Page 20 of Third Time Lucky

I met Audrina at my first kitchen job. She was the head chef, and I was her sous.

The number of things this woman taught me is insane.

Basically, she created a protégé in me, and we’ve been friends ever since – even now when she has her own national cooking show.

She sends me a text, checking in a couple of times a month.

And she can’t wait until the restaurant is opened – she’s requested to be on the permanent VIP list.

‘Lucy and Asher, you two are a team,’ Audri declares. ‘Whose dessert will wow me? Let’s find out.’

As Audrina gives instructions and advice, I catch Lucy’s eye and nod confidently.

‘We got this –I measure, you mix. Mid-speed, easy.’

She follows directions and works the mixer, pouring in each ingredient as I hand them to her; our movements synchronize as we dance around each other in the small space.

‘Too much!’ Aaron yells excitedly at Madi.

‘Too freaking much – unless you like cakes that taste like the main ingredient is salt-water, you beautiful maddening minx,’ he says through a laugh, trading places with her and demoting her to running the hand mixer as opposed to measuring out ingredients.

‘Problems?’ I inquire, not really caring if they have them or not because, so far, Lucy and I are killing it. Of course, we’re only five minutes in, but I’m calling it now – we will be the ones to wow Audrina.

‘Just mind your business, asshole,’ Aaron responds.

Lucy laughs. ‘Do you two work together too?’

I guess we haven’t really talked much about Aaron. Usually, my little brother isn’t the topic with women I’m steadily earning a crush on.

‘We’re business partners, and he’s been my sous chef off and on. But occasionally, he pretends he’s the boss.’

‘Occasionally, I have to be the boss,’ Aaron claims.

‘No, he doesn’t,’ I correct him.

‘You don’t get sick of one another?’ she asks. ‘Friends, brothers, and co-workers seems like a lot of time together.’

‘I hate him,’ Aaron says, laughing.

‘And I’m sick to death of him,’ I tease.

‘But he’s a hell of chef,’ Aaron follows.

‘And he’s OK too, I guess…’ I say, reluctantly.

Lucy chuckles and her smile brightens the room. At least my side.

‘How are you two old friends handling working together?’ Aaron interjects. ‘Everything running smoothly over there? No feelings out of order or anything?’

I shoot him a glare.

‘Smooth as butter,’ Lucy snaps back. ‘Ash knows what he’s doing, and I can follow instructions. Can you?’ she asks sweetly, directing her question at Aaron.

He stops what he’s doing, meeting her gaze. ‘When I want to,’ he responds, pulling Madi from measuring out flour and planting a kiss on her lips just to piss me off.

‘Pay attention to each ingredient you add,’ Audri says from the island bar she’s now seated at, watching us as she sips a large glass of red wine. ‘Notice how it changes your mix. Knowing how ingredients react to one another will make it easier in the future to create your own recipes.’

‘Mads, you’re overmixing!’ he exclaims, pointing at the bowl with a grimace. ‘We aren’t whipping the eggs.’

Madi rolls her eyes, but takes a step back, allowing Aaron to take over once more.

‘Fine, Mr Perfectionist. Show me how it’s done,’ she retorts, a hint of competitiveness in her tone.

‘He’s no perfectionist,’ Audri says with a smile as she approaches Aaron and Madi.

She and Aaron have always play clashed. Aaron tends to grind on people until he’s become the annoying little brother you never had. The guy’s never been uncomfortable a day in his life.

‘I intentionally chose hand mixers because they’re harder to use. You’ve got to pay more attention and that’s Aaron’s goal tonight. To pay attention. I won’t eat one more half-done dessert at our Friendsgiving this year.’

‘Hey,’ Aaron snaps back. ‘My desserts are the bomb.’

‘Yes, last year’s caramel pecan pudding?—’

‘Bars,’ he corrects her.

They’ve been having this argument since last Thanksgiving.

‘In my world, melting in your hand is a good thing,’ he says, his eyes on Madi.

Gross.

I glance over at Lucy, who chuckles softly at the exchange. ‘Their dynamic seems fun,’ she remarks sarcastically, a twinkle in her eye.

‘If awkward was fun…’ I tease. ‘I know I’m having more fun than I expected,’ I say, leaning into her slightly. ‘Could be the fact that he’s not my sous right now.’

