Page 27 of Building Romance
“This is Amber,” Camryn says as she motions to the woman.
Amber reaches out and shakes my hand. “So, you’re Fletcher,” she says eyeing me up and down. I suddenly feel like I’m being judged and not in a good way.
“That would be me,” I manage as I glance back over at Camryn. She’s smirking and I glare at her. She shrugs and claps her hands together.
“Amber has worked in the kitchen here longer than I’ve worked here. She knows everything there is to know about baking,” Camryn explains as she sets out bowls of ingredients.
She pats a stool to the side of a workbench and I sit.
“Good boy,” she whispers and winks at me. I glare at her.
She grins, clearly loving that she got under my skin.
“Now, we are going to have to perfect the quantities this week because we need to make a small batch for the judges instead of the large batches we normally make. The pie will be easy enough, but for the cookies and cupcakes we’ll need to pare down. Amber and I have worked out what seems to be the correct formula over the past few days. We will walk you through that tonight,” she explains as she turns to Amber.
“Let’s do the cupcakes first,” she adds and Amber nods, bringing a tray of ingredients to the worktable. She talks me through her process first and then stops and looks over at me.
“Get your ass over here. You’re going to help,” she says.
I raise my eyebrows. She motions for me to stand next to her. Normally, I wouldn’t cave to taking directions from this pint-sized rival of mine, but for reasons I can’t explain, I listen to her.
She takes my hand in hers and wraps both our hands around a giant spoon in a bowl of dry ingredients. I hate admitting I like the feel of her hand on mine, but I’d be a fucking liar if I denied it.
“Stir,” she commands as she moves our hand in a circle. “Good job,” she says in a low voice before letting go of my hand.
The air feels cold against my skin where her hand had been, but I keep swirling the spoon in the bowl until she tells me to stop.
“OK, Amber has the wet ingredients going. We’re going to start pouring the dry ingredients into that larger bowl,” she says as she motions toward Amber’s bowl. “Hold the bowl for me.”
I do as I’m told and she uses a spatula to slowly incorporate the dry ingredients into the larger bowl.
Then she shows me how to make the candied cranberries and frosting while Amber fills the cupcake molds. We’re all working seamlessly together. And finally, the cupcakes go in the oven.
“Now what?” I ask.
“Now, you’re going to help me make cookies,” she says and I groan. How did I forget we had two more baked goods to make?
She bumps me with her hip and I suddenly remember that I need to gain her trust. So I decide to be playful. I throw some flour from the table on her.
“You did not just do that?” she says as she brushes it off her chin.
“I did,” I state.
She picks up some flour from a container and throws it on me.
“You guys!” Amber says loudly but it’s too late. We’re in a full food fight and I completely forget that I’m with my enemy.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Cam
I throw tampons into my suitcase as I try to remember what I might have forgotten. Tonight I get whisked away to the filming location for the bake-off. The network has decided it wants to make this a bigger deal than it was previously. So now, I’m calling in Phyllis to run the café while I film and I hired Amber’s cousin, Stacey, to help out while Amber films with me. It’s not ideal but it’s only for three weeks.
As if I’m not already dealing with anxiety and nerves, my body had to throw in my period. Freaking fantastic.
I look around the room and then remember the missing saltshaker. I run into the kitchen and start tearing things apart. I want my good-luck saltshaker with me. It’s my good-luck charm. Every time I’ve nailed a recipe, I’ve had it sitting on the counter. I don’t know if it’s because it’s so entwined with my first memory of baking or if I’ve developed an unhealthy obsession, but either way, I want it with me.
My phone pings with a text from my brother. I realize we haven’t talked in days.
