Page 33 of The Naughty Or Nice Clause

She gritted her teeth. “I thrive on pressure. And I can hardly refuse when the kids need a new theatre!”

“I’ll sign us up.” Natalie wandered off.

Lyla couldn’t believe she was going to compete in a baking competition – and against Ms Perfect! She wished Mason was here to see it; he wouldn’t be able to contain his amusement.

“Are you sure you’re okay with this?” Mrs Klaus asked, taking her arm.

“What’s a bit of friendly competition? I’ll try not to embarrass you too much.”

“The fact you were willing to help at all is prize enough,” Mrs Klaus offered, but Lyla had made up her mind. The last thing she wanted to do was lose to Mason’s ex in front of the entire village. Luckily she had a few hours before it started to plan Natalie’s defeat.

Lyla was immensely grateful for the instructions. There were contestants of every age, so they were simple, and she’d finished baking sooner than she’d expected. Unfortunately, she only had a few minutes to finish decorating, though she was still trying to construct the damn thing. She was realising that shedidn’tthrive under pressure, or at least not when icing was involved.

Natalie, however, was having no such issues. Her gingerbread house seemed to be coming together effortlessly. She didn’t look the least bit fazed, not a perfect hair out of place, while Lyla was sure she looked like a frazzled mess. Lyla’s gingerbread was also distinctly uneven; some pieces were too pale and didn’t look like they’d support much weight, while others were slightly burnt.

The base should be solid enough,she thought, trying to keep her walls standing. The walls were certainly thick enough, but that only made her worry she had used too much dough. She had also used almost half the jar of dried ginger when the cap broke off, so she was sure it was inedible. She didn’t care about winning; she merely wanted to finish to save some face in front of the insufferably cheerful Natalie.

“I didn’t think I’d ever see you in an apron, let alone in a baking competition,” Mason said, frightening her as he came up behind her, clipboard in his hand. His smile distracted her from her work. In the office, he was always so uptight; seeing him relaxed was like seeing a new person – a person she didn’t entirely hate.

“I thought you didn’t have time to come, and there are plenty of things you don’t know about me,” she said, adding far too much icing to the walls she was trying to fuse together.

“The whole office knows what a terrible cook you are. I’m surprisedyouweren’t the one who set it alight.”

She scowled at the reminder of the mishap that had landed her here. “So, are you here merely to mock me and my incompetence?”

“No. Lou had to bow out of judging to help repair the sleigh’s engine, and since a Klaus has always been a judge, I didn’t have much of a choice but to offer to step in – especially when I heard my dear wife-to-be was taking part,” he said, leaning on the counter.

“Don’t you think it’s unfair to have you be a judge? But since I definitely can’t win, be sure to bid on my house and save your dear fiancée the embarrassment.”

“Absolutely – though I think we’ll have to feed it to the wolves, because no human should eat such a creation.” They both examined the slightly burnt and tilted structure, the icing already dripping down the sides because she’d applied it too soon after it came out of the oven.

“Mason! Can you come and give me a hand?” Natalie called, and Lyla resisted the urge to roll her eyes.What could she possibly need help with?

“I’ll be right over,” he said, though he made no effort to move.

“Don’t let me keep you. I’m sureNatalie’sis perfect – and edible,” she said sweetly, though her irritation caused her to break off the arm of a gingerbread man by accident.If it had been a competition about advertising spreadsheets, I would have kicked her arse.

“Are you jealous?” Mason asked, moving behind her, and she turned to face him. She didn’t want Natalie to think they were talking about her.

“Nope,” she said, offering him the broken gingerbread arm. She was surprised when he popped it in his mouth without any hesitation. “I would hate for you to suffer my baking while hers is so perfect,” she muttered.

He chewed, then was unable to hide his disgust at the taste. Lyla stifled a laugh, watching him struggle to swallow.

“You did that on purpose,” he accused, his hands on either side of her, trapping her against the counter. His gaze made Lyla flush. She needed him to leave before she destroyed her hard work out of sheer frustration.

“Don’t you have other people to judge? I wouldn’t want to keep you from those who deserve your attention. I have a house to decorate, and you’re blocking me from getting to my icing.”

He released her with a chuckle and looked down at the piping bag of white icing leaking out onto the counter.

“Excuse me. I won’t keep you from decorating,” he said, offering it to her, and she snatched it from him.

Once he had moved on, she looked up to see that the timer was ticking down. She had got most of it in place, but she still needed to put the gumdrops on, and the final wall wouldn’t stand on its own. Natalie, across from her, had already finished and was watching her with a bemused smile. Lyla didn’t know why she was so determined to beat her; it was only a stupid gingerbread house.

She licked the icing from her fingers as the wall finally stood on its own, seconds before the final timer rang. She sighed in relief as the judges started to come around.

“So glad you finished in time – you were cutting it close,” Natalie called in an astonished tone that made Lyla want to flatten her. “I really thought you weren’t going to make it. Every house is auctioned for charity, so it’s important that each one gets made.”

“It’s a good thing I finished then—” Lyla began, only to feel her throat suddenly tighten. She froze.

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