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It makes everything sweeter.
When we win the choux pastry round, my whole body is warm and light, and it almost feels like I need to hang on to Fallon to keep me down on earth.
Unfortunately, the Daisy Dukettes come last. They face off against the Brits and lose in a tight, sudden-death round, which means Sonia and Nikki won’t be competing any longer. I’m surprised at the emotion balled in my throat as Nikki wraps me in a tight hug—and even more surprised that I hug her back. Maybe this competition is getting to me, turning me into someone who laughs and hugs and cries.
“Even the great Jennifer Newbank couldn’t save us.” Sonia pouts. “But I’ll be cheering for you to win this thing.”
My chest warms. I haven’t felt this much support since…well, ever. Even Tex uses a meaty hand to slap my back in grudging congratulations. He nearly knocks my teeth out with the smack, but I can tell it comes from a good place.
…I think.
The audience filters out, and I catch Candice’s eyes as she winks, promising to talk to me later. Dorothy hangs over the railing and waves. “We knew you could do it!”
“Get down from there,” Agnes, the bookstore owner and Dorothy’s perpetual rival, hisses. “Do you have a death wish? You could fall over the railing.”
Dorothy’s eyes widen, glancing over her shoulder. “Are you… Are you worried about me?”
“Pfft,” Agnes snorts. “Hardly. I’d push you over myself if I thought I’d get away with it.”
Simone and Fiona start laughing behind them, and I can’t help the smile that spreads across my face. Yes, it’s probably not the kind of thing normal people laugh about—but are any of us normal? The way I see it, normal is just code for hiding who you really are. We’re all freaks on the inside.
For the past year, I’ve been so busy with the book, with my feelings about Fallon, with the responsibility of baking everything that goes through Four Cups—I’d forgotten how much I loved those women. How much I love this town.
I used to dream about moving to Paris to work in the most prestigious patisseries in the world…but why? Why would I want to do that when I’m happy in Heart’s Cove? For the first time in my life, I find myself wondering about all my career aspirations and dreams. Did I only set lofty goals for myself because I thought that’s what I should be doing? Because living and working in a small town, surrounded by people I love, never seemed like enough?
My lips still feel warm from Fallon’s kiss, and a flush sweeps over my face as I meet his eyes. “I lied in the car yesterday. I missed you when you were gone.”
His eyes crinkle. “I know.”
Before I say anything else, all of us contestants are ushered to the main house for a dinner and wind-down. When we enter our usual lounge room, I let out a long breath. Another challenge survived.
Tex’s voice booms in my ear as he claps me on the back again, rattling my teeth once more. “Not bad for a little girl, Jen. Knew you’d be the one to beat.”
“Little girl?” I squeak in outrage, sounding very much like a little girl.
“So condescending!” Emma throws in, winking at me. Her mother looks Tex up and down and mutters something that sounds like “Texas longhorn idiot,” that makes Emma’s face redden as she holds back a laugh.
“How the hell did you have time to make four fillings for those choux? I could barely get the basics done.” Reg flops down onto a plush sofa and kicks his legs onto the coffee table.
“She’s just that good.” Fallon hooks his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close to his chest. I let him, falling into the crook of his shoulder as my heart warms.
Emma’s eyes flick from me to Fallon and back again. She arches a brow. “I thought Fallon was a fill-in contestant.”
“He is.” I frown. What’s she getting at?
“Looks like you two know each other pretty well, though?” Her eyes flick to Fallon, across his chest. Her cheeks redden, and I recognize the look of a woman admiring a man’s body.
Jealousy is a sharp, red-hot spear in my gut, and it takes all my self-control not to let it affect my face. I nod. “We worked together for a couple of years before Fallon left town at the beginning of the year.”
Emma tucks a leg under her butt and tilts her head. “Why’d you leave? Seems like a great place to live.”
Fallon clears his throat, shifting his body slightly away from me. “Had things to do.”
Those words again. The inch of space between us. Will he never tell me where he was? Do I even want to know? Was it another ex-girlfriend? Something he wants to hide?
My brows lower, but now is not an appropriate time to ask Fallon about his six-month sabbatical. He’s been so cagey about it, it makes every alarm in my head blare in warning. Would he leave again, even after what happened last night? Even if we did more?
Gus saunters into the room carrying the broom. He makes a big show of glancing up at the ceiling and checking the windows, then lets out a long sigh and wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. “Haven’t felt safe in this house all week.”
