“God, we’re a hell of a pair, aren’t we?” Pete reached up to ghost a hand over her cheek, and she smiled into the warmth of his palm.
“I guess you were right. Fate had plans for us after all.” Lily’s mind shifted back to the phone call she’d made a few days ago, and the knot of nerves reappeared in her belly. “Just promise me something.”
“What?”
“Don’t be afraid to show people who you are. Especially not today.”
He went rigid beside her. “You know it’s more complicated than that.”
But Lily couldn’t relent now. “I’m not talking about getting all personal in front of the cameras. I’m talking about you really believing in yourself. You’re such a good person, real and honest and truly talented. Just . . . don’t be scared to let that show.”
“God, I love you,” Pete whispered.
Lily thought of the contest, and more important, who would be in the audience today to watch it.
She just hoped Pete still felt that way when the timer hit zero.
Having a camera crew shadow your every move on one of the biggest mornings of your life was conducive to a lot of things. Unfortunately for Lily, calmness wasn’t one of them. Even the thought of her teeny-tiny kitchen at home was less stressful than this.
“Good morning, contestants, and welcome to the final round of Pine Mountain’s Christmas Cookie Competition.” Although Chase addressed the small group of chefs in a private meeting room, away from the public, both sets of cameras still blinked as merrily as Christmas lights as they panned from face to face.
“There are a few things to address before we head to the competition floor. Obviously, you all know this is an open round, and I’m excited to say, we’ve got a full house. You’ll each be completing three courses today, to be made simultaneously within the allotted time. Each contestant will serve all three cookies before the next person presents. There will be more on the specific requirements once you’re all in the kitchen, but as usual, you’ll have a planning period and then you’ll be given time to bake and plate.”
Chase wished them all luck, and before Lily could manage an exhale of any value, they were excused to the competition floor.
“Good luck, Blondie.” The corners of Pete’s mouth kicked up into the confident grin Lily had grown to love, and she had no choice but to smile back.
“I believe in hard work, not luck, remember?”
“And you’re still going to need both,” he teased as they crossed the threshold of the double doors and entered the kitchen.
The roar of applause was loud enough to send a deep shard of surprise through Lily’s chest, and she felt her lips part despite her efforts to stay cool. Holy crap, there were tons of people in here, all cheering and clapping and holding up signs. Her muscles squeezed tight over her heart at the sight of her parents, both with tears shining in their eyes as they frantically waved. Their presence soothed her adrenaline-fueled jitters, and she let the comfort of it surround her.
But then she saw Pete, his eyes locked on a pretty brunette across from his station. His face was absolutely blank as he made eye contact with the woman, a flare of emotion Lily couldn’t pin down passing between them.
When he swung his gaze from the woman to her, all of Lily’s calm vanished.
Oh, God. She’d risked too much with that phone call to Riverside.
“Hello, and Merry Christmas!” Chase’s voice boomed over the microphone, stealing Lily’s focus by default. “Welcome to the final round of Pine Mountain’s Cookie Contest. Today, each of our chefs will be working their hardest to earn the top spot in our competition, and with it, a ten-thousand-dollar prize.”
He went on to graciously thank the contest sponsors, including Delectable magazine, and introduce Martin, Olivia, and Chef di Matisse to the crowd. Conrad Le Clerc received a healthy dose of applause from the spectators as well, and Lily braced herself against the counter as Chase shifted gears. She absolutely meant what she’d said to Pete about fulfilling her dream someday.
Of course, if she won this contest, someday would come a hell of a lot sooner, and seeing the pride on her parents’ faces right there in front of her only made her realize all the more how deeply she wanted it.
Despite who she was competing against.
“All right, contestants! The moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived.”
As usual, resort management had been bank-vault secretive about the parameters for the round, and Lily’s skin prickled with anticipation as Chase finally went for the reveal.
