Page 47 of Recipe for Rivals
Which sounded like what I was doing right now, but it was different. Completely different. Not even close to the same thing. Chad was lowlife scum, and I really just wanted to fill Nova’s apartment with furniture. Well, and see how many times I could get Alice to smile today. My tally was already at one, which was a solid start.
Neither of those things made me a creep. Right?
“You’re cooking for the other—” Nova stopped herself and turned on the seat to face me more fully. “Hold on. Battle of theBadges. Like, cops against firefighters?”
“Yeah. What did you think it meant?”
“One squad against another.” She rubbed her eyes andgroaned. “Is this a huge town event or something? I thought it was all in good fun. Like a police family party kind of thing.”
I swallowed, careful about how I worded it. “None of our town events are really huge, but this fundraiser brings in a good chunk of money and we usually have a decent showing.”
“Which means yes, it’s huge.”
“I’m surprised Chad didn’t talk it up more.” Translation: I was shocked he hadn’t talkeddownabout the firefighters more.
“He just wanted help figuring out a menu because he didn’t want to lose again this year,” she muttered. “I don’t think I’ll actually be cooking.”
“You afraid to lose?”
“Against you? No.” Nova sat up straighter. “Do you even cook?”
“Not professionally.” I was whatThe Great British Bake-Offcalled a home cook and would undoubtedly be sent home the first week if I ever made it on a show like that. But I enjoyed my time in the kitchen and figuring things out. What had started as a necessity—feeding Grandpa and myself so he would stop buying frozen TV dinners—had morphed into a hobby over the years. “Just for fun, and mostly at the firehouse. Do you?”
“Before coming to Gigi’s? No. I mean, I made dinner for my family, but I never had ambitions of cooking for other people. It’s just a job for me right now.” She settled into her seat, seeming to grow more comfortable. “Chad only asked for my help because he ate one of my dessert bars at a dinner thing and loved them. He thinks more highly of my abilities than he should.”
Green envy snaked through my stomach. I didn’t like the idea of Chad hanging out with her or enjoying her dessert bars. “So, you bake,” I said thoughtfully, like I was only interested in the competition. “Which means I need to step up my dessert game.”
Nova shrugged.
“Did we just become enemies?” I asked her, hoping she could hear the teasing in my tone.
“That’s a strong word. What did your fireman friend say at the diner? You have a lot of rivals in this town. I guess you can officially add me to the list.”
“It was only a matter of time.”
“Pretty much inevitable,” she agreed.
“It’s basic math, like all baking.”
She gave me a look. “How?”
“Take a heaping spoonful of cop blood and a dash of city girl. Mix them together and throw in a partnership with the devil. Boom, you’ll get a rival.”
Nova let out a laugh. “Fair enough.” She looked out the window, watching fields and farms pass by. “Where are we going, anyway? You’ve been cagey about this whole thing.”
“Not cagey. I’m nothing if not upfront.”
I could feel her roll her eyes, and I liked that she seemed more comfortable around me. “We’re garage-sale-ing.”
“I don’t think that’s a real verb.”
“We’re making it one today.”
Nova was quiet for a minute, making me wonder if I’d made an error in judgment. Was she a germaphobe? Unable to fathom owning someone else’s cast-offs? Too high and mighty for used sofas?
“That’s such a brilliant idea, Dusty. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself.”
Relief flooded me. “You couldn’t have known that the first Saturday in April is Beeler’s annual spring-cleaning weekend. There will be so many garage sales, you’ll have your pick of things.”