Page 6 of A Recipe for Romance

Emma’s shoulders sagged, disappointment settling over her like a wet blanket. She mumbled something about following the recipe and hurried back to her station. Drew turned away, scanning the room. Dish after dish, all competently made, but none of them had any fire. Everyone was playing it safe. He caught a glimpse of his own reflection in a gleaming steel counter—wasn’t that exactly what he’d been doing?

His eyes snagged on Kelsi again. She was talking animatedly to another contestant, her face lit with excitement. She pointed to a dish, her hand brushing lightly over the contestant’s arm as she spoke, and whatever she said made the contestant’s face light up in response.

Drew’s curiosity got the better of him. He moved closer, catching the tail end of her words.

"...and if you add just a sprinkle of sumac," Kelsi was saying, "it’ll give it a citrusy kick without overpowering the dish. Trust me, it’ll make the flavors pop and look great on camera."

The contestant’s eyes widened in realization. "I never would have thought of that. Thank you!"

Drew watched, quietly surprised, as the contestant eagerly incorporated the suggestion. The bright red spice scattered across the plate, making the whole dish come alive. From where he stood, he could already see the difference. The dish wasn’t just plated—it was transformed.

Before he knew it, Drew had moved closer. "Mind if I taste?" His voice was carefully neutral, but even he could hear the curiosity underneath.

Kelsi glanced up, startled for a moment, then recovered with a slight smile that said she had noticed his interest. She stepped back, letting the contestant hand him the plate.

Drew took a bite. The flavors exploded on his tongue—vibrant, sharp, alive in a way he hadn’t felt in years. The sumac was a perfect addition, turning an ordinary dish into something memorable. He swallowed, feeling a flicker of something unexpected stir inside him.

"It’s good," he said, meeting Kelsi’s eyes, seeing her differently for the first time. She wasn’t just a flashy social media personality. She understood food in a way that surprised him, and he wasn’t sure he liked how that made him feel.

"Sometimes," Kelsi said softly, "it’s the little touches that make all the difference."

Drew nodded, unable to disagree. His gaze lingered on her for a beat longer than it should have, before he turned to the contestant. "Good work. Keep taking risks like that."

As he walked away, Drew could feel Kelsi’s eyes on him. He kept his pace steady, resisting the urge to glance back. But something had shifted. A crack in the wall he’d built around himself. The kitchen buzzed with energy, alive with competition, but Drew found his mind circling back to Kelsi’s suggestion.

The sumac wasn’t just a gimmick. It showed a deep understanding of flavor, of how to elevate a dish without drowning it in complexity. He hadn’t expected that from her.

He hadn’t expected her to reignite something in him.

As he moved through the kitchen, offering critiques and suggestions, Drew could feel that spark flickering again. It was faint, almost too subtle to catch, but it was there. He glanced back once, catching Kelsi as she filmed a quick TikTok with one of the other contestants. She was in her element, her laughter infectious.

For the first time in longer than he cared to admit, Drew felt a hint of something he'd thought long lost.

Hope.

Chapter 5: Kelsi

---