Page 77 of His Tenth Dance

Kristie smiled. “Now you know.”

“But we want you to look at the dessert as a whole,” she continued. “And then look at it as it’s served, because apieceof the dessert is not the same as thewholedessert.”

“All right,” he said, just going with it. “And then taste, of course.”

Jocelyn put a notebook down next to him. “We got you this in case you want to take notes.”

He looked at her blankly but managed a nod.

“Harper’s going to go first,” she added. “And just so you know, this is ablindtaste test. We’re presenting each other’s desserts, so Harper is presenting someone else’s dessert, not hers.”

“Got it,” Mission said. He wondered if he could ask for a glass of water because his throat was justsodry. He refrained as Harper stepped forward and lifted one of the cakes.

It was a double layer with cream bulging out of the middle and artfully draped over the top, but the sides were still naked. The top only had cream on one side with an assortment ofperfectly curled lemons and lemon rinds to make a beautiful decoration.

“This is a lemon basil olive oil torte with a mascarpone whip,” Harper said. “It should be just the right amount of sweet and savory and tart, and all of those flavors should be delicately balanced in every bite. The mascarpone whip is somewhat heavy and tangy, and every item on the cake is edible.”

With every word she spoke, she moved closer and then set down the cake right in front of him. Mission could now see the flecks of basil in the yellow, spongy cake, and he desperately wanted to swipe his finger through the white cream and lick it.

“There’s a lemon curd in the middle,” Harper added as she cut delicately into the cake to make a triangle. When she pulled it out, one of the women gasped.

“Oh, that’s beautiful.”

Mission knew now—this was abigdeal. And just like Kristie had confessed she would be disappointed if she didn’t get anything in the baking competition, so would all of these women. He needed to take this taste test seriously.

Harper placed the slice of cake on a plate, while Jocelyn pulled the rest of the cake away. Harper handed him a fork and pushed the slice in front of him.

“You should be able to smell the lemon and basil as well,” she said.

Mission leaned in and drew a deep breath. He definitely got lemon and something creamy, and he honestly couldn’t say what basil smelled like.

He put his fork in the tip of the cake, making sure he got a bit of the curd, the cream, and the sponge. Then he plucked one of the candied lemon peels from the top and placed it on his bite. He lifted the fork to eye level, turned it left and right, and said, “This cake has a good crumb.”

Then he took a bite.

The entire house seemed to hold its breath.

Flavor exploded across his tongue. Tart lemon, tangy cream to tone it down, the sweetness of the cake—and right at the end, the herby, earthy quality of basil.

“This is fantastic,” he said around a mouthful of cake. “From the smooth curd to the thicker cream to the crumb—this dessert has texture and flavor going for it.”

He took another bite, moaned this time, and said, “If this doesn’t win, it doesn’t matter. This is thebestcake I’ve ever put in my mouth.”

He looked toward the four women at the far end of the table. They all seemed to be glowing.

“He’s a keeper,” Jocelyn said. “He knows how to taste a dessert.”

“He sure does,” Lennie added.

Kristie looked at him with pure adoration. “Because now you have that to live up to,” she teased.

He grinned and took another bite, just because he could.

“Kristie, you’re up,” Lennie said. “Go take that away from him before he fills up on it.”

“Oh, right,” Kristie said.

Mission managed to get one more forkful of cake before she swooped in and whipped the plate away. She gave him a look, like he’d done something wrong by taking more than one bite, but he didn’t feel bad. That cake wasdelicious.

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