For the Love of Cake (21 page)

“I’m not playing games.” She stepped around Greta and strode to the door. She clamped her mouth closed against the urge to shout that Greta didn’t know anything about her, then opened the door. “Our lunch should be here soon. We should wait in the lounge.”

“Maya—”

“Chef Haus.” She made sure her tone left no room for argument. Greta flashed her one more sultry look, but this time she had no trouble shutting it out. She waved her hand at the door, waiting for Greta to pass through it.

*

“What’s going on with you and Vaughn, anyway?” Alice asked before taking a bite of her turkey sandwich.

“What do you mean?” Shannon kept her voice low, though the other chefs had taken a table on the opposite end of the room.

“All those nights in the gym. And the looks you guys exchange when you think no one’s watching. I’m not an idiot.”

Shannon stared at her, trying to ascertain Alice’s angle. Could she be trusted? Or was she hoping for a reason to cry foul if she lost the competition? A part of Shannon wanted to talk to someone about Maya. Normally, Jori was her go-to for personal advice. But since their phone calls were monitored, she’d been keeping their conversations short, doing little more than checking in and asking how business was at Drake’s.

“I’m not getting any special treatment.” In the end, she just couldn’t bring herself to fully trust her. At Alice’s hurt expression, Shannon winced. Maybe she’d called that one wrong.

“I wasn’t implying that you were.”

“I just didn’t want you to think—”

“I know. She’s just as hard on you as she is on us. I can see that.”

Shannon nodded.

“So come on, dish with me.”

“There’s really nothing to tell. We work out at the same time. Just because we’re both gay doesn’t mean we’re automatically compatible.” She couldn’t take the risk. She’d grown to like Alice, but she wasn’t the type of person who engaged in girl talk. “I’m a forty-something mother—about to be a grandmother. What would someone like Maya Vaughn want with me?”

“Well, I wasn’t going to say she was out of your league, but since you said it.” Alice chuckled and Shannon clenched her teeth. “It’s just that she has a—um, certain reputation. And I wouldn’t want you to get hurt by having, you know—unrealistic expectations.”

Shannon pressed her lips together and shook her head slowly. Alice wasn’t saying anything Shannon hadn’t thought herself. And somehow it sounded even more credible when Alice said it aloud. Maya was young, hot, and in demand. The image of Greta Haus grabbing Maya’s ass flashed through Shannon’s head. Greta was the kind of woman someone like Maya would be with—confident, innately sexy, and much more sophisticated than Shannon would ever be.

She hadn’t imagined the spark between her and Maya. They were both stuck in this fishbowl until the show finished filming. Maybe Maya was just looking for a diversion until something better came along. And, with a sick feeling, she realized that Maya might see Greta Haus as something better.

“I wish they’d just come and get us already,” Alice whined.

They’d finished their cakes and been dismissed to grab lunch while the mentors and Chef Haus looked over their submissions. Their lunch break had passed its usual hurried twenty-minute time frame and had extended for nearly an hour already.

“You know they want to make us sweat,” Shannon said.

“I could look at the cakes and tell them how it should go. Ned’s going to win. We could argue about which of us comes in second, but it’s not an elimination challenge, so second doesn’t really matter, does it?”

As if answering Alice’s query, Hugh rounded the corner. “Let’s go, kids.”

He led them back to the kitchen where Greta Haus and the mentors were already waiting for them. Shannon slipped behind her counter. Their cakes had been moved to a display table a few feet away. The mentors stood opposite the competitors along with Greta, who kept sneaking glances at Maya. Maya didn’t appear to be returning her attention, and Shannon would know because she was watching Maya closely.

Eric had started talking, but Shannon missed a lot of what he said. Somewhere she registered it as his usual spiel for the camera. After the first few days, she’d learned to tune some of that out and listen only for key phrases that indicated he was about to reveal something important. As his voice changed timbre and cadence, she focused on him once again.

“The winning cake, and the one that will be featured at the anniversary party at Klett Haus this evening, belongs to Ned.”

Ned gave an exaggerated fist pump. Alice nodded, and Shannon wondered if she was even more pleased that she’d called it right than she would have been had
she
won.

