There was only one container of gold glitter and I grabbed it, much to Rita's dismay. I started to understand what Nate meant about being afraid the twins might hex us.

I tried to shake off the evil glare Rita gave me and focused on the Christmas tree Nate and I were working on. I needed the gold glitter for the star on top and some of the ornaments. We had almost three hours on that challenge and, per Daniel's instructions, everyone brought their B game.

Nate and I planned out our design last night—a standing tree decorated with red, gold and silver ornaments, with presents made of rice crispy treats.

I worked on the tree while Nate wrapped squares of rice crispy treats in our handmade marshmallow fondant. The plan was to stack eight round cakes together, starting with a big one at the bottom and having them descend in size until it was tree shaped. Then I would cover the cakes in green icing using the piping tool.

Winning the last round boosted my confidence. We were so close to winning I could taste it. I could see myself in the newly renovated Cake Me Up rolling out dough for cookies in the back kitchen to fill an order for someone from the Netherlands. They'd say they heard of us from a friend of a friend and just had to hop on a plane to try our sweets.

Okay, maybe that was a stretch, but the fact remained that if Nate and I won, Cake Me Up would get the recognition it deserved.

I refrained from getting too cocky as I used the piping tool with a drop flower tip to cover the cake in green frosting. It was going to be time-consuming so, if I messed up, I wouldn't have time to restart. Concentration was important.

"And what do we have here?"

I swallowed down a groan as Daniel wandered over to our baking station. I couldn't pipe and answer questions. Thankfully, Nate stepped in and told Daniel the plan while I focused on getting the peaks of icing as even as possible.

Stealing a glance at Nate, the smile on his face as he talked to the host, almost made my hand slip. His grin was easy, carefree, but the intense