Love Connection

by Crimson Romance

  “So, just like that, he’s gone? That must be strange to go from working together and seeing each other all the time to having a long-distance relationship. What are you two going to do?” Sequoia propped her elbows on the steel table, eyes full of sympathy.

  The genuine concern on Sequoia’s face made Carly sorry they’d ever started the stupid charade. Having her own feelings stomped all over was one thing, but to make someone else feel for her imaginary breakup was another. “We decided it would be best to break up.”

  “What? You two are perfect for each other!” Sequoia sat up straight again, genuine surprise on her delicate features.

  They really were perfect together, weren’t they? Carly could deny it all she wanted, but she had fallen for Michael. She loved his confidence and effortless style. He always made her feel like she could lean on him, stepping into the role as though it were made for him. Once she dropped her determination to hate everything about him, Carly could recognize his talent and skill, combined with a fearless flair that nobody could replicate. Their chemistry had to be real; she didn’t imagine that. But just because they seemed custom-made for one another didn’t mean that they were really meant to be together. The fact that he was gorgeous and amazing in bed just made it harder to admit that she’d created a relationship in her head. It was so like her to find meaning where there was none.

  “I guess he didn’t think so, or at least not perfect enough for him to give up on following his dream.” Carly shrugged.

  “Wait, are you saying he broke up with you?” Sequoia’s eyes were wide with disbelief.

  “Yeah, pretty much. I wouldn’t make him choose between staying with me and following his dream, but I guess he did anyway.” He was the one who’d left, after all.

  Sequoia grimaced, sucking in air through her teeth. “I’m sorry, honey, but I’m worried about the cakes now. Maybe I should find someone else.”

  Carly straightened. “Honestly, Sequoia, I can handle it on my own. I’ve done hundreds of weddings, and I have ample staff to help out and make sure it all goes off without a hitch.”

  Sequoia laid a hand on Carly’s arm. “I know that you could make a cake without Michael, but this changes things. Your sorrow and heartbreak will make its way into the cakes, and it’s bad for the energy of our wedding. We went with you and Michael specifically because the food that represents our union needs to be infused with loving energy. I just can’t take the chance that your tears will end up in the cake batter. I love your designs, though, so I’d like to figure out a way to keep you on the job without compromising the purity of the work.”

  Great. Not only had she lost the man she could have fallen in love with, she now she might lose the biggest job of her career, too. Gone, everything, just like that. And all because she couldn’t bring herself to ask him to stay. He might have shot her down, but he might have returned her feelings. She’d never know now, and they’d never have the chance. All because she was afraid. Afraid that she wasn’t what he wanted, afraid to admit her feelings, afraid to take a chance for once and trust her feelings with a man.

  Brokenhearted or not, she was a professional to her core. “I’m certainly disappointed, but the baker you work with is a personal choice. I certainly hope you decide that we can still work together, but I’ll understand if you don’t.”

  “I hope we can still work together, too, Carly. I’ll do my best to figure out how to make that happen.”

  Carly walked Sequoia out of the workroom, holding her head high and her tears at bay. Summoning her last reserve of calm professionalism, she gave Sequoia her best wishes for a happy wedding day and turned on her heel to rush back to her workroom. Tears fell before the door closed behind her, and she crumpled onto her chair, miserable.

  • • •

  Michael shifted in the hard plastic chair, trying to get comfortable across from Kelly McCall’s clear Lucite desk. His agent’s office was modern, everything white or clear, all clean lines and hard surfaces. Things had changed since the first time they’d worked together, when she shared a shabby office space with a guy who represented animal actors. Kelly held up one perfectly manicured finger to indicate that she’d be off her phone call soon, and Michael hooked his ankle over his knee. Oversized prints lined her wall, each looking like blobs that his six-year-old cousin could’ve painted, but probably costing more than his first car. The sleek espresso machine and individual glass bottles of water in the corner suggested that she was making a lot more money than before, and that her client list had grown. All Kelly used to serve was scorched coffee and tepid generic soda with cat hair clinging to the can.