“Chef Haus, I believe you have another announcement.”

“I do.” She paused and looked at him. He gave the tiniest nod, and she began speaking again as if she’d been waiting for his cue. “I’d like to invite all of you to attend the celebration tonight as my personal guests.”

The chefs exchanged glances and smiles. Anything except the inside of this warehouse or their hotel suites was a welcome change. And a party at a restaurant meant conversation with people who weren’t connected at all to the show—again a novelty for them these days.

“Okay, chefs, head back to the hotel. The cars will return to pick you up for the party in an hour. We’ll see you there.”

After the cameras stopped rolling, Hugh gathered them together for some additional information. They weren’t to discuss the show with anyone at the party. Their interactions should be kept casual yet professional. Several cameramen would be moving around the party with handhelds to capture the evening. They would go as a group, and when it was time to leave, the cars would return and they were to leave together as well.

Shannon took all of this in while mentally reviewing her closet and thinking that she hadn’t brought anything to wear to a party. Sure, she’d included some more formal clothes, but likely nothing that would compare to how Greta would probably dress. Comparing herself to Greta irritated her. If her suspicions about what had gone on while Greta and Maya were absent were correct, Maya had pretty much proved that she was exactly who the press portrayed her to be, yet Shannon still couldn’t stop competing for her attention.

C
HAPTER
F
OURTEEN

Jori pressed the mute button on the television remote long enough to confirm that she’d heard the garage door going up. When Sawyer’s car engine quieted and the door connecting the garage to the house didn’t open right away, Jori imagined her sitting in the driver’s seat staring straight ahead. Sometimes the drive home wasn’t enough to completely decompress, and Sawyer needed just a couple of minutes more to separate herself from being a restaurant manager before she came inside.

Jori pulled a throw from the back of the sofa and curled up at one end of it, trying to appear as if she hadn’t been eagerly waiting for Sawyer’s return. At times like this, a bit of the old Jori—the one who had to prove she didn’t need anyone—snuck out.

The door from the garage opened, then closed quickly.

“I’m sorry.” Sawyer called out the apology as she entered the living room. “We were swamped and down a server. The shipment of the new flooring came in, and I had to pull a couple of the guys to help stack it in the back room. So I ended up working in the dining room.”

Jori nodded wordlessly.

Sawyer sat beside her with a sigh. She glanced at the television, recognizing the set of
For the Love of Cake
. “You’re watching the new episode without me?”

“I didn’t know how long you’d be. It’s on the DVR.”

Sawyer nodded, and though she didn’t say anything, Jori suspected she might be hurt that Jori hadn’t waited for her. Regret made Jori want to reach for her. She didn’t complain about Jori’s early hours, so why should Jori make her feel guilty about her late return?

“It’s still weird seeing her on television,” Sawyer said.

“Yes. Very. She looks nervous. I’ve seen her do much better work than she has so far. Maya didn’t seem too impressed, either.” Jori slid closer and snuggled against Sawyer’s side. Sawyer gathered her close, easily accepting the olive branch. They’d both been much more stubborn in the early days of their relationship, holding grudges and staying mad over minor irritations.

“I thought you said you picked up on something when she was in the bakery?” Sawyer rested her hand on Jori’s thigh, inched her fingers under the edge of her pajama shorts, and traced small circles on her skin.

“I did.”

“Are you sure you weren’t trying to live vicariously through Shannon? I remember how you both drooled over that picture.”

“Maybe a little. You should be sorry you missed her, babe. Maya’s even hotter in person.” When Sawyer pressed her lips together and nodded, Jori smirked. “No, really. Tonight on the show, she barely noticed Shannon. She was just another person on the team. But when she was in the shop, there was a look—when she talked about Shannon. I don’t know what it was, but she definitely wasn’t dispassionate.”

“I don’t know, hon. You know I think Shannon’s great. But I can’t imagine they have much in common.”

“You’re probably right.” Jori handed her the remote and headed for the kitchen. “I’m going to make cocoa. Do you want some?”

“Sure, that sounds good. You know, people can change. If you’d told me five years ago I’d be happily committed and domesticated, I wouldn’t have believed you.”