Her gaze meets mine, a hint of curiosity in her eyes, and I wonder if, in that handful of words, I’ve said too much.

The corners of her lips upturn in a way that makes my heart skip a beat.

‘I’m glad to be your partner,’ she says softly, her eyes warm and inviting. ‘I think we make a pretty good team.’

I nod, unable to tear my gaze away from her. ‘Yeah, we do.’

As we put the finishing touches on our dessert, I can’t help but steal glances at her, admiring the way her brow furrows in concentration and the gentle curve of her smile as she tastes our creation.

‘Oh my god. We made this?’ she asks.

She raises a glass of wine – poured by Audrina – her slim fingers curled around the stem.

I watch as a lock of her hair falls over her eyes, interfering with the curious gaze she’s fixed on me.

I want to know what’s going through her head – it frustrates me in ways it shouldn’t.

Why doesn’t she want me to know what she said to Aaron? Why can’t we explore those feelings?

‘Incredible,’ Lucy moans, the taste test she just did mesmerizing her.

Audrina saunters over to our station, a curious expression on her face.

‘How are we looking here?’ she inquires, peering at our cake mix with interest.

‘Wait until you taste this,’ Lucy declares confidently. ‘It’s to die for.’

‘Yes, I know,’ Audri says. ‘I created this recipe.’

‘Oh!’ Lucy says, suddenly wiping a hand on her apron. ‘I’ve seen your show. You’re amazing. I’ve always wondered how good your food would be and now I know – heavenly.’

‘Remind me to give you a cookbook before you leave.’

‘I’d really be on Mitzi’s good list if you come home with one of those,’ I tease.

‘Then I’ll buy two! One for me and Madi. Perhaps I’ll even ask to learn how to use the oven in the coming weeks.’

Yes, please.

Audrina shoots me an approving nod before turning to Aaron and Madi’s station. ‘And how about you two? Any breakthroughs yet?’

Aaron wipes his brow dramatically and exchanges a sheepish glance with Madi before shooting a glare my way.

‘We may have hit a small hiccup or two, baking doesn’t appear to be either of our specialties – but it’s nothing we can’t handle,’ he replies with a grin, trying to exude optimism despite the setbacks.

‘Because of that, I officially designate Ash as our baker at the restaurant. If you win, I’ll get you a trophy. ’

I pour our mixture into a baking pan that Lucy prepped and slide it into the top space of Audrina’s double oven, feeling confident in our creation.

Lucy stands beside me, wiping her hands on a dish towel as we wait for our dessert to bake.

The scent of chocolate and vanilla fills the air, making my stomach growl in anticipation.

‘I think we nailed it,’ she says, her eyes sparkling with pride.

‘Audrina won’t know what’s hit her.’

* * *

As the timer chimes, signaling that our dessert is ready, I carefully pull it out of the oven. The cake looks perfect – moist and fluffy with a golden crust.

‘You know what frosting is good for, right?’ Aaron asks Madi, not at all under his breath, dabbing a bit on her lips and then sucking it off in a way that feels dirtier than ever.

‘Mmmm,’ Madi moans, licking her lips once they’ve parted. ‘We could use that when you make up for being a bossy asshole later.’

‘Ooh-hoo-hoo,’ Aaron moans gleefully. ‘You hear that big brother, she wants frosting in our make-up se?—’

‘Stop,’ I say firmly. Shutting him up. Is he trying to get bitch slapped?

Lucy glances at me, an awkward grimace on her face. ‘Ew.’

She laughs nervously.

‘Don’t even pretend like you’re not jealous,’ Aaron calls out. ‘We’re adorable.’

‘You’re cringy,’ I say.

He flips me the bird.

After what feels like hours of intense concentration and teamwork, both teams are done and we present our desserts to Audrina for judging. She surveys our cakes with a critical eye, her expression unreadable.

She takes a bite of our offering first, savoring the flavors before looking at us with a knowing smile. ‘Impressive. But it’s you, so I knew it would be. Now let’s see what your brother has to offer.’

‘We have to win,’ Madi says to Aaron. ‘We made this cake twice.’

I laugh. ‘Is that what took so long?’

Another finger flung my way.

Audrina teases us as her gaze shifts between our creations, her expression inscrutable.

