"Your mom's recipe."
Xavier's head snapped up. Emotions swirled over his face too quickly to name. "I haven't had them in years."
"It's the first batch of biscotti that I'm proud of. I hope you like them."
His fingers trailed over her hand and up her arm, then along her shoulder and paused to stroke the sensitive skin at her throat. "Of course, I'll like them."
Her skin heated. She moistened her lips, fingers tingling with the need to touch him. The soft material of his T-shirt bunched under her grasp as she glided her hands up his chest. His heartbeat pounded under her touch. She rose onto her toes as slid her hands into his hair, and urged his mouth down to meet hers.
Strong arms wrapped around her torso. Soft, yet firm lips closed over her own. His scent, his feel, his taste, she couldn't get enough. Xavier angled his head and deepened the kiss.
Her bones liquefied as his tongue swept past her lips to tangle and tease. She clasped handfuls of his hair and leaned into his body, stretching and long and tall as she could.
With a groan, he kissed a path to her neck, and his hands roamed over her back to land at her waist. Fingers flexed, and he lifted her.
Xavier set her on the kitchen bar and shifted to stand between her legs. The higher perch made kissing him easier, and put much less stress on her neck, and she dove back in, starved for his taste.
His fingertips edged along the skin above her waistband. She shivered and leaned into his hard torso, surprised by how the light, teasing touch could spark so much heat. As his exploration grew bolder, the strokes firmer, and her need higher, she delved under his shirt and skated her hands over hot ridges and planes, following the dips of muscle with her fingers and imagining tracing the same path with her tongue.
The bulge in his jeans pressed into her stomach. Ashley trailed a finger along the seam and swallowed his moan. His hands were wicked, roaming over her jeans and driving her into madness.
Metal jingled, followed by the clatter of nails on the hardwood. And then an enthusiastic "Woof!"
With a grunt, Xavier jolted into her. Their heads banged together. He quickly pulled away. "Sorry. Damn it, Rocky."
The dog jumped up, front paws on the counter's edge.
Shaking his head, Xavier pointed to the floor. "Down."
Rocky licked him first and then complied.
Ashley shook with barely contained laughter. When she met Xavier's gaze, she stopped trying to hide it altogether. "He's too cute. He just wants to be included."
"He's an attention hog." But Xavier's lips twitched, and he bent to pet his wayward animal. "Is your head okay?"
Ashley hopped off the counter. "No harm was done. But it's probably better that Rocky came in. The competition starts in two days, and there's so much stress right now. I'm afraid of complicating things or making them messy and awkward."
He blew out a breath and stood, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "I understand."
Did he? She wasn't so sure.
"Xavier, I like you. I want this. I'm sure you could tell how much. But I think it would be better to wait until the competition is over. I know we’ve baked against the clock at the bakery, and we’ve gone against Ryan and Everson, but that’s nothing like how the real competition will be. We don’t know what that’s going to be like, or what we’re going to be like in there."
"I get it. I've been telling myself the same thing since we started spending time together. Getting involved could hurt things, but we are involved."
"Then how about getting involved further can wait?"
He cocked his head to the side, lips pursed, as he considered. "Does that mean kissing is still on the table?"
"Yes."
"Hugs? Hand holding? I might need some handholding during the rounds."
Laughing, she nodded. "Provided we’re still speaking to each other, that is. If relationships can be ruined due to drama from playing a board game, then it could happen in the heat of the baking competition too."
His eyes, that wonderful shade of green, warmed. "All right, then. Kissing, hugs, and hand-holding if needed, and we'll promise to keep talking to each other no matter what. We should shake on it."
She pressed her hand to his. The slow glide of sensitive fingertips sent a tingle of awareness through her blood. The air almost sparked as she held his gaze. "Deal."
"Deal," he echoed. And then he touched his lips to hers in the softest, sweetest kiss she'd ever received.
