Page 18 of The Holiday Swap

Miguel’s smile disappeared and he gave her a puzzled look. “I met Priya, too. She brought you in.” Now he frowned. “Charlie, are yousureyou’re alright?”

Cass’s cheeks burned, in part because of the intense way he was looking at her, and in part because she knew she was screwing everything up. “Never better,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “It’s just the no-coffee fog. And I was up all night working on a recipe for today’s show.”

“Sleep is really important for concussions,” Miguel said, frown still in place. “And we talked about the importance of taking a bit of time off work.”

“I’ll go to bed extra early. Promise,” Cass said, feeling the phone buzz again in her palm. “And I’m taking it really easy at work. I swear.”

Miguel nodded, dimpled smile back in action. “So, before you run off, can you tell me what the recipe is? I can keep a secret.”

Cass hesitated, and Miguel held up a hand in apology. “You can’t tell me, I get it. Forget I even asked. It’s just... as I mentioned in the ER, I’m a big fan of your show. Like, geek level.”

“Yeah. I’m a big fan, too.”

“Of your own show?” Miguel laughed, and Cass pulled a face.

“Well, sure. It’s a great show!”

This made Miguel laugh even harder, which made Cass feel good. But the buzz of incoming texts reminded her she had reached situation critical. She had to get to the set, rightnow.

But she had an idea. It wasn’t a good one, given that wherever possible she should be avoiding people who had interactions withCharlie that Cass knew nothing about. However, in this moment outside the still-dark café she felt like she suddenly really was a different person—someone much more confident and bold than the woman she was in Starlight Peak.

“Listen, the holiday baking marathon is being taped in front of a live audience. Maybe you’d like to come watch a taping one day this week?” Cass had no clue if she was allowed to invite people to join the audience, but she figured Charlie had enough pull that it would be fine.

“Seriously?” Miguel’s face lit up, making him look, if possible, even more handsome. “I’d love that, Charlie. Tomorrow is my day off. Would that work? Too soon?”

“Tomorrow is great. I’ll put your name on the list.” As she gave him the address of the studio, Cass hoped there was such a list. “When you get to security, show photo ID and they’ll let you into the viewing area.”

“Wow. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do. You were so great the other day at the hospital.” Again, she assumed this was the truth. She couldn’t imagine Miguel’s bedside manner being anything but amazing.

Miguel bit his lip for a moment, and Cass wondered if she had misread things. “I hate to ask this...” he started. “But she’d absolutely kill me if I didn’t include her. Would I be able to bring a guest?”

Of course. He had a girlfriend. A guy this cute and nice couldn’t be single, especially in this town. “Sure.” Cass managed to keep her smile in place. “The more the merrier. What’s her name so I can put it on the list?”

“Jacintha Rodriguez.” Same last name. A wife, not a girlfriend. “See you tomorrow, Charlie. Looking forward to it!”

“I am, too,” Cass said, trying to hide how crestfallen she was. “Bye, Miguel.” It was for the best, she told herself as she took off down the sidewalk at a fast clip. Her life was already complicated enough—and Miguel Rodriguez was certainly not part of the plan.

•••

Sydney put the beat-up piece of paper down on the countertop and looked up at Cass. The look of confusion on her assistant’s face did not bode well. “I trust you and everything, but—I thought we were doing eggnog cupcakes. I was waiting all night for you to e-mail me the recipe for today, and the file with everything for the rest of the week. Normally you aren’t so... on the fly.” Sydney frowned. “Sorry. Maybe you still aren’t feeling well...”

“No!” Cass said, a little too loudly. “I’m perfectly fine.

Sydney looked down at the recipe again. “It’s just that normally I’ve done most of the prep before you even get here. And this is a complicated recipe. Are you sure about this, Charlie?”

“I feel good about this one. I’m trying something new. Spontaneity.”

“And the other recipes?”

“I’ll definitely send those later.” As Cass rushed off down the hall to wardrobe, where she had been due fifteen minutes ago, she sent another text to Charlie.Hey, hope things are going well! Still waiting for that recipe file, can you please send when you get a chance?Her feet were covered with Band-Aids from yesterday’s heels, and she cringed at the idea of the uncomfortable outfit and footwear she would have to wear again today. But she could endure whatever was thrown her way. It was only eight more days.

•••

Once Cass was dressed—this time in an emerald-green, strapless dress with a full skirt that was fancier than anything Cass had ever worn, and glittery gold stilettos—she headed back on set to see how Sydney was doing with the display cupcakes.

“The cupcakes came out beautifully, but this won’t set,” Sydney told her.

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