaving her most defining characteristic the thick, colorful ponytail she wore up high so it was always visible on camera.
Laurin hadn’t considered the fact that she might be here and that his young daughter would be on his shoulders as he suddenly remembered all the times the image of Candace Coale in her short skirts and lace thigh-highs had popped into his brain athighlyinappropriate times, but here he was.
This season’s hair color was unusually subdued for Candace. There’d been silver and pale lavender, a stark white and, most notably, an ombre that darkened from the babiest of blues to the deepest of cobalt. Now, though, it was a warmer, almost natural shade barely hinting at pink. Champagne, Laurin would have called it as an icing color.
This was a different sort of Candace Coale from her last season. He swore she’d scowled through the entire program and yelled at anyone who talked to her. Even with the hosts, Food2Love’s beloved Jannie and Kate, she’d been terse. When she’d gone home amid scandal — an affair with the producer, of all things — the fan groups online had universally cheered good riddance. He was surprised to see her here at all and wondered if this toned-down version of her previous self was at the network’s insistence.
Her gaze stuck on his a moment too long before her lips curled into a scowl, her eyebrows dipped into a glare, and her feet stomped her right back into Cabin 5.
“I think she’s still a monster,” Vivvy said gravely.
Laurin spun Vivvy around and deftly draped her upside-down so he could tickle her belly and reduce her to shrieking giggles. She’d be too big for this soon, so he wasn’t going to take the opportunity for granted. “I guess I’ll have to be a prince, then!”
“Why’s that?” Vivvy laughed when she caught her breath.
“Why, to slay the monster, of course!”
Slay the monster, save their home and livelihood. Yes, this was a competition he was ready for.
Chapter 2
A complete monster?
A complete monster!
Candace had no idea who that guy was. She didn’t care how hot he was, either. Not his slightly overgrown, wavy chestnut hair or his sparkling jade eyes. Definitely not his charming dimples or the rugged cleft in his chin.
And she absolutely did not care about how good he was with his daughter, even if it made her pesky biological clock tick a couple times — and a couple more when she noticed no rings on his fingers. She didn’t care about anything except making sure he knew how much of a monster she was.
That was an empty, unvoiced threat, of course. It was one thing to be the villain of a reality competition show, but she had to be unimpeachable off-camera. Although nothing was said in the email she’d received, she was sure this was a probationary period. If there was even a hint of actual trouble, she was sure she’d be kicked off their roster forever. She suspected her invitation arrived so late because they hadn’t planned to invite her at all. Someone else probably backed out, and since she’d lost her storefront, the new producer knew she’d be available.
She had to do well this time. Winning would be life-changing now that she’d been reduced to guest appearances at tri-state bakeries and restaurants to make ends meet. Even without that win, though, securing her old spot as a network competitionregular would be a major boon. She just needed to nail down what they wanted from her, and she’d do whatever it took to get back into the network heads’ good graces.
Which definitely did not include letting her eyes stray to the new guy. Nope, as of this moment, Candace was going to be as pure as actual, for real, fresh-from-the-sky snow.
She was docile as a lamb when an assistant in a golf cart drove her from Cabin 5 to a hideously decorated outdoor pavilion rigged for filming the show. Two fake walls were covered in candy cane-striped wallpaper and adorned with wreaths, sleds, light-up yard reindeer, and oversized ornaments. The corners were filled with mountains of the same plastic snow that had been sprayed outside. Snowman villages nested there. It was ridiculous, and Candace screwed the most placid smile onto her face as she took the monstrosity in.
