Breathing deeply, Sammy told himself to let it go.
Robin joined them. “Hello, Victor.”
“The beautiful Robin.” Victor reached for her hand and dropped a kiss on the back of it. Sammy wanted to drop him. Victor motioned to the other two judges, who joined them. “Let me introduce everyone.” He made the introductions, ending with, “And this is Robin, who unfortunately had to leave my employ at the end of last year.”
If Victor didn’t leave the area soon, Sammy’s jaw would crack in two. He forced himself to relax.Had to leave my employ…As though the man couldn’t remember humiliating Robin and taking away her rightful glory. Beside him, Robin chatted with the female judge, describing her vision for the cake they planned.
Sammy concentrated on keeping his fists unclenched.
A sickly-sweet aroma began to permeate the ballroom as the cakes baked. The judges moved to talk to the married couple across the way.
“Could that guy be any more of a jerk?” Sammy’s voice came out in a hiss. Across from them, he saw Victor looking down his nose at the silk flowers the wife showed him from their stack of decorations.
“Who?” Robin asked. Her flushed face and wide eyes told him more than her oh-so-casual tone.
“You know who. Mr. Ex-Boss.” He nodded at the group of judges as they moved to the next table. “I’d be happy to meet him in the alley to teach him some manners.”
Robin braced both hands on the worktop. Her shoulders relaxed a fraction. “Don’t bother. He isn’t worth it.” She spun and looked at the clock. “We’ve just got a few minutes before the cakes come out, so let’s start frosting prep.”
Following Robin’s detailed instructions, they both moved through the steps needed before beginning the frosting. Sammy began humming the Vivaldi piece from the Snowball Dance. He swayed his hips to the music and did the vine move that Robin had taught him.
Her laughter rang out, and it was worth it.
A timer chimed and Robin checked the cakes. He walked up behind her to see for himself. Perfection.
“I’ll put this in the cooler,” Robin said.
As the cake cooled in the blast chiller, Sammy worked on making the frosting. He and Robin had practiced the recipe a few times in the Fox Bakery kitchen, but this mixer had different settings. While he messed around getting it just right, Robin piped out the decorations for the cake.
He glanced in her direction. Her errant curl lay across her eye, and she brushed at it. Unclipping the paper clip from his copy of the recipe and instructions, he moved over to her.
“Here, let me.” He cupped her chin and raised her face. Catching the auburn curl, he slid the paperclip onto the edge of her scarf, pinning it all in place. He let his hand linger on her chin. Her eyelids drifted shut. His gaze dropped to her lips.
“Thanks.” She licked her top lip with a quick flick of the tongue. Heat built between them.
Overhead, the buzzer sounded, then the announcer called out, “One hour remaining.”
Robin’s eyes flew open. “Oh no! We better hustle.” She made the distance to the fridge in two giant, bounding steps.
They finished the rest of the cake in near silence except for a brief word of instruction from Robin here and there.
When the buzzer sounded for the final time, Sammy stepped back to look at the cake. He might not be a professional, but it looked pretty amazing to him.
“Look what you created,” he said. He took Robin’s hand and twirled her once. “This is incredible.”
Her eyes shone. “I know, right? I can’t believe I did this—that we did this.”
“No, this was all you, babe.” No way would he take any credit for any of this.
“You kept me focused.” She crossed her arms and leaned back against him. “It is pretty great, isn’t it?”
In front of them stood a confection palace. Turrets graced the four corners, gilded in gold leaf. The central structure rose up from the base to a towering height. Tiny people Robin had made dotted the fondant courtyard.
He shook his head in wonder.
They made a great team.
fourteen
