Page 47 of Holly Jolly Cake Fight
“Wedeserve to win this,” he corrected her, “and only if we’re the best team. So come on, we should still be wired to watch the closed-circuit feed from the other cabins.”
He snagged some pillows and blankets from the den and brought them over to the foyer, where he threw them on the floor and motioned for Candace to take a seat. He fiddled around with the remote and found the right channel. They were currently at Harper and Mark’s, and they were just walking in, so Laurin plopped down next to Candace and passed a blanket across their shoulders. Candace snuggled up against him, and for a few quiet minutes, they watched the video and held hands.
It was a perfect moment.
Candace’s jaw just about hit the floor when she saw the spread of food laid out in the pavilion, all stored in the best possible conditions with proper chafing dishes and heavy lids and even the domes that spun open so the breads wouldn’t become soggy in their pans.
Three turkeys. Two hams. Laurin’s roast. Potatoes five ways and three sweet potatoes. A rainbow of veggies: tomatoes, carrots, squash, and broccoli, even some beets. Candace had never cared for them, but Laurin insisted she try them, and darn him because he was right. Harper could now brag about makingthe first beet dish — a cold salad with an array of crisp, bright vegetables tossed in a vinaigrette — that Candace had ever liked.
Candace ate everything. Too much. Ridiculously too much. She ate until she didn’t think she could move anymore. Laurin pushed half a Yorkshire pudding her way, and she ate that, too. She shuffled around in her seat, and Laurin asked if she was okay.
“Yeah, I’m just trying to figure out if I stretch myself out, will I be able to make more room?”
Laurin laughed loudly, and Candace shoved a third croissant in her mouth while he wiped a smudge of mashed potato off her cheek.
The usually deafening space quieted some, and she looked around to see if the judges had walked in. They were eating in a separate room, a trailer where all the cameras were set for optimal sound and video. No new people were joining them, though. No, everyone was staring at her and Laurin.
Harper leaned across the table and whispered, far too loudly, “Did you guys sleep together?”
“What? No!” Candace scooted her chair as far as she could from Laurin, colliding right into Belle, but the damage was done.
The glare Laurin shot Harper wasn’t even about the insinuation. No, Candace recognized male irritation over a wing man failing their job. Laurin had been playing this thing way too close to the edge all day, and it had caught up to them.
“We haven’t done anything of the sort,” Candace said firmly, “And we won’t be.” She stared down at her plate, at the remnants of fat and scribbles of sauce, and suddenly felt very nauseous. She wasn’t about to add to the ridiculous speculation — how hadshe fallen so easily for big, warm hands and an inviting smile again? — so she speared a mustard sprout and brought it to her nose.
The smell triggered it. One second, her belly was just a little grouchy about its considerable workload; the next, it was demanding to have the evening off. She stood as calmly as she could and made her way outside. She heard someone following behind her, but she couldn’t run the person off, not when time was of the essence.
The moment she leaned down behind a tree, her stomach jumped at the opportunity to clock out. An entire buffet rushed out of her, and the hand rubbing her back — the big, warm, familiar hand — wasn’t helping anything except her blush. “I don’t normally throw up after I eat,” she said when she finally caught her breath.
“I should hope not,” Laurin said softly.
“Like, I can eat a really big meal and keep it down fine.”
“I’m sure.”
“I’m not some dumb dog that doesn’t know when to stop eating.”
“You don’t need to apologize to me.”
“I’m not apologizing. I’m just making it clear that I don’t normally drink alcohol, so that’s what happened the other day, and I’m not . . . bulimic or anything.”
“You’re just stressed. Here.” Laurin dug in his pocket and pulled out a little baggie of candy shards, extras from the centerpiece. “Figured they’d be handy as after-dinner mints. This works, too.”
Candace took the candy gratefully, swishing it around her mouth to clean things up as best as she could. Laurin took a napkin from his other pocket and brought it to her lip, but she took it from him before he could touch her. “No more of that. This thing between us, it ends now.”
“Candace, we are two single,consentingadults. I’m interested in you. I’m pretty sure you’re interested in me. Where is the harm in seeing where this goes?”
“The harm is that in another week, I’ll be back in New Jersey. In a month, we might be fighting each other for that prize we both need. If our paths cross again, it will only ever be as enemies.” She finished cleaning her mouth and looked up at him. He didn’t like hearing this, but there wasn’t any fire in his eyes, only resignation. He knew she spoke the truth. “We’ll be friends. We can support each other. But anything more than that . . . will only make us hate each other in the end.” She smiled and took his hand. “But we’ll win today together, okay?”
The look he gave her was filled with doubt as well as a flash she’d already seen a few times when his competitive streak was rising to the surface, but he nodded. “We’ll win together.”
“You’ve all done a great job,” Roger announced to the line-up of remaining contestants, “but one team really stood apart from the rest.”
“Congratulations, Laurin and Candace!” Georgette cheered. “That was one of the nicest Christmas dinners I think I’ve ever had.”
Roger nodded in agreement. “Definitely the most creative centerpiece we’ve seen in a long time.”
Laurin wished they’d mentioned the beautiful table runner Candace had made. She needed someone to tell her she was amazing, someone who wasn’t him, who she wouldn’t think had ulterior motives. The way everyone ignored her incredible work and lauded his contribution would only work against him.