Everything in her wanted to strain toward him, to keep kissing and touching and give in to want and desire. But she made herself pull away. Going into the competition, she couldn't allow for anything new to jump out and claim her attention.
She had a battle to win and a rivalry with Blackstone to slay.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Round one had finally arrived. If only they could get to the competition. Ashley leaned against the buttery soft leather seat. Xavier's SUV was ten steps above her little hatchback. "I swear, if we're late because of traffic, I'm going to camp out at the Convention Center for the rest of the competition."
Xavier turned toward her. He lowered his sunglasses, expression filled with determination. "We'll make it."
The fierce sun glare had caused an accident, which made Philadelphia's usual rush hour traffic crawl look like an easy drive down the highway. As the minutes ticked by and their car advanced the merest of inches, Ashley shifted in her seat, willing the cars in front of them to move. When the accident finally cleared, arriving late seemed unavoidable.
Xavier sped down the highway, joking about their situation being practice for the beat-the-clock rush. Foot to the floor, they came off the exit too fast. He slammed on the brakes and jerked the car to the right to avoid hitting the car in front of them.
Ashley's eyes squeezed shut. She braced for impact, and then slowly relaxed when nothing came. She opened her eyes and looked at Xavier. "Are you okay?"
"Sure." With one hand palming the wheel, he whipped the car back into traffic. Ashley clutched her seatbelt and prayed they'd survive the drive.
Once parked, they hurried into the convention center and followed the brightly colored banners and signs lining the path to the Expo.
The last team to check in, they were escorted to their station by one of the producers.
Xavier dropped his box containing a few of Ashley's baking tools on the counter. "Made it with five minutes to spare."
He tugged on the apron emblazoned with the bakery logo. Aqua letters spelling out Bliss Bakery were sprinkled across a large yellow cupcake.
"You should think about a fallback career as an Indy 500 driver." Ashley adjusted her matching apron and turned in a circle. Thirteen identical stations with gleaming stainless steel appliances spread out before her, and to her left sat the large crowd and the TV crew. She savored the surreal moment. They were really here, and, for the first time, the one hundred thousand dollar prize seemed tangible.
Palms damp and pulse quickening, Ashley looked to her left and saw Andrew Blackstone from Blackstone's Bakery at the station next to theirs, talking to Tyson. Great, so her nemesis was at the station right next door.
Fabulous.
Xavier called out to his teammates and waved to a few people in the crowd.
The microphone feedback pierced the air with a sharp, shrill screech. Ashley winced as a hush fell over the crowd. Microphone in hand, the show's host introduced himself and ran through the rules. The thirteen teams would all start round one, with six teams advancing to round two, and round three would be narrowed down to three teams. The grand prize winner would be determined from there.
Then he introduced the judges. Two were stars of shows on Food TV. The third was a retired Frenzy player: a Hall of Famer and fan favorite.
While the host bantered with the judges, Xavier whispered, "Are you okay?"
"I'm more nervous than I thought I'd be." Wringing her hands together, she sneaked a glance at Blackstone's station. No matter what else
happened in the competition, she had to beat him.
"Okay, bakers," the host's voice boomed. "For this round, you need to create two desserts featuring cocoa powder. One must be a cake. The other one is up to you. You'll have two hours to complete them both. Ready... And, time starts now!"
With a loud buzz, the countdown clock began. Ashley grabbed Xavier's arm. "Okay, this is good. We can make your mom's chocolate almond crinkle cookies, and my mom's favorite chocolate cake recipe."
He squinted into the distance. "I think I remember all the ingredients for the cookies. I can picture that recipe card, but..."
"Don't worry, we've got this. Grab cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and I'll gather the rest of the ingredients."
They sprang into action. She rushed around her station and then gratefully focused her attention on the ingredients lining the counter.
The can of dark cocoa reminded her of being held in Xavier's arms, the strength of his embrace, and the chocolate-flavored kisses they'd shared when they'd baked cookies together for the first time. The memory warmed her.
