Fire In the Kitchen (16 page)

“You got it. A little bluebird told me you were running late for auditions and didn’t read it,” he said. “Not our problem. You should never sign anything you haven’t read. It was a legal document.”

“We’re learning the hard way.” Cassidy shrugged. Not much she could do about it now. She hoped she could convince Dante to feel the same way, but she doubted it. “Is he coming back?”

“He didn’t say, but I hope he does for your sake. Good luck.”

They watched everyone leave the room to get ready to cook. Cassidy hoped Dante wouldn’t let her down. She couldn’t make the dish they’d invented together on her own in the given time frame. Teamwork was paramount.

She was pleased to see he was already setting up when she got there, and felt her heart rate return to competition-normal instead of a nervous catapult that could knock an eye out. She wanted to run over and get as close to him as she could, to breathe him in again and tell him not to worry about the footage. But now wasn’t the time…and judging from the look on his face, it was going to be a bad morning. She deliberately wandered over at a leisurely pace, deciding it would be better to speak to him about their filmed indiscretion later, in private.

The atmosphere in the kitchen was buoyant, but Dante’s usually full lips were pursed into a thin line. She stood next to him and put her hand on his arm to comfort him.

“Miss me?” She smiled.

“Don’t.” He shrugged her hand away. “Not here.”

“Take it easy, Dante. I’m not about to ask you to take your shoes off so we can play footsies while we cook. Come on, you have to admit it was pretty funny to watch. They only showed the food fight, not what followed. I’ve been assured that was just between us and the cutting-room floor.”

“Always sunshine and rainbows, aren’t you? Don’t you care that we’re going to be a laughing stock nationwide? Or did you plan it all to get attention?”

“I’m going to ignore that last comment because you’re so upset. They were laughing with us, not at us. I’m sure the viewers will be the same. It’s best to just go with it. That’s what I always try to do when things get a bit awkward. It will blow over.”

Dante stiffened. “I can’t believe you’re so naïve. That footage will be there forever.”

“Worrying about what other people think is so overrated.” Cassidy felt like giving him either a slap or a kiss, but couldn’t decide which. “You should be more worried about what I think of your behavior right now, and it’s not the warm fuzzies we had after last night. You’re overreacting.”

“Is that right?” Dante turned to give her his full attention. His gaze travelled from her face to her shoes and he visibly cringed. “What on earth are you wearing?”

“Clothes, the last time I checked.” Cassidy wasn’t used to being scrutinized so closely and she didn’t like it. She didn’t need his approval, or anyone else’s. That wasn’t why she was here.

“Have you no concept of how to win this competition? How are you supposed to cook in that getup? What are the judges going to think?”

Cassidy looked down at her outfit and found herself looking at it from his point of view. Tie-dyed orange T-shirt, purple skirt with a corded belt containing bells that jingled when she walked, and sneakers. Okay, he might have a point—she should have had a last-minute check in the mirror at more than just her dark shadows for goodness’ sake. She looked like she was wearing clothes the thrift stores would reject. But at least they were clean. For now. Lucky that packet of flour wasn’t handy. She’d have loved to throw it over him again, but this time for less playful reasons.

As usual, he was dressed in a pristine white chef’s jacket, black pants, and sensible shoes. He was clean-shaven, his dark hair neatly slicked back. He was ready for business.

The other two teams lined up behind their benches, waiting for the clock to start counting down so they could run for the best ingredients. There were never enough to go around. Everything they had to prepare for the next challenge depended on the food available to them. Cassidy was pumped for action.

Dante held onto her forearm. “You’re not preparing anything until you go up to your room to get out of that ridiculous skirt,” he said. “They gave you a kitchen outfit for a reason.”

Cassidy pushed his hand away. She felt anger start to simmer inside her, which was a rare occurrence. “What do you think you’re doing? Don’t even think about bossing me around right now.”

“Not until you change. You’re a debacle waiting to happen. The fact you’re accident-prone doesn’t help, and I’m not even going to get started about the fire hazard your clothes represent.”