  “All right, hon. Call me later to let me know how it went. I’ll be thinking of you, keeping my fingers crossed. Good luck.” She paused, listening, and rolled her eyes. “All right, bye bye, now.”

  She ended her call and leaned forward on her elbows. “Thanks for coming in, Michael. It’s awesome to see you again.”

  He sat up straight. “You too, Kelly. I’m excited to get back to work.”

  She shuffled a stack of folders on her desk and turned to her computer screen. As she jiggled her mouse, she narrowed her eyes in concentration. “All right, here we are.” She scribbled on an index card. “Here’s the name of the guy at Cuisine Network you need to meet with, hon. I sent the contract over to legal, but it looks pretty boilerplate. I’ll have more information for you if they find anything. In the meantime, the Cuisine Network suits will talk you through their concept, and you’ll have a chance to ask questions or offer input.”

  He picked up the index card and read the address. “Just like that?”

  “Yeah, just like that.” She smiled, clearly pleased to have made a deal so quickly.

  “Wow.” He shifted in the chair, running his hands down his thighs. “Great, then. I guess I’ll get over there.”

  “Sounds great. Just remember, they’re pumped up about the new show and seem to be excited to welcome you back, but it can all change. Until you sign on the dotted line, be sure to watch what you say and do. We want to make a good impression; you never know when these guys will decide they aren’t so interested after all.” Her eyes were already scanning her cell phone; she was clearly finished with their meeting.

  He stood, feeling deflated though he knew she was only being cautious. He might be overeager, probably a little cocky, but he wasn’t stupid. He wouldn’t go in acting like a superstar, and his agent didn’t need to remind him how to act professionally.

  “All right, thanks, Kelly. Let me know when you get the contract, and I’ll come back in.”

  “Sure thing. And Michael, don’t forget: they came to us, not the other way around. They already love you. Don’t worry about a thing.” She gave him a brilliant, showbiz smile, revealing a fleck of bright red lipstick stuck to her tooth.

  Mustering enthusiasm for the meeting, he left. Losing Carly had put a damper on the excitement he should be feeling about getting the second chance of a lifetime. He’d been dumped before, of course, but had never been so devastated by losing someone. She wasn’t even really his, which made it that much more confusing. Surely she knew that he was asking if she wanted to be with him when he offered to stay. Didn’t she? If he weren’t such a coward, he would’ve confessed that his feelings for her were real and asked if she felt the same. Whatever she said, at least he’d know one way or the other. Now it was too late, and he had to accept that.

  • • •

  Michael sat in a generic room with a few dozen guys who looked just like him. A Cuisine Network staffer in a tailored suit burst through the door and made a beeline toward his seat, arm outstretched for a handshake.

  “Michael Welch, it’s so nice to meet you. I’m Timothy King.” Michael stood and took the man’s hand. “They should have sent you back to me directly. I guess there was some kind of misunderstanding. I hope you weren’t waiting long.”

  “No, in fact, I’ve only been here about five minutes.” Michael ignored the curious
stares of the other men in the room. Auditioning, going out on calls, vying for the same job as twenty other dudes—it was a relief to have grown out of the desperate auditioning phase. After being out of the game so long, he wasn’t sure he could do it again. The other guys had to resent him, hate that he’d been plucked out of the crowd without even having to sing and dance.

  “Come with me, and we’ll get you started.” Timothy was on his way back to the door without another word, clearly expecting Michael to follow along and keep up.

  They strode through the hallways of Cuisine Network’s business offices, past framed posters from current and former programs, until they reached a conference room. Timothy opened the door and let Michael walk in ahead of him. Five executives sat around a chrome and glass table, tapping on their cell phones.

  “Gentlemen, this is Michael Welch. He was in the waiting room this whole time.” Timothy announced to the group. “They had him sitting with the actors auditioning for Soup’s On.” The group laughed, and Timothy led him to a seat. Michael took the empty chair and tried for an expression that said “calm and confident, but not too confident.”