Lucy grips my arm suddenly. An electric current surges through my body, but I know I need to keep my cool.

I pat her hand lightly.

‘We’ve totally got this,’ I say softly, leaning into her.

‘Aaron better buy you that trophy,’ she teases.

Finally, Audrina sets down her fork and clears her throat, the suspense thick in the air. ‘After careful consideration,’ she begins, drawing out the moment, ‘the winning team is…’

I exchange a glance with Lucy, silently willing Audrina to announce our names.

‘Asher and Lucy!’ Audri proclaims, her smile lighting up the room.

‘Boo!’ Aaron says, tossing a towel from the counter aggressively my way. ‘She’s always liked you more. Where’s the unbiased judge?’

‘Yours wasn’t bad ,’ she counters Aaron. ‘Just not as good,’ she says with a smirk.

She turns to us. ‘Congratulations on a truly exceptional dessert, you two.’

I wrap Lucy in a tight hug, overcome with happiness and pride. We did it. We impressed Audrina Leighton.

She hugs me back, pulling away after a second and giving me a high-five.

‘Good job, partner!’ she says, beaming. ‘You are an excellent instructor.’

‘It was a team effort. You did better than a guy who graduated culinary school.’

Aaron’s lips curl into a mischievous smirk.

‘FYI for the future, he likes that in the bedroom, too.’

Lucy’s eyes widen in shock at his comment, and she glances between him and Madi, disbelief written on her features.

‘He’s, uh— kidding,’ I say, pitching the towel back at him while shooting him a sharp glare, silently warning him to stop before he goes too far. ‘Aren’t you?’ I press, all heads now his direction. I convey the message with a subtle hand gesture across my throat.

‘Oh, yeah. I’m kidding,’ he says, half a guilty grin on his face. ‘Ash doesn’t know what he’s doing in the bedroom, so guide him.’

That douche.

I clear my throat, but Lucy speaks for me.

‘Better make that trophy big,’ she says.

‘It’ll be as big as his?—’

‘No,’ I bark. Silencing him once again.

‘I think we should all clean up our stations,’ she suggests.

I nod, thankful for the change of subject. ‘Great idea. Let’s get this kitchen back in order.’

After the kitchen is once again sparkling clean, we gather our things and prepare to leave; I catch Aaron’s eye and give him a knowing look. We’ll be talking about this at some point.

As the tension dissipates, Audrina claps her hands together to get our attention.

‘Congratulations again to Asher and Lucy on a well-deserved win,’ she says, her voice filled with pride. ‘But remember, it’s not just about winning – it’s about being the best bitch you can be.’

‘Words of wisdom,’ Lucy says with a laugh as she dismisses us. ‘This was fun, thank you. I’ll never watch your show the same way again!’

‘Any friend of Asher’s is a friend of mine. Let me go grab you some books,’ Audri coos, a sign she likes this one. She did always love to give suggestions on who I should date. I never listened, but she gave them.

As we make our way out of Audrina’s kitchen, me carrying our cake in a pink bakery box and Lucy with her armload of books, the warm night air greets us like an old friend.

Aaron and Madi are discussing their plans for the frosting they’re stopping by the store for (and other spreadable things to be used in ways I don’t want to think about) and completely ignoring us. Thank God.

Lucy links her arm through mine, a contented smile on her face. ‘I can’t believe we won,’ she says, her voice filled with wonder. ‘Audrina Leighton said I made the best cake.’ She suddenly glances at me. ‘We,’ she corrects herself. ‘ We made the best cake.’

‘Mitzi will be proud.’

‘Proud and shocked that I didn’t burn the place down for sure. I’m going to leave this on the island for her to discover. Maybe she’ll give you a raise.’

I laugh, shaking my head because there is no way I’m accepting more money from her. She’s paying me quite well, and the pleasure is becoming all mine.

‘Spending time with you is payment enough,’ I say.

The streetlights cast a soft glow around the car, creating a peaceful atmosphere as we make our way back to Mitzi’s place. I glance over at her, staring out the window, with a slight smile on her face. She is gorgeous. Inside and out. I wish I could tell her that without scaring her off.

With each passing second, the closer we get to Mitzi’s, the more I’m gutted that the night is over. I just want to spend every second with her. Wait. Every second? My God. I’m never going to be the same.