“Damn you, we’re wasting time. Get out of my way.” She clenched her teeth as he used his body to block her path. “We need every minute as it is.”

“No, you’re wasting
our
time.” Dante crossed his arms.

Cassidy knew he wasn’t going to change his mind, so she made a mad dash to her room and, slightly out of breath, put on the provided outfit. In her haste, she banged her elbow on a wall and knew she was going to have another bruise from it.

Double-damn you, Dante.

She returned, out of breath. The stairs had been a killer.

She was pleased to see Dante had sourced all the ingredients she’d need to make their chocolate butterscotch fondants, along with the utensils. She was also pleased he’d even thought to preset the oven to the right temperature. She
wasn’t
pleased when he traced an invisible line with his finger on the middle of their bench and pointed to her side to indicate their working areas were completely separate. She saw the camera zoom in to take a shot of that one—another teaser for the show, she was sure. Dante wasn’t making things any easier for himself. No time for further arguments, though. She shrugged and started to cook.

There was a lot of shouting around the kitchen from other competitors, but she and Dante worked in silence. They had their separate roles to play in their dish, and time passed quickly. Toward the end, their single tasks became one, and, to make it work, they had to be close…close enough for her to hear him breathing, see the rise and fall of his chest. To see him working with his professional skills was provocative. A couple of times they caught each other’s eye and she had to look away. Although they’d formed a truce, it was only temporary because she knew he was going to do everything in his power to make sure they never cooked together again. He couldn’t afford to have his reputation tainted by a cook as
embarrassing
as her.

She took her chocolate fondants out of the oven and was pleased to see they’d risen beautifully again, with a lovely crust on the top. They came out of the trays with ease and Dante nodded his approval. He added his touches and the presentation went from being lovely to spectacular.

The final kitchen timer sounded and Cassidy heard a chef curse as something clattered to the ground.

The judges started to sample the dishes. Because the other remaining competitors were qualified chefs, there weren’t any bad dishes. However, a couple stood out. She rated the dish they’d created against the rest and knew they were onto a winner.

The judges stood before them. This was their moment to shine. Theatrics came into play when Dante ladled the fiery liquor over their dish and applause filled the kitchen. When the female judge sampled it, her smile was reserved exclusively for Dante. Dante gestured his hand toward Cassidy and the judge reluctantly acknowledged her, too.

They were now in the top four.

Beyond Cassidy’s wildest dreams, she’d done it.

With a little bit of help from an over-sensitive Italian.

Dante’s decision to stay as far away from Cassidy as possible for the final leg of the competition hadn’t been made lightly. He knew she’d feel hurt and maybe even rejected, but he had to remember why he was here, and that was to save his reputation. Approval from the public was the only way to keep his sincerity intact. How
sincere
would they find him as a chef with ideals if they believed him to be the sort who rolled around in flour with a fellow competitor? The audience may find it amusing, but they could also believe he was only there on a whim and had no intention of following through on his initial promise in the auditions. He just hoped Cassidy would eventually understand his motives.

Carlos was also in the top four. Dante knew the dish Carlos had prepared in the last round was very good. He didn’t begrudge him winning because of it, but he did mind he’d taken full credit for someone else’s recipe. Dante’s creation. However, Dante wasn’t going to fight him on it. He’d simply stretch his own creativity to the limit and ignore what the others were doing.

May the
best
chef win.

Dante packed up his things and left the kitchen. He heard footsteps running behind him and Cassidy calling out his name, but he pretended not to hear her and kept walking, picking up the pace.

“Dante, wait up.” She reached him and he felt her hand on the back of his shoulder. He bit his lip and took a deep breath. Her familiar touch was already starting to melt his resolve. “Where’s the fire?” she asked him gently.

She rubbed his back in a soothing motion and he felt the warmth and rush of feel-good emotions from a few hours before. He closed his eyes and allowed the moment to rush through him before turning around to face her. Her hand dropped away.

“Congratulations.” He hated the way his voice sounded stiff. “Good job out there today. We did what we set out to do.”