  “Michael, this is Greg Fields. He’s the one who came up with the brilliant idea to track down your agent and see about getting you back on the network,” Timothy introduced an executive wearing a tailored suit with a scarlet tie.

  Greg shook hands with Michael, then filled his water glass and began the meeting. “Michael, we reviewed the film from Sugar Shock’s Valentine’s Day episode and were reminded of how much we at Cuisine Network enjoy you. We originally thought about pulling you in for some guest hosting spots, but after talking with your agent, we knew that you needed your own vehicle. You’re too talented and charismatic to waste on guest appearances. So here’s what we’re thinking.” He paused to take a drink of water. “Around the World in Thirteen Cakes with Michael Welch.”

  He propped a mock-up of the show’s poster on a small easel. “We’ll start with the pilot, and if it flies, we think the network will buy thirteen episodes. Fewer or more, and we can change the title if we need to, like Around the World in Twenty Cakes or whatever. Here’s the concept. Think Cuisine Network meets Vacation Channel. Each episode will feature a unique vacation destination, where you’ll explore the local culture and tourist attractions, maybe with a special focus on cuisine, and a unique cake to reflect the visit. It can be either a design specific to the destination, depicting a landmark, or something that viewers will understand after watching your footage. What do you think?”

  Michael shifted in his chair. “I think it sounds amazing, and I’d be thrilled to work on a show like that. Thank you for thinking of me.” It was happening incredibly fast, and he wasn’t sure he could fit in the specific mold the network set for him, but he’d keep that under his hat. Half his success could be attributed to faking it when he wasn’t sure he was up to the task, and this show would be no exception.

  Chapter Eleven

  Carly looked around the near-empty department store as Lily flipped through a rack of dresses, hangers clanging against the rod. Her trained eyes scanned each piece at warp speed, able to assess and reject a dress within seconds. Lily knew fashion, and she knew what looked best on her, something Carly had been trying to pick up from her best friend for years. Lily was attending a fundraiser dinner with a congressman she’d been seeing, and she was looking for something that would show off her best features but be conservative enough to pass muster amid the political heavy hitters that would be in attendance.

  “So, if you do this sage smear,” Lily wrinkled her nose, “you’ll be cleared of enough negative energy for her to let you make the wedding cake again?”

  “It’s a sage smudge, and yes. I’ll only be clear enough to bake her cake if I complete the smudge; otherwise, I think she’ll take me off the job. It seemed like she was really close to doing just that when I told her that Michael left. I feel lucky, but it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if she asks me to do some other weird detox routine after this.” Carly dug around in her purse until she found a tin of mints and popped one in her mouth. Offering the tin to Lily, she continued. “Sequoia Rivers personally smudged my workroom at Caketopia and even did a special session on me.”

  “She wiped sage on you?”

  “No, of course not! You light the smudge stick and blow it out to let it smolder, like an incense stick, which she also sent me home with a healthy supply of. You can’t touch it or rub it directly on anything, because, you know, it’s smoldering hot. You just take the stick and wave it throughout the space, or in my case, around my body, with purpose. The smoke clears the negative energy that has accumulated.”

  “With purpose? Like with love and light and positive intentions?” Lily cocked an eyebrow. She was open-minded and well-traveled, but she clearly thought the sage smudge cleanse was ridiculous.

  Carly had to giggle. When Sequoia had explained the process, she was dead serious, but hearing the words repeated by Lily made it sound like such a joke. “Yeah, she gave me a clearing kit for my apartment and told me to cleanse the whole place several times a year. She said that even homes with the best feng shui have negative energy accumulate. I think it’s cute that she thinks I’ve even considered my apartment’s feng shui.” She pulled a royal-blue dress from the rack. “How about this one?”

  Lily touched the slinky fabric. “It’s pretty, but he’s a Republican. I shouldn’t wear blue. I need to try to find something in red.”

