Page 66 of The Baking Games

I can feel the warmth of his skin through the thin fabric of my pajama top. I wonder if he can feel my heart jackhammering against my breastbone. We move together in perfect sync. Our bodies fit together like puzzle pieces even though he's twice my size.

He looks down at me, his eyes warm but intense. I feel myself drowning. All the thoughts of the competition and the cameras are fading away. I needed them to keep me in reality, but they're gone. In this moment, it's just the two of us lost in a private world we created.

I'm playing a dangerous game. I know it, but I can't seem to stop myself from falling deeper under his spell with every passing second. I know he doesn't feel the same. He wants a fake relationship to win the show. That's it. That's Rhett. Rhett is all about competition.

I keep trying to remind myself of that, but I feel like I'm losing it. I wonder if he can sense the shift in my emotions, how my breath quickens, and how my pulse races the closer he gets. There's some kind of undeniable connection between us, but is it real or make-believe?

I feel like a spark ignites every time we're this close. The song continues, and he pulls me even closer. I can feel the steady rhythm of his heart against mine. I inhale the crisp, clean scent of his cologne, and it takes all my willpower not to bury my face straight into his chest. I want to lose myself and forget everything else that exists. The competition. The fact that I miss my sister. Big Thelma. Wait. Why is Big Thelma in there? I'm not going to let her ruin this perfect yet fleeting moment.

His hand slides up my back, sending shivers down my spine. I find myself tilting my head up to look at him. His eyes are filled with an intensity that takes my breath away. I can feel myself being drawn in like a moth to a flame. I don't know if this is real. I don't know if he's faking it for the cameras.

In the back of my mind, I know I should pull away, that I'm only setting myself up for heartbreak. But at this moment, I don't care about any consequences. All I can think about is this man and how he makes me feel, which shocks me.

He was my rival just a few days ago. He was the guy I would tell everyone I hated from culinary school, and now I'm slow dancing with him in the kitchen in front of a television audience. As the song starts to reach its end, Rhett twirls me around. His movements are graceful and effortless, as if he's been taking dancing classes his whole life.

I let out a breathless laugh, my inhibitions melting away as I just surrender myself to the music and his lead. For a minute, I forget we're being watched and that this is all just a game. I'm allowing myself, for once in my life, to enjoy being lost in the sensation of somebody showing me attention because they want to.

Once the final notes of the song fade away, Rhett pulls me close. His lips are just mere inches from mine. My breath catches in my throat, and my pulse pounds so loudly in my ears that I wonder if he can hear it. I really want him to kiss me. I want the lines blurring between reality and fantasy to meld into one. But just before our lips are about to meet, he pulls away, leaving me suddenly cold.

"Looks like you've still got a few things to learn," he says, a teasing look on his face. I'm momentarily disoriented like I had oxygen, and then someone took it away from me. He releases me, and I think I've never felt such a void in my life.

RHETT

That was hell. Holding Savannah in my arms was like nothing I’ve ever felt before. Letting her go was painful.

As much as I want the home audience to believe there’s something going on, I don’t know if I could play pretend. Not with her.

When I let her go, I wanted to immediately pull her back and kiss her like no one’s ever kissed her before. It took every bit of strength I have in my large body to let go of her hand.

Now, I can’t hide. I feel like she sees me. And I never let anyone see me.

SAVANNAH

We walk back upstairs into the room where Maggie is still happily sleeping. She lets out a loud snort and then turns onto her side. Thankfully, she’s not snoring like a freight train when she’s on her side. Do freight trains even snore? I don't know what to describe it as, but it's pretty rough.

Thankfully, once I'm asleep, I'm a pretty heavy sleeper. I don't know about Rhett because I never wake up in the middle of the night to check. I just know that he’s looking at me every morning when I open my eyes. It's kind of unnerving.

What's even more unnerving is that slow dance we just had in the kitchen. I don't know what I was thinking asking him to do that. It just played right into his plan to make everybody think that we're in a relationship. I know that's what's happening. I know I can't let my mind run away with the idea that Rhett is somehow interested in me. I don't even know if I'm interested in him. I just know I'm not playing a game.

But Rhett has told me in no uncertain terms that he wants to have a fake relationship. So I know he's pretending. He's putting on a show for the cameras. All the women at home probably enjoyed that dance. I really enjoyed that slow dance in the kitchen, but I can't make it into more than it was.

We lie back down in our beds, staring at the ceilings as usual.

"I guess we should get some sleep."

"I guess so," I say. "Although I'm pretty hyped up on cookies and dancing."

He laughs. "Yeah, it probably wasn't the best idea to eat a bunch of sugary chocolate chip cookies right before we went to bed. We might be up all night."

"We can't be up all night," I say. "We have things to do. I don't know what they are, but I'm sure we have things to do tomorrow."

"You know they'll have us do some kind of public service thing since we have a few more days before the main challenge."

"Yeah, the main challenge. I wonder who will win this time."

"I don't know. I prefer not to think about it," I say. "It just gets me stressed out."

“When we were in school together, I always thought of you as somebody who couldn't be rattled."

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