She dropped butter and sugar into the mixer. Beside her, Xavier combined the cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg into a bowl, then added it to the mixer.
He moved slower than she liked, taking the time to triple-check his measurements. She couldn't fault his seriousness or attention to detail.
The host called out to Xavier and his teammates to check on their progress. They all joked back and forth, their teasing banter drawing laughs and cheers from the crowd.
Eyes on the clock, she added the chocolate chips, nuts, and raisins.
Xavier bobbled a cookie sheet, wincing as it crashed against the counter. "Sorry."
"Here, I'll prep them."
She finished preparing the cookie sheets, then in tandem, they rolled the dough into balls.
Xavier nudged her shoulder and held up one of the cookies. "How does this look?"
The memory of their time in her kitchen and how she'd shown him to roll dough flashed into her thoughts. She forced it away. "Good job."
A line formed between his brows. "Are you sure? I want it perfect."
Was he nervous? He had to be. She gently bumped her hip into his leg. "They're perfect. You've got great hands, remember?"
And a cameraman with a microphone rolled by, likely picking up her words. Heat surged into her like she'd touched a live wire.
Back to business.
She spaced the cookies exactly two inches apart. "Keep going. We need to get these into the oven. You preheated the oven to three-seventy-five, right?"
"No, five-hundred, I wanted to see what would happen." Xavier looked up from the cookies and grinned. "I'm kidding, okay? I double-checked the temperature. Looks like these are ready to go in now."
That five-hundred-degree joke nearly gave her a heart attack. She double-checked the temperature was set correctly, then handed him the oven mitts. He slid the trays into the oven.
After setting the mitts aside, he high-fived her. "Cake time. What do you need me to do?"
"Grab buttermilk and four eggs for me?" Without waiting for a response, she pre-heated the second oven to three-fifty and then prepped three round cake pans. When Xavier came back, she'd gathered the remaining ingredients and in a low voice, directed him on the order to add them.
They worked together, mixing flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the mixer. Then adding in the buttermilk, water, oil, and vanilla. She took over mixer duty, watching until the batter turned smooth.
Xavier divided the batter evenly among the pans. Ashley hovered, hands itching to take over, but she didn't give in to the urge. This was a team event, after all. And Xavier was trying so hard.
He set the pans in the oven. "There. Thirty-five minutes on the timer."
"Right. Remember, it's done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean." She rubbed her hands on her apron. "Ready to start the frosting?"
A grin spread across his face when she pulled cream cheese from the refrigerator. "Better hide that from Everson. We can't risk any tackles or fumbles this time."
Laughing, she stopped mid-step as inspiration struck. She lobbed the package in his direction. His eyebrows winged up, and his super-fast reflexes snapped into action as he easily caught it.
The host stopped by their station. "Nice moves. Looks like you two are having fun."
"We are." Ashley grinned at him. "Sometimes, playing with your food is a good thing."
The audience laughed.
"Tell me, what are you making?"
Xavier came over. "Chocolate crinkle cookies and a cake recipe that's been in Ashley's family for years."
"What's the cream cheese for?"
"The frosting. And we better get started on it." Xavier directed the host away with practiced ease. He'd probably had lots of experience. And the confidence to back it up.
Ashley focused on what she could control, mixing the ingredients for the chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting. Xavier helped, adding in the cocoa powder and vanilla to the butter, and then the powdered sugar a cup at a time. She drizzled in milk until they achieved a thick, but spreadable consistency.
Xavier set the bowl to chill in the fridge. "Twenty minutes to relax and clean up our station."
She handed him a towel to wipe away the smudges of cocoa and powdered sugar. "Twenty minutes to worry, too."
"No worrying. We've got this." He moved with confidence and surprisingly easy grace and he wiped down the counters. Then, he uncapped a bottle of water and pressed it into her hands. "In any game, it's important to stay hydrated. Helps keep you thinking clearly."
Taking a slow, deep breath, she nodded and raised the bottle to her lips.