“As chefs and professional bakers, you’ve all had unique journeys to get where you are. For today’s final round, we’re giving you a chance to honor the people in your lives who have marked your career path as well as shaped you personally. Each of you will choose three holiday-themed cookies to represent the three people or groups of people who have influenced you the most. You will be judged on concept, flavor, plating and presentation, and the contestant with the best overall score will win.”
Lily’s pulse hammered in her veins, and she forced herself to steadiness as her mind began whirring with potential recipes.
“You will have forty-five minutes to plan your three courses, and three hours to complete them. Choose wisely, chefs. We are looking for the best Christmas cookie out there, and your time to plan starts . . .right now.”
For a sliver of a second, Lily paused, her eyes locking on Pete’s across the expanse of the kitchen. His expression was indecipherable, and she took it in with a pang before the flash of the time clock jerked her back to reality.
She needed a plan. Now.
Lily kicked her brain into gear, methodically running through flavor profiles. She made a master list, complete with an overarching theme at the top and separate columns for different recipes and flavors, taking care not to choose anything too similar or strange. Her outline came together step by meticulous step, precise ingredients placed by recipe ideas and checked, then double-checked against the whole.
Yeah, she thought as her ideas threaded together and strengthened into a game plan. This was really viable, nothing too risky. This was . . .
Wait.
An idea threw itself front and center, refusing to budge from Lily’s brain. Okay, so it was the total opposite of anything she had on her list, and the best strategy was to dismiss it entirely. Everything else fit the theme, and this idea . . . well, it was the boldest, most outwardly brash thing Lily had ever come up with.
“Five minutes, competitors!” Chase’s voice rang out. If Lily was going to take this monstrous leap of faith, she’d need every nanosecond of those five minutes to make it fly.
She didn’t even hesitate before her pencil started to move across the page.
No two ways about it. Pete was hosed. How the hell something as cut and dried as winning a cookie competition had managed to become an emotional cyclone was beyond him.
Might have something to do with the fact in addition to wanting to donate his winnings to a program that desperately needed it, Pete was in love with his competition. And oh, by the way, it looked like said competition had somehow managed to not just find his sister, but make sure Ava had a front row seat as Pete was asked to bare his shitty past in cookie form.
He’d always been able to spot Ava’s tells from a mile and a half out, and the way her eyes kept darting from his to Lily’s was a dead giveaway that the two had spoken at the very least. Christ, the last thing he needed was for Ava to see this disaster of epic proportions. All the sugar in the world couldn’t coat his past. Giving up a kidney might be easier than admitting it out loud, not to mention baking cookies to go with it.
But then Ava’s gaze landed on his and held. She pinned him with a bold-as-hell stare and mouthed, win this.
All of a sudden, everything clicked into place. By the time Ava sent her glance back toward Lily one final time, Pete got the message as if Ava was shouting it in his ear.
It was time to show everyone who he really was.
The ideas slid together seamlessly in his head, and by the time Chase gave the five-minute warning, then called time on the planning period, Pete had an organized strategy. He stood at his station, palms on the stainless steel, waiting for the call to begin baking. When it came, he was calm and ready, his training and skills kicking into gear and his bravado leading the way.
Ironic how much more it helped when you really believed it.
Pete threw a cocky grin at the camera by his side as he flung himself into action, moving with confidence to the pantry to get his mise en place situated. Butter came out of the lowboy to soften, pecans went into the oven until they released their familiar, sweet earthy scent, and sugar became caramel, each move more vital and perfect than the one before it.
Whenever Pete felt the pinch of time falling off the clock, all he had to do was think of Ava, or Lucas, or most of all, Lily, and his focus settled back into place as if it had never strayed. Ingredients became bases, bases became foundations for more complex layers, until finally, all the components turned into a translation of his life through food. But rather than wanting to shove it away, the dishes forming in front of him strengthened Pete’s resolve.