“Are you complaining?”

“Of course not. That’s my point,” Sawyer said.

“Honey, I know you like to think you were a badass when I met you. Don’t take this the wrong way—but are you comparing yourself to Maya Vaughn?”

“Maybe a little.”

Jori laughed. “A very little, I hope. She’s way wilder than you ever thought about being.” Jori set two mugs on the coffee table in front of them. She sat on the couch, pulled Sawyer into her arms, and gave her a lingering kiss. “Not that I’m complaining. I fell in love with you then, and I still love you now.”

“My point was, you and I were very different, and even wanting different things in our lives when we met—”

“But we work,” Jori said. “I’m not saying they’re hooking up. But I did get the feeling she had some degree of respect and affection for Shannon beyond just the professional.”

*

“I’ve been imagining you here. In my restaurant.”

Maya grimaced and stepped back as she turned, in order to put a bit more distance between herself and Greta.

“It’s a charming place,” she said politely, ignoring the innuendo in Greta’s voice. Once, such a line might have had her picturing them doing dirty things alone here after hours. But now, she remained focused only on the restaurant.

Greta hadn’t overdone the German theme, yet the influence was definitely present in the dark woods, exposed beams, and the array of German beers lining the shelf behind the bar that spanned one entire wall of the restaurant.

“I’m lousy at decorating. I hired a pro.” Greta nodded toward the bar. “We have a lot of loyal beer patrons, so dedicating a little extra space for the bar saved us from the groups that come in just to drink and tie up the tables.”

Strings of clear bulbs decorated the dining room, and a table had been set up in a corner where Ned’s cake was featured.

“Any chance you’ve reconsidered my offer from this afternoon? I have a private office in the back—”

“I haven’t changed my mind.” She lifted a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waiter. She’d learned that she could carry a full glass around most of the evening, and if she already had one in her hand, she was less likely to get one foisted on her.

“You’re not at all what I expected, Maya Vaughn.” Greta tilted her head and regarded her with an amused expression.

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.” She gave her most polite—most fake smile. “If you’ll excuse me, I need to go check in with Hugh.”

She didn’t wait for a response before heading across the room. She wandered over to where Hugh stood with Jacques in case Greta was still watching. And when she turned to speak to Hugh, she caught Greta looking away.

She exchanged a few pleasantries, enough to make Greta think she’d had a substantial conversation. After all the guests arrived, Hugh planned to present the cake and introduce Ned, as well as the other three chefs. Other than that, Maya only had to mingle and be friendly tonight. She’d been here only fifteen minutes, and every time she turned around she found a camera in her face. She already couldn’t wait until the night was over.

She’d just started chatting with one guest, who had pompously introduced himself as Nashville’s next district attorney, pending the tiny detail of an election, of course, when she caught sight of the four competitors entering.

Despite the producers’ concerns about diversity heading into the finale, they couldn’t have ended up with a more different group of competitors, and tonight their appearance reflected their personalities. Mason’s classic dark suit and tie represented him perfectly, understated and steady, whereas Ned’s electric-blue jacket matched his hair. The collar of his black shirt lay open, and a thick chain with a large silver cross rested against his chest. Alice’s flowered dress spoke of her small-town charm. Shannon’s hair swept back from her face in a simple up-do, but not as severe as the buns she favored on the show. Now, loose tendrils fell against her cheek. The patterned gray scarf draped around her neck added an understated accent to her simple black dress.

The dress looked new, and given what she’d learned about Shannon, Maya guessed she’d purchased it to bring along to the competition. The producers would have told her to include several dressier outfits along with everyday clothes. Though Shannon wasn’t given to extravagances, she’d admitted to Maya that she liked to shop when she had a worthy occasion. Maya, too, enjoyed browsing a clothing rack, whether it was at a high-end store or a thrift shop. She thrilled over the unusual finds and putting together cool accessories with the simplest jeans and T-shirts. In fact, she loved poring through local boutiques when she traveled. And for a moment, she imagined how much fun it would be to have Shannon with her, searching the racks for just the right edgy jacket to pair with Shannon’s usual functional pieces.