Page 11 of Holly Jolly Cake Fight
Candace’s scowl puckered tightly as her eyes darted around the room, looking everywhere but Laurin, confirming his suspicion as she proved how awful she felt about it.
Laurin raked his fingers through his hair for half a second before tossing his head back in frustration and smoothing his hair back down. There was a video he’d had to watch, even a little quiz at the end, to be on the show. A solid five minutes of it was devoted to not touching the face or hair. If they were going to survive this, he was going to have to nip this issue between Kate and Candace in the bud. He didn’t need to cause more drama with messed-up hair.
“Whatever’s between you and Kate isn’t going to be here, not anymore. I’ll hunt this Mike guy down. The director’s booth must be somewhere on the property. Or I’ll set up a call with him, whatever. And we’ll keep Kate away from you. You don’t deserve to—”
“Villains don’t get to be saved by heroes.”
“What?”
Candace puffed her chest up and shook free of him, anything fragile from her vanishing as she scrubbed her temples and cheekbones, expertly avoiding her make-up. Had she cried? No, Laurin would have noticed that. The scrub did brighten her some, though, pinking up her cheeks. “Every show needs a villain,” she said, her voice unwavering. “Honestly, it’s not worth saving me. I’ll get invited to a lot more of these if I’m the villain, right?”
Laurin nearly protested that this wasn’t the sort of show that needed a villain, and even villains deserved human decency, but the light knocking on the door pulled him away.
Laurin opened the door just enough to say, “She’s not ready to come out,” to Jannie before Candace could argue.
“She doesn’t need to. We just need an interview with you.”
Laurin scowled. “I’m not really feeling Kate right now, either.”
Jannie stepped back and gestured to the courtyard in front of the cabins. Kate was there, pacing back and forth, the sequins of her Christmas tree sweater flashing in the sunlight. “She’s out for a few minutes,” Jannie said. “And Mike’s warned her if she cops that attitude again, we’ll bring another host in. We alreadyhave a new director and a new crew. We can get a new co-host, too.”
Laurin did his best to answer Jannie’s questions while he balanced the orange garland, and he was glad none of the questions were too difficult to think through. He worked in his family’s bakery, and he needed the money to overhaul the ancient kitchen. He liked to read in his spare time, and he was an extra set of hands on his buddy’s farm during their busy seasons. He was glad that Jannie glossed over his former career, although he’d watched enough seasons of the Bake-Off to know they probably already had a montage prepared of his years on the football pitch.
It wasn’t until after they were done and the cameraman was occupied getting close-ups of the tree that Jannie said, “What did you do with your medal, anyway? Do you have it hung in the bakery?”
Laurin laughed. “Nah, I won it for the wrong team. My mother would rather I lost that match so France could win. Had to buy her a house and a bakery before she’d talk to me again.”
“Was that about your, erm, football club?” Candace asked.
“Something like that.” He held back his grin, but yeah, he was chuffed that Candace had asked him a question about his life. “Your topper, do you want some extra lights up top for it? To wrap around or tuck in the dress or whatever?”
Candace nodded. “Yeah, but I can take care of that.”
She had to get up on a ladder, and the way she leaned forward forced Laurin to stand directly behind her in case any of the cameramen were looking to make a new scandal for her. He could have set it all up from the ground, but he wasn’t about to argue with her. The whole time he blocked her, he congratulatedhimself for not peeking to see what color panties she wore, then realized, yeah, maybe he was a bit of a lecher because it shouldn’t have even occurred to him.
He was kind of thinking blue, though. That would match her outfit.
There was a point where there was nothing left to be done except look around the courtyard at the other trees and admit that their tree was the worst—
—And watch in horror as Debbie Arthur tripped on something on her porch and launched her seaside cornucopia tree topper over the railing onto the hard-packed dirt path below, where it shattered.
“Does this mean . . . ?” Laurin started, but he felt bad about speaking selfish words over someone else’s tragedy.
But Candace didn’t. “That we actually have a shot now? Yep.”
Chapter 5
Dennis Midori,who had been borrowed from a home improvement network to judge the tree decorating, applauded Glitter Greg and Mark’s ombre but questioned the quantity of glitter before letting them know they were safe.
Celebrity chef Greta Gable cooed over both the natural splendor of Belle and Hannah’s tree and the opulence of Patty and Zara’s metallic majesty before ultimately announcing Belle and Hannah as the winners of the first round. They were rewarded with a nice collection of holiday-themed homewares. Not the greatest prize ever, but both were elated. That was part of contestant life; no matter what the prize is, you must love it.
Greta and Dennis turned their sights on the remaining contestants, and no one could do anything except nod and wring their hands as they were torn apart. The compliments were there, but that wasn’t what the viewers wanted. The judges didn’t waste their breath on them.
“At the end of the day, we could only judge you on your treats,” Greta told the two remaining teams. Candace and Laurin versus Debbie and Stephanie. “Cookies and chocolate against candy canes and oranges. The candy canes were classically done, and while I wish there had been something extra to set them apart, I can’t fault the skill needed to pull them off. The cookies were clean, vibrant, and well-flavored. The oranges were simple but also well-executed, and I would happily decorate them orserve them in my own house . . . just not on that tree. I wouldn’t want that tree in my house.”
“The chocolate shells,” Dennis said, “lacked any creativity or apparent skill. The chocolate was of poor quality, clearly store-bought chocolate bark with nothing to cover the waxy taste. This is something my third grader would bring home from school. I’m sorry, Debbie and Stephanie, but it’s time for you to go.”
They weren’t forced to leave the campground. They weren’t even allowed to, technically. That was how spoilers leaked, and the Food2Love Bake-Off had a strong enough following that it got publicized when contestants came home early. Debbie and Stephanie would stay on site for the next two weeks, left to their own devices in their cabin. They could even get an additional stipend for helping where they could.
