“It’s okay, Charlie. You’re having a hard week, I get it.” Sydney had gone off to gather up the ingredients they needed for the recipe then. Cass had stood still for a moment, trying to gather her emotions and her thoughts. Now, she vowed to find a moment of privacy to call her sister—whose phone had been off the night before, and who had not answered when Cass tried the bakery, late in the evening when she got back from the set. There had been no missed calls from Charlie, but five from Brett. Cass had listened to his voicemails but gathered no clues about whether her sister had talked to him yet. “I just miss you,” he had said, so many times she had finally deleted the messages and turned off her phone for the night.
“On your marks, everyone!” It was time to tape the day’s Sweet & Salty challenge, and Cass joined Austin under the bright lights. All at once, with the bustle all around her, Cass felt something new: exhilaration. It had been a stressful morning, sure, but she had done it. Cass’s days in Starlight Peak were generally uniform, because all anyone wanted was exactly what her family had been baking and selling for generations. If there was any deviation, people noticed. The month before, she had tried adding a hint of lavender to the lemon bars and there had almost been a town riot. Here in Los Angeles, she was trying new things—and starting to enjoy it. Maybe the missing recipe file wasn’t such a disaster after all.
“I’m going with a classic today,” Austin announced in his self-assured way, which made Cass both envious and annoyed. He was always relaxed, whether on camera or speaking to the crew, his voice smooth and his tone pleasant, with inflections and modulations in all the right places. It was impossible not to enjoy listening to Austin Nash, as irritating as that was. Plus, he never stumbled over a line; not ever. And he was always so patronizingly helpful when Cass fumbled her lines, which happened all too frequently.
“A German chocolate cake soufflé,” Austin continued. “A time-honored dessert, with a twist that should really challenge our contestants.”
Cass stared at Austin, openmouthed. Then she glanced at Sydney, who looked like a deer caught in headlights.
“Wow! I believe I’ve rendered the amazing Charlie Goodwin speechless,” Austin said.
Everyone turned to look at Cass. Sasha raised an eyebrow, tapping her pen against the tabletop.
“It’s just that . . .” Cass swallowed hard. How the hell had this happened? “My recipe is for German chocolate cake soufflé bombes. And we can’t have the contestants make basically the same thing, so I . . .”
I have no idea what to do, is how she wanted to finish the sentence.
“Then one of you will have to come up with a new recipe,” Sasha said, glancing down at her watch. “You have an hour. Decide amongst yourselves.”
She and one of the producers started discussing the schedule and then everyone dispersed from the meeting table, leaving Cass and a smug-looking Austin alone.
“So that’s weird, huh?” Austin said. “We just Big Magicked each other.”
“Big Magicked?” she echoed.
“Yeah, from that Elizabeth Gilbert book about creativity. I’ve been reading it because I’m working on a book about my life as an up-and-coming young chef in my spare time.” Cass had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “She says that ideas just float around out there and you have to act on them, or someone else will.”
Cass gritted her teeth and took a steadying breath. “I don’t know, Austin. My idea wasn’t ‘floating around out there.’ It was on paper. This doesn’t feel random, it feels like you acted on something that wasn’t yours to act on. Know what I mean?”
He snorted. “It’s hardly a unique idea.”
“Exactly! But why now, and why today?”
“You’re sounding a little paranoid, kiddo. It’s chocolate cake.” Austin leaned forward, his hands clasped, and furrowed his brow. “I’m worried about you, Charlie. I’ve had concussions, and they can really mess you up. Maybe you should, I don’t know, take a leave or—”
Cass began gathering her things. “I’m fine. And you know what? Keep your recipe. I’ve got something better in mind.”
* * *
? ? ?
“I need to know something,” Cass told Sydney, keeping her voice low as the two huddled at Charlie’s on-set workstation. “How did Austin find out what my recipe was?”
“I didn’t tell him, I swear,” Sydney replied. “But . . .” Cass noticed Sydney’s cheeks had turned pink. “I might have accidentally mentioned something to Nathan?” Nathan was Austin’s assistant, and a decent baker who had been nothing but friendly to Cass—especially since he thought he was responsible for giving her a concussion. But he idolized Austin, which meant he couldn’t be trusted.