Page 9 of Sensuous

My head down, I walk around looking for my place and find it near the center of the room. That’s a good sign, I guess. Then I look over at who they put in the middle of all the action, and I see Alex March standing there looking like he belongs nowhere else in the world.

I shouldn’t be jealous. So what if he’s so talented my own father who I’ve emulated my entire life thinks he’s the best chef he’s ever encountered in his entire thirty-year career as a chef?

As I busy myself getting my area set up to my preferences, I hear him say, “Hey, you’re the woman from Club X last week. I’m glad to see a familiar face here. Kat, right?”

Jesus, he sounds so affable and friendly that I can’t just ignore him, so I lift my head and force a smile. “Hi. Yeah, Kat. You’re Alex March, right?”

As if I don’t know that name as well as my own.

With a winning smile that goes perfectly with his stunning good looks, he says, “Good luck!”

All I hear when he says those words is, “I’m going to win this whole thing hands down, but nice to see you came out to try your best.” Instantly, I feel my mouth turn down into a frown. I want to snap back that any of us have a chance to win this competition, but I stuff my angry words down deep inside and turn my attention back to my own station.

For the next hour, the eight of us contestants busy ourselves making our favorite dish. When Shane announced that would be our job for the day, I immediately felt a rush of happiness go through me. Nobody makes a better pesto herb chicken entrée than I do. I’ve even won awards for my basil pesto. I got this.

At some point, I realize someone’s staring at me, and I look up to see Alex smiling. Why the hell is he smiling at me?

“What?” God, this person makes me feel so insecure. I hate that!

“We’re both making the same dish. Herb chicken with pesto sauce. Yours looks incredible. Lots of pine nuts. They smell fantastic.”

Never in my life have I felt so disheartened. The same exact dish? How could that happen? That’s his favorite thing to make? Why? They have every meat and vegetable available to mankind here on this set, and he chooses chicken?

Fuck me. This man is my nemesis. I think I hate him.

No. There’s no thinking about it. I know I hate him.

“Yeah, pine nuts. Thanks,” I mutter as all the joy in my body disappears.

And here I thought this would turn out well.

When our time is up, Shane and Maria walk around the room tasting each dish and raving about every one of them. When they get to me, I paste a smile on my face and hold my breath as the two people I desperately want to impress take a sample of my pesto herb chicken with cherry tomatoes.

“This is wonderful, Kat,” Shane says with enough enthusiasm for me to believe he’s telling the truth.

Relief washes over me, and I smile even more broadly. “Thank you. It’s one of my favorite meals to make.”

“It really is delicious,” Maria says as she takes a second forkful. “You do something unique with pine nuts, don’t you?”

I nod but don’t say what that something unique is. It’s a family secret, and I don’t plan on sharing that anytime soon.

When they move to Alex’s station, I notice he’s smiling at me. It’s probably just his way of gloating because he knows his version of the dish is infinitely better than mine.

For the next three minutes, I listen to Shane and Maria compliment him on his effort and hear the words that never fail to crush me when my father says them about anyone else’s food but mine.

“This is the best thing I’ve tasted all week,” Maria gushes as she touches his arm and basically flirts with him.

Everyone trains their gazes on the wonderful Alex March, but all I can do is focus on the pathetic meal on the plate in front of me. How could I ever think that I’d have any chance to win this competition?

Maria and Shane walk away raving about his pesto sauce, clearly unimpressed with my secret with the pine nuts that makes mine unique. One of their assistants scurries around the room collecting all the dishes the eight of us made, and when the young redheaded girl gets to my station, she gives me a meek smile.

Even she knows I was utterly overshadowed by Alex’s effort. Ugh. Unpaid interns feel like they should pity me now. I’m never going to win this competition with him around.

“Okay, we loved what we saw with that,” Shane says enthusiastically. “Great! Now we want to get to know each one of you and see how you work with the camera when it’s only you. Ready? Because this is going to be much harder than cooking for you guys, so brace yourselves. When your name is called, come over to the side of the set and be ready to divulge your deepest and darkest secrets. And everyone else can feel free to watch.”

Maria elbows him in the side, so he adds, “Don’t worry. You’re all going to be great. Listen for your name and come over when it’s called.”

I quickly scan the other contestants’ expressions to see if they’re as nervous as I am at this moment, and thankfully, every one of them looks uneasy. Everyone but Alex March, that is. He looks like someone just told him he won the damn lottery. Nodoubt he thinks he’s going to outshine us all in this part of the competition too since he’s so good looking. I bet the audience is going to love his dark eyes that do that sultry thing they do without him even trying.

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