  Carly put the dress back on the rack and ran her fingertips over the tops of the hangers. “Did you watch the episode?” she asked without making eye contact. The Sugar Shock Valentine’s Day episode had aired, but Carly had been too chicken to watch it. Besides, she was already exhausted. Caketopia always did brisk business around the romantic holiday, so she’d taken on all the work she’d normally delegate to keep her mind off things. She hadn’t seen Michael in several weeks, but the pain was as fresh as the day she came home from filming.

  Lily laid a gentle hand on her arm. “I did, and it was really good. I think you should watch it. You’re torturing yourself, wondering what it’s like and reliving every moment. Just put yourself out of your misery and get it over with. It’s probably way less painful than you’re imagining, but I can watch it with you. We can hang at my place if you want. I’ll order takeout and pick up extra bottles of wine to fortify you.” She rubbed her hand up and down Carly’s arm. “Sound good?”

  Carly nodded, still not sure she could look into the sympathetic eyes of her friend. Besides being able to practically read her mind and see right through her assurances that everything was fine, Lily’s eyes were more expressive than most. They had won her more than a few choice modeling contracts, and looking into them when you were sad was like asking for the tears to start falling.

  Carly couldn’t pretend that her heart wasn’t broken any longer. She hadn’t been able to bring herself to admit out loud that she had fallen for Michael or that losing him was harder than she ever would’ve imagined, but she didn’t have to say it. Lily knew her well enough to see that there was more to it than just the job, and that she’d spill her secrets in her own time.

  “That sounds good. Might as well get it over with, and it’ll be easier with a friend by my side.” Carly offered her a weak smile. “Now, is there anything in this store you can wear to this event, or are we done here?”

  • • •

  Carly settled into Lily’s plush burgundy sofa, marveling as always at her friend’s impeccable taste. Years of working in the fashion industry and traveling around the world had influenced Lily’s style in a way that put Carly’s catalogue-curated apartment décor to shame. Lily effortlessly blended colors, textures, and styles in ways that created a home that was welcoming and intriguing. Every time Carly visited, she wanted to nest in the rich fabrics of her chairs and blankets or spend hours flipping through her thick leather-bound books. Lily managed to make her apartment feel like an international vacation without
the culture shock.

  “Cute. Are these new?” Carly pushed two miniature golden elephants across the end table.

  Lily handed Carly a hand-blown balloon goblet of lush ruby pinot noir and settled onto the couch beside her. Takeout boxes and black stoneware dinner plates littered the marble coffee table in front of them. “They were a gift from the congressman. Told you he was a Republican.”

  “He must like you, taking you to fancy high-profile dinners, giving you gifts.” Carly trailed off and sipped her wine.

  Lily tucked her feet beneath her and snuggled into the sofa. “Nah, he just needs someone to smile pretty for the photographers. When we’re alone, he barely talks about anything beyond his schedule and his platform. I’m pretty sure he thinks I wouldn’t understand the issues he’s involved with.” She grabbed the remote control and turned the television on. As she flipped through her recorded shows to find Sugar Shock, she leaned forward and speared a chunk of orange chicken straight from the box. “And that’s fine by me. I’m not interested in sharing my life story with him just yet.”

  Carly spooned garlic noodles and spicy shrimp onto her plate and settled in to eat dinner while they watched. The familiar Sugar Shock theme music and opening scenes filled the screen, and before she and Michael even showed up, Carly’s heart began to race. Shelley Peabody’s flawless face smiled at the camera and told the viewers they were in for a special treat. She recapped the competition as scenes from the current season’s episodes flashed by in a montage, offered her sincere well wishes for the contestant who’d been sent home the week before, and hinted that the viewers were in for a big surprise. Commercials flew by as Lily fast-forwarded, and Carly slurped a garlicky noodle through her lips. After seeing the difference between what actually happened on set and the editors’ finished product, she was more than a little nervous to see how she and Michael would be portrayed.