Page 10 of Holly Jolly Cake Fight
“I thought this was supposed to be the introduction stuff,” Laurin said as he handed Candace her cup of tea, now warm again from a lap in the microwave.
“They’ll ask a bunch of stuff. They can’t introduce everyone in the first episode and keep the pacing, so they’ll only air a couple in this one to make sure the losers get their airtime before . . .” She made a motion like slitting her throat, hating that it was likely going to be her throat. “These two? They’d have to mess up crazy bad to get eliminated, so Jannie and Kate are just fishing for sound bites.”
The hosts were more focused on Greg and Mark’s details, meaning the glitter bomb was possibly going to be eliminated. The judges were always a surprise, so whoever it was might not have been as easily impressed with ombre. Mark’s responses were mostly bland, which meant he might never return, either. Contestants had to be charismatic to be invited back after an early elimination.
The hosts were brief with Belle and her freshman, Harper, and Candace took it as a blessing that she didn’t have to listen to their life stories before her own execution. She even took the first opportunity to be interviewed when the hosts arrived.
“It’s good to see you back,” Jannie said, and although Candace didn’t stop fussing with the tinsel to see how sincere Jannie’s eyes were, she believed it. She’d been on Jannie’s first season, and they’d weathered some tough times together. Jannie wore angel wings today, and the fact that Candace was sure they were the same wings Jannie had worn for her cupid’s costumefor Candace’s first win, three Valentines ago, had to mean something.
Candace plastered on her biggest smile and said, “It’s always a pleasure to be back!”
“How have you kept busy since July?” Kate said gruffly, which wasn’t a surprise to Candace, either. She was sweet and soft as a bunny when she was happy, but she was slow to forgive even when she wasn’t the one who had been wronged. Even before Summer Bakes, Kate hadn’t been very friendly with Candace.
“I’ve been helping out at my local bakeries,” Candace said, unable to muster the enthusiasm despite this being a more serious question with a better answer. “I’ve also put in a great deal of volunteer hours at a local women’s shelter, teaching them kitchen skills and organizing bake sales.”
“Were those court-mandated volunteer hours?”
Candace’s eyes snapped back to Kate so quickly she nearly gave herself whiplash. Jannie’s jaw dropped open. There was utter silence for about five seconds, punctuated by the squeak of one of the other cabins’ front doors. From the corner of her eye, Candace saw first Belle, then Harper, peek out at her.
The whole time, Kate never dropped her plastic smile or over-enthusiastically wide eyes. “If you win, what do you plan to do with the money?”
Candace’s hand shook too much for her to continue fussing with the tree. She stared at Jannie to steady herself, and Jannie gave her an encouraging nod. This was a valid question. The previous comment was way out of line, but it didn’t need to be addressed. Kate didn’t have any say here; it didn’t matter what she believed about Candace.
“I am . . . designing . . .” Candace closed her eyes. She had to get her bearings right for this sound clip. It was probably going to be the only thing salvaged from her time on the Christmas special. Deep breath, big smile. “I’m currently working with an architect to make a historical site compliant for a bakery café. I’ve been interested in this site for years — it was the home of an author I loved growing up — and I would love to make it a place where people can gather.”
She’d rehearsed this speech several times, and that was the worst attempt at it yet, but it got the point across.
“That sounds lovely,” Jannie said. “And will you be pampering yourself at all if you win? It’s a nice prize. I bet you could do with a cruise or a tour of Europe.”
Candace grinned. “Nah. I’ve done enough of that in my life,” she said, thankful it was Jannie she was saying that to. Most of the returning contestants knew that Candace grew up wealthy, but Jannie was one of the few who knew that she’d been estranged from her family and their money since college. The way Candace saw it, these people weren’t her friends, and it wasn’t her business what they thought of her lineage. “I’m looking for the quiet time at home.”
“Is there someone new in your life?”
It was weird to be asked that. Sure, the divorce was recent, but she and her husband had been separated for four years now. The divorce was a formality.
Weirder yet, she didn’t remember being asked that on Summer Bakes. The ink had barely dried by then, but still, wouldn’t that have been the opportunity? Her mind automatically flitted to Laurin, the single, attractive, age-appropriate, presumably straight new contestant who justrandomlyended up in her cabin, even though everyone else had been teamed up by gender. Not for the first time, Candace wondered if it had been staged and if that was why he was being so friendly.
“Nah, just me,” she said. “Not really ready for dating any time soon.”
“Yeah?” Kate said. “Sticking with breaking up other people’s marriages for now?”
“Cut!”
Laurin nearly interrupted the interview when Kate made the snarky comment about court-mandated hours. He even peeked through the window to make sure Candace was okay, but Jannie looked to be taking care of it.
He barreled outside the second time, grabbing Candace and yanking her back into the house before Mike had even stopped filming. He slammed the door, ignoring the commotion on the porch as he tried to lead Candace to the kitchen table, but she planted her feet in the foyer. “You should sit down,” he told her, worried about her fair skin. Had she been that pale before, or was she about to faint? He’d seen enough concussions in his years on the field to know the warning signs.
He leaned down to look at her pupils, but she seemed to be tracking fine. Her hand shook, but that was nerves.
“What the bloody hell was that about?”
Candace tried to pull off a casual shrug. “You w-watched my l-last season,” she stuttered, unable to keep her tone even despite pretending that she was unfazed by Kate’s accusation. “You know.” She ducked her head low and twisted away, so he grabbed her upper arm to keep her focused on him.
She put so much effort into being the loner bad girl, but she felt fragile in his grip. Kate’s unnecessary jabs had left her shaken, and she couldn’t hide behind a cold demeanor and a crisp, blue evil eye this time. Laurin had watched enough game reels to know how easy it was to hide the truth in camera angles and quick cuts. Candace hammed up her frigid facade for the camera, but now? Face to face? She was a terrible actress.
“Hey, now. You never did anything criminal, right?” He wasn’t one to condone sleeping with someone to get an unfair advantage, but neither Candace nor the director of Summer Bakes, Lucas Barrett, was married. It didn’t make sense that Kate would—
He groaned. “Kate and Lucas were dating, weren’t they?”
