Page 86 of The Baking Games

"You'd better keep it together. You wouldn't want to mess up in front of the judges."

I grit my teeth and go back to work. I start mixing my batter, and I can hear Rhett muttering angrily under his breath at the station next to mine. I look over and see him throwing his ingredients together carelessly. This is a rare sight because he's always so precise.

The minutes tick by, and I keep trying to focus on my own work, but my mind keeps wandering back to Rhett. Why does he think I would betray him like that? How can I prove to him that I didn't?

As I finally move to put my cake in the oven, I catch Maggie's eye from across the room, and she gives me an encouraging smile. Her presence is always a comforting reminder that not everyone in this house is against me. I take a deep breath and decide I have to push through and handle things with Rhett later. I am determined to finish strong.

CHAPTER 22

RHETT

I can't believe this. My blood is boiling. I can hardly concentrate on the challenge. Connor's words just keep replaying in my mind over and over, each one like a knife, twisting deep into my gut. This humiliation is unbearable. My secret was exposed on national TV, and the one person I thought I could trust betrayed me—Savannah.

I don't know why she thought telling Connor of all people would be a good idea, but there's no other explanation. She's the only person here who knows. We have no access to the outside world, so it's not like Connor could have found out on his own.

This is why I don't trust people, and this is why I don’t let people get close. And now my family knows the truth. They know that I don’t work on yachts with celebrities. They know I work on cruise ships, in the bowels of a ship, feeding thousands of people—not exactly what I hoped to do with my pastry chef education.

Logically, I know working on a cruise ship isn’t a terrible occupation—for most people. But in my family, anything short of cooking for the President himself wouldn’t be good enough. And even then, it would depend on which President.

I shake my head, trying to refocus on my dessert. I'm making a Halloween-inspired cake in the shape of a dark tower with all kinds of spooky things in the windows. I feel unsteady. My usual precision is gone, replaced by blind fury. I continue mixing the dough, but my emotions are mechanical because my mind is elsewhere.

"Focus, Rhett,” I mutter to myself. It's no use. My mind is a storm, and there’s no way to calm it. I glance over at Savannah, who is working on her cake. Lately, she’s been the calm in my storm, and now she’s the dark cloud hanging over me. How could I have trusted her?

She looks frazzled, but she always does. Still, I know she is responsible for what just happened, and I've never been so disappointed in someone in my life.

SAVANNAH

The smell of spices fills the air as I pour my batter into the pans. I set the timer and then turn to my frosting. My mind is still racing with thoughts of Rhett. Maggie's words keep haunting me. Could it be true? Does he have actual feelings for me? And if he does, why would he think that I would betray his confidence like that? It's all too much.

"Come on, Savannah, you need to focus," I whisper to myself. I mix the frosting, the sweet scent of maple calming my nerves, but it's a temporary fix. There's so much tension in this room that it's almost suffocating. Lainey with her smug face. Connor with his sneer. Rhett's anger bubbling under his skin. It's all too much. I don't like conflict. I don't like drama. I don't know why I thought being on a reality show wouldn't have a bunch of both of those.

As I start to frost my cake, the door to the kitchen opens, and Dan steps in with the judges. It must be getting close to time. They usually leave us alone during the competition and then show up later, probably after eating something or drinking glasses of wine. I don't know what they do out there.

A few minutes later, the bell goes off, and we’re forced to stop touching our desserts. The judges start to make their rounds. They start with Lainey. Her Christmas-themed spice cake looks like a work of art. I'm actually impressed. It's beautifully decorated with sugared cranberries and a dusting of powdered sugar that looks like snow.

Of course, hers looks good. She wasn’t fixating on drama like I was.

"This is excellent work, Lainey," Chef Alain says. "This is exactly what we were looking for in a holiday-themed dessert. This is worthy of a magazine cover." Lainey beams, and her recently whitened teeth almost blind me.

Having been her roommate all these weeks, I’ve witnessed her morning and evening routines. These include whitening strips, all manner of face masks, and something that seems to freeze her whole face for a good half hour. I enjoy that time because she can’t open her stupid mouth to talk.

Next, they move over to Rhett. He's made a Halloween-themed cake. The judges taste it and exchange glances. "The flavor is good, but this seems a little rushed. The icing is falling off here, and these detail pieces could be a little tighter,” Marco says. "I have to say, it's not your best work, Rhett."

He looks irritated. I'm sure he was just trying to get through it after the drama with Connor before the competition. It has definitely thrown Rhett off, which is exactly what Connor wanted.

They continue around the room, looking at Maggie's Easter-themed carrot cake and Zara's Diwali-inspired dessert. They find hers lacking flavor and depth and say Maggie's is a bit dry, even though the flavors were spot-on.

Connor made a Valentine’s Day sponge cake with more fondant hearts than I’ve ever seen. Honestly, it’s not his best work and looks like something I’d make from a bag at the grocery store. “I think you went a bit overboard on the hearts,” Chef Alain says, scrunching his nose like he smells something bad.

Finally, they reach my station. I hold my breath as they taste my pumpkin spice cake. "This frosting is wonderful," Tessa says, "but I feel like this cake is a little bit spongy and undercooked."

I nod. I feel the sting of disappointment, but I can't disagree with them. I wasn't exactly on my game. I knew I could have been. I knew I could have done better had I been able to concentrate.

Once the judges have finished their deliberations, Dan steps forward. They open up the audience voting for about fifteen minutes while Dan stands around chatting and filling time. Finally, when they cut back to him, they are ready to announce the winner.

"The winner of this challenge is..." He pauses for dramatic effect, "Lainey with her Christmas-themed spice cake. Congratulations, Lainey! You are the first person to secure a spot in the finals."

Lainey beams, soaking in the applause. "Thank you. I knew Christmas was the way to go." She eyes all the other contestants who didn't choose Christmas.