In the neighboring station, Tyson looked stressed. And Blackstone looked angry. Flour and other ingredients were scattered across the counter. The bakery owner dumped a tray of cookies into the garbage and then snatched a fresh sheet from the quarterback's hands. "I'll finish this myself. Handling cookies is a much more delicate process than tossing around a football."
Hands up, Tyson backed away. "Go for it, man. I'll start on clean up."
When the cameraman came by, both men smiled, but neither held the expression for long. Then the TV host swept in. Blackstone beamed, but Tyson hung back. Xavier muttered under his breath and then edged his way over toward his teammate, joking with him to the delight and amusement of the crowd.
Ashley kept watch over the ovens. If the cookies got too dark, she couldn't serve them. Her stomach in knots, she twisted the oven mitt. Worst-case scenarios and possible ways to fix baking disasters ran through her thoughts. She gasped as strong hands landed on her shoulders.
"Relax," Xavier's low voice murmured close to her ear. "You look so tense. Don't worry. They're going to turn out fine."
"Right. Sure. No worries here. Only our first chance at the prize. Which could be our last chance if this doesn't go well."
The timer beeped, and he pulled the mitts from her grasp. After donning them, he opened the oven, releasing a blast of heat. "What do you think?"
She peered at the tray he held. "They look good. Let's get them out."
"Got it." He winced, likely at the heat slamming into his face and set the trays on top of the oven. The scent of the cookies wafted over her, as sweet and comforting as one of her mother's hugs.
Fighting off the threat of tears, she reset the timer. "We can take them off the tray in a couple of minutes."
He tossed the oven mitts aside, and his hand found its way to the back of her neck. "Our cookies look good."
Her muscles melted under his massage. "I'm happy with them. Did you see what everyone else was making?"
"Everson's team had triple chocolate cookies. Tyson and his baker have some type of chocolate mint thing. I heard the host say that someone is making macarons."
She leaned against him, drawing strength, calmness, and comfort. "The cake has fifteen minutes left on the timer."
Throughout the lulls in the baking, the host kept the audience's attention on a large screen TV that showcased each Frenzy player and their foundation or the charity they were playing for. Then, they ran through the bakers. Ashley cringed as her audition video played on the screen.
Xavier slid his arm around her shoulder. "Why the grimace? It's a good video."
"You're used to seeing yourself on screen. I'm not."
He raised a brow, as though considering her statement, and then nodded. "Point taken."
She turned away from the screen. "Let's frost that cake."
Her hands shook as she worked. The host announcing the dwindling minutes added to the frantic atmosphere of the last-minute rush.
"Five... four... three... two... one... Stop your work."
Ashley dropped everything and stepped away from the counter. They'd finished on time, and the cake looked pretty good with a delicate pattern of swirls.
As the judges made the rounds to the stations, Xavier downed a bottle of water. "Waiting is the hardest part. It's like when the officials are reviewing a challenged touchdown."
Finally, the judges and host reached them. "Tell us about your desserts."
"We have for you a chocolate almond crinkle cookie and a chocolate cake with chocolate cream cheese buttercream frosting."
The first judge bit into the cookie. "The texture is perfect, but I would have liked a hint more of cinnamon."
The second judge shook her head. "I disagree on that, I think the amount of spices was perfect."
"Now, let's move on to the cake." At the host's prompting, the third judge sampled it. "This cake is moist and has the perfect crumb."
"I like it. The frosting is thick but smooth. A perfect accompaniment."
Relief rushed through Ashley. She barely resisted reaching for Xavier's hand. "Thank you, judges."
She noticed that no one joked during the deliberation period. She looked over at Xavier, concern clouding her excitement. He'd seemed to shed his nerves as the round had worn on, gaining confidence even as she'd let stress and worry take hold. And he had been incredibly sweet in trying to calm her down. The pressure would only build from here. How could she manage to make sure that they both kept it together, going forward?
Hometown Hero Page 7