Page 33 of Tactically Tied

But as the producer kept talking, Jami noticed Jed’s eyes were on her. They weren't on Rick, soaking in all the details.

Come to think of it, Jed hadn't been paying much attention to the judges tasting their food. He'd been primarily watching her. What was going on with him?

The moment their gazes locked, she saw it—the tension, the uncertainty. And suddenly, her excitement was tinged with doubt.

"Can you give me and my husband a moment, Rick?"

Rick blinked, looking between them.

Jami was glad he did. It was the first time she'd used the possessive term when referring to Jed.My husband.Those two words had done something to her insides when she'd uttered them. They'd run warmth up one side of her body, while something cold chased it from the opposite direction. In the end, it left Jami with an uncertain shiver.

“Did you hear what they just offered?” Jami asked, her voice barely containing her excitement as she and Jed stepped away from Rick. The buzz of conversation and laughter from the crowd surrounded them, but all she could focus on was the offer that had just been put on the table.

“I heard,” Jed said, his voice low, almost flat.

“This is it, Jed. This is what I’ve always dreamed of.”

His silence weighed heavy between them. He didn’t say anything right away, and the tension in the air thickened. His gaze dropped to the floor. When he finally looked back up at her, his eyes weren’t filled with the enthusiasm she’d hoped for.

“I thought this,” he gestured around the room with a sweep of his hand, “was what we were building together.”

The restaurant was packed with familiar faces—her family, their neighbors, the people they’d grown up with and shared their lives with. Over by the bar, her sisters were laughing with their husbands, while her grandmother chatted animatedly with the regulars from Chow Town.

Jed’s kitchen crew, the people she had worked alongside for the past few days, lingered by the door, their expressions proud as they watched people enjoy what they'd prepared. Jami had started to earn their respect. And that, in itself, had been something she never expected.

Her eyes traced over the wooden beams that stretched across the ceiling, the tables that were always packed with patrons who loved the food Jed had built his reputation on. And yet, all she could think about was how much more they could bring back to this place. Spices and flavors from around the world—dishes they’d never even dreamed of tasting in this small town. The excitement bubbled up inside her as she imagined introducing new ingredients, new techniques, new ideas to everyone here. All with Jed at her side as she traveled. She wouldn't be alone anymore. She'd have him beside her every day.

But then her gaze flicked back to Jed. The man who had built this place from the ground up. The man who had been the cornerstone of it all. His broad shoulders seemed heavier than usual, his posture tense, and his eyes, which normally sparked with determination, were shadowed with something she couldn’t quite place.

Was that the problem? Did he think she was trying to leave him?

"Rick said the both of us."

"I heard him."

"Then I don't see what your problem is."

"My problem is that you're still going to leave. After everything between us."

“I’m not saying I want to leave this behind,” Jami said. “I’m thinking of what I could bring back here. All the spices, the dishes, the experiences… we could share them with everyone.”

She looked around again, imagining the possibilities. The idea of traveling, of learning, and then coming home—to their home, to their restaurant—and enriching the lives of the people she loved. It sent a thrill through her.

But when she looked back at Jed, the excitement she felt wasn’t mirrored in his eyes. He was still. Almost too still.

“I already did my traveling. I'm home. This is where I want to be.”

Jami swallowed hard, her heart pulling in two different directions. The idea of staying, of making a life here with Jed, wasn’t something she wanted to brush aside. It wasn’t something she could just walk away from. But her dream... the one she’d been chasing long before this competition, before Jed, before any of it... it still tugged at her. She wasn’t sure how to reconcile the two.

Her eyes moved to the back of the restaurant, where the smell of slow-cooked meat, spiced with the unique blend only Jed seemed to perfect, wafted from the kitchen. Her hand tightened around the edge of the counter as the reality of their situation began to settle around her. She and Jed had two entirely different dreams, dreams that didn't occupy the same space.

Jed ran a hand through his hair, frustration evident in every line of his body. “You’re my wife now, Jami. You’re supposed to want to stay with me.”

She felt the sting of his words like a slap. “Supposed to?” she echoed, her voice shaking. “I’m not a prize you win at the end of a competition.”

"It's never been about this competition. You were always the prize for me."

Oh, that was a low blow. The man was charming even when he was fighting her. “We got your dream," she said finally. "I want mine, too.”

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