“And a very good job to you, too, partner.”

Her gorgeous, impish smile lit up her face. He forced himself not to copy her happy expression and celebrate with her.

“No longer partners, Cassidy. It’s back to business and it’s time to continue our journeys on our own again.”

Her smile disappeared and his throat constricted when he saw the hurt look in her eyes.

“Are you talking about cooking or sleeping?” she asked.

“Both.” He forced conviction into his voice.

“You’re cancelling us out?” she said.

“Last night was…nice.” He couldn’t meet her eyes.

“
Nice?
That’s the best description you’ve got?” Cassidy pulled her short hair up, tightening her scalp. “
Nice?
”

“What do you want me to say, Cassidy? Our timing’s off.”

Cassidy shook her head. “For the record, Dante, I don’t usually sleep with a man so fast and I’m not into one-night stands.”

“It’s complicated, particularly after that terrible footage.”

“It’s only complicated because you choose to make it that way.”

“One of us has to take this seriously. If my integrity and sticking to my principles has disillusioned you, and you don’t understand that I won’t take my eye off the prize, then I apologize.”

“That’s your interpretation of integrity?” Cassidy fired back, not caring to keep her voice low. “Wrong word, wrong girl to play around with.”

Dante looked around to see a few competitors had gathered.

“You’re making a scene,” he said. “Keep it down.”

Cassidy ignored his request. “I should have known what I saw in you initially was exactly what I was going to get. You’re arrogant and self-involved. I won’t tell you not to worry about
us
anymore because it’s obvious you never did. Stay away from me.”

She left him standing alone.

An observer coughed.

“That’s enough entertainment for one day,” Dante said to the group. His heartbeat hijacked his body and the pounding took over. He stopped himself from putting his hand over his chest to steady it. As he watched Cassidy walk away, he had the foreboding feeling she was taking with her everything in his world that had been good.

*

To say she was hurt was an understatement.

As she had celebratory drinks with the other competitors, her
new best friends,
she couldn’t help noticing the irony. Suddenly, she was the flavor of the month. Not because she’d done anything differently, but because they’d finally seen her for who she really was. Pity most of them were due to leave in the morning.

The one man she’d really wanted to celebrate with had let her down badly. She didn’t know where he’d gone, but she was sure he wouldn’t try to find her any time soon—and she wasn’t sure she wanted him to.

She had been given sample media interview questions for the next day’s promos. She should have been nervous, particularly because Dante had spun a web with her emotions, but she chose to be thrilled instead. She left the group and decided to have an early night to prepare for the next day.

Her body went into automatic pilot as she got ready for bed. While she washed her face, her mind wandered to Dante putting both his hands on her cheeks, pulling her close, and kissing her. She put on her nightgown, but it only made her remember she hadn’t needed it the night before. Deciding she didn’t need it tonight either, she pulled it over her head and threw it on the floor. She slipped between the clean sheets. They felt fresh on her skin but also a bit cold and clinical. The small bed now felt too large because she was the only one in it.

She got up again and put her nightgown back on.

Better.

Was he thinking about her right now, too? Or had he gone to bed, shut his eyes, and gone straight to sleep without giving her a second thought?

Cassidy had always been a one-guy girl. It was going to be a while before she could trust another man with her heart.

She awoke, not at all refreshed. She’d had little sleep. Nerves had settled in, and in her restless state, the bed had been too hard, the chair too soft. What would the public think of her? What should she wear, what should she say, what would they ask her? She’d forced a positive rehearsal in her mind and replayed it every time she had a troubling thought.

And now, with the arrival of the daylight hours, it was no longer rehearsal time—it was the real thing. She opened her wardrobe and reached for one of the white jackets the sponsors had provided that had her gold finalist pin attached. She put it on with the dark trousers that went with it. They felt scratchy and constricting, and the top felt like a straightjacket. She looked down at her metallic purple toenails and sighed as she covered them with striped Bobby Dazzler socks no one would see beneath her clunky shoes. She opened her door to leave but remembered her notes for the interview and turned back to get them.