He’d saved the best for last, of course, and he glanced over at Lily’s station as he moved to put his final dish together. Despite her lightning-fast movements, she looked as composed as she had a few hours ago, and her ability to spin such focus out of the passion he knew lay underneath made him love her all the more.
This last dish might not be the fanciest thing he’d ever come up with, or the flashiest risk he’d ever taken, but it was the most pure thing Pete had ever made, hands down.
“Contestants! You have ten minutes!”
As Pete grabbed a stack of plates from the rack in the pantry, he knew this story needed to be told, even if it meant losing the competition.
He was done keeping it inside.
Chapter 13
“Time!”
Pete held his hands up and took a step back from his station in the standard response to Chase’s call. He looked down at the plates on the counter, his pulse taking on a different brand of holy-shit as each one registered.
No going back now.
“And now, we’ll begin our presentations.” Chase gestured to the contestant at the very end of the row, and Pete made an attempt at actual, honest-to-goodness breath. He found some sense of normalcy by the time the third contestant went, but then Chase called Lily’s name, and Pete was right back at ground zero with his nerves.
“My first dish is a red velvet and cream cheese petit-four, with a raspberry jam glaze for just a touch of tartness to keep the other elements in check.” She gestured to the plates in front of the judges with a tiny smile. “I chose to make petit-fours to honor the inspiration I get from pastry chefs and other bakers. When I was a girl, I always wanted to attend Sunday tea at L’Orangerie so I could have the petit-fours. The way something so intricate and wonderful fits into one tiny bite reminds me that big dreams fit in small packages. Knowing that there are people out there who love baking as much as I do is a huge inspiration to me. Please enjoy.”
After taking his bite, Conrad Le Clerc’s faintly accented voice lilted over the crowd. “So tell me, Ms. Callahan. Did you ever come to see me at L’Orangerie?”
Lily’s cheeks flushed, and Pete’s heart twisted in his chest. “No, Chef. I wanted to, but . . . well, we didn’t have a lot of means when I was growing up.”
“Well, with petit-fours like this, you have given me a run for my money. These are lovely.”
Lily murmured her polite thanks, but the emotion she felt at the compliment was obvious. The staff brought out her next dish, and she continued. “This next dish is a twist on a Christmas classic. What you have in front of you is a cookie I like to call Not Your Grandmother’s Fruitcake. I took a traditional fruitcake base and turned it into a drop cookie, lightening the texture yet keeping the candied fruit and nuts for that flavor we all expect from the dish. To give it a complex, grown-up finish, there’s a powdered sugar and aged rum glaze on top.”
Pete watched the judges as they tasted. Both Olivia and Martin were unable to hide their impressed glances, and even though Chef di Matisse asked several pointed questions about the execution of the dish, Pete could see the enjoyment on her face as well.
“Can you tell us who inspired this dish?” she asked, and the smile that lit Lily’s face was sweet enough to make him ache.
“I’ve lived in Pine Mountain my whole life, and for me, this place—and the people in it—are honored classics. It’s my biggest dream to open a bakery here, in the community that has influenced me and my career. I see cookies like these in the bakery window in my mind’s eye, every Christmas.”
Pete felt renewed unease at competing against Lily, but it didn’t have time to linger before Chase said, “And your last dish?”
Lily turned her gaze over her shoulder to land squarely on Pete’s for a split second before she turned back to the judges and spoke. “My last dish is a bit more daring than the other two, but it’s one that, for me, defines risk. I’ve only recently realized that sometimes, it’s just as important to follow your heart as it is to follow your plans.”
“That’s a bit of a different philosophy than anything we’ve seen from you so far, Ms. Callahan.” There was no masking the surprise in Chef di Matisse’s voice. “Let’s see if it pays off.”
But Lily didn’t backpedal. “My final dish is a Double Chocolate and Lemon Sable cookie. I used a bittersweet and dark chocolate shortbread base, then added another pop of flavor by adding lemon extract to the dough. The candied lemon peel on top ties in with the flavors in the base to bring both elements together with added kick. I wanted to bring together two ingredients that are strong in their own way to show that sometimes, opposites really can attract. Just like me and the person who inspired this cookie.”
The judges thanked Lily, and she returned to her station. Throwing in-your-face flavors out there when she’d stuck with such classics until now was a risk of epic proportions, especially for by-the-book Lily. But even with everything right out in front of her on the line, she’d chosen the risk.
And he loved her enough to return the favor.
“Our next presenter is Pete Mancuso.” Chase looked at him expectantly, and Pete stepped forward with a new brand of confidence, one he felt not just on the surface, but in his bones.
“Good afternoon. In thinking about my journey as a chef, it’s impossible not to focus on my personal journey as well. The three cookies I’ve made today represent the people in my life who have inspired me to be true to myself no matter what, both in the kitchen and out.”
He gestured to the red earthenware plates being passed to the judges, each one carefully chosen and even more carefully put together for presentation. “My first offering is a Christmas favorite. It’s an almond-vanilla sugar cookie with royal icing.”
“The detail work is stunning,” Olivia murmured, eyes wide over the snowflake-shaped cookie on her plate. “I almost don’t want to eat it.”
Pete’s smile grew. Despite the urge to rush, he’d taken some painstaking time to get the lacy pattern of icing just right over each cookie. “Thank you. I made these cookies for my sister, Ava, who came here today to surprise me. While we didn’t have the easiest childhood, we always had each other. I chose the snowflake shape because she’s one of a kind.”
Pete chanced a look past the judges, surprised to find Ava’s eyes not full of tears, but brimming with pride and strength as she grinned from ear to ear.
“I agree, the presentation is beautiful.” Chef di Matisse followed her compliment with a few questions about the flavors he’d chosen, but overall, her response buoyed his fortitude as he continued with the next dish.
“My second offering is a best-of-both-worlds cookie, based on the age-old argument of chewy versus crispy.” He scanned the audience, pausing until he caught Lucas’s surprised expression in the crowd.
“I’d always thought it had to be one or the other, but a friend of mine showed me that sometimes, you can like both. That open-mindedness means a lot to me, and I chose to honor it with this cookie.
“It’s a chewy oatmeal cookie, with currants and white chocolate chunks to really add some texture to the base and give it a festive appearance. On top, you’ll find a toasted oat base to add that crispy layer that balances the whole thing out.”
“The play of the currants and white chocolate is surprising. Not to mention delicious.” Martin nodded his approval. “Well done, Chef.”
“Thank you.”
With a deep breath, he turned to the judges to present his last dish.
“My third cookie is one that I wouldn’t have chosen even a few weeks ago, but I believe it’s a perfect example of how something simple and honest can be one of life’s sweetest surprises. I’ve taken a brown sugar base, enhanced the flavor with some fresh vanilla, and topped it with homemade caramel and finely chopped pecans.”
“Oh!” Chef di Matisse’s mouth curled into a smile. “You’ve made a Blondie.”
Pete nodded, and God, he’d never been so certain about the pure goodness of a dish in his life. “Yes, Chef. The vitality of the flavors in this Blondie remind me of the person who inspired it, and how much she means to me. Please enjoy.”
“This is not necessarily a dish that speaks of Christmas.” Conrad Le Clerc looked at Pete over the tops of his wire-rimmed glasses. It hadn’t escaped Pete’s notice that the renowned pastry chef had remained essentially mum throughout his entire presentation, and he swallowed hard before replying.
“Perhaps not, Chef. But I felt it was the truest embodiment of my life right now.”
A smile twitched on the old man’s lips. “It is quite possibly the best Blondie I’ve ever had. Bravo, Chef.”
“It’s an honor, thank you.”
Pete made his way back to his station on rubbery legs, and time fast-forwarded through the remaining few contestants until finally, Chase stood before them with his standard happy-host smile.
The Sugar Cookie Sweetheart Swap Page 34