“Yes. But I don’t like the feeling I’m getting from you, that because I believe in fate I’m not grounded.”
“I don’t think that.”
“What do you think?”
“That you believe in breaking curses and magical things. I don’t,” he said. “But that doesn’t lessen you in my eyes.”
Hell. This was why he shouldn’t be here. Why had he said that?
It was the truth but still...he wished he’d kept it to himself. The sooner this competition was over and he was out of here, the better.
She knew he meant his words as a compliment and took them as one. She wiped her hands on her apron. Nola and Conrad’s assistant weren’t in this staging area. It was just the two of them behind the partition as their dishes were taken out to be served.
“What happens now?”
“Nervous?”
“Since this entire thing started,” she admitted. “You?”
“Not really.”
“Of course not,” she muttered. “Can I try yours?”
“Sure. I’m curious about yours as well. I’m not sure about your biscuits.”
“Uh, that’s my mama’s recipe, Beast, so watch it.”
He just tore a piece of the biscuit and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly and she found herself watching his lips and mouth. God, he had a fine-looking mouth. There was something about it that made her wonder what it would feel like pressed against hers.
“Not bad.”
“Not bad? They are damned good. Let me try your bread,” she said, reached for a leftover piece of the sourdough that he’d carved out in order to make his bread bowls.
The first taste of it against her tongue made her want to moan. It was so good. She loved bread, and this loaf was everything. The texture and the taste were delicious, and she knew they’d complement his soup perfectly. Some doubts about the cheddar she’d added to her biscuits danced through her mind. The cheddar was sharp. Dang.
She glanced up at him.
“Not bad.”
He gave a shout of laughter and she smiled when she heard it. “You’re something else, lady.”
She shook her head. She wasn’t. She was just a woman determined to have the future she wanted. One away from the woman she’d been. So silly, she thought. But Gilbert Corners was her chance to be the woman she was becoming and find her place. Though he’d asked why she needed Gilbert Corners to succeed, she hadn’t told him that if it didn’t, she’d probably end up back home and back in a life that she didn’t want. Staying in Lansdowne hadn’t been an option for her. She’d always wanted out. But she’d used her time after college to carve out a path for herself. A path out of Lansdowne. And she wasn’t going back.
She could easily see herself following in her mother’s footsteps back there. Giving up her dreams to become a wife and mother. Not that there was anything wrong with that, except Indy was pretty sure she’d be crappy at them, and it wasn’t her dream.
“Will they announce the winner soon?” she asked. The clouds were thickening around the edges of Gilbert Manor.
“Probably. The storm looks pretty fierce.”
“Yeah, it does. I wasn’t expecting storms like this when I moved here.”
“Whydidyou come here?”
“Nola. She is a whiz at woodworking and joined my show for the last three years. We finished up in Lansdowne and the producers asked us to find another town in need of our help, and Nola suggested Gilbert Corners,” she said.
“You’re good friends then?”
“The best. We were college roommates and just hit it off. Again fate stepped in to help me out. Maybe you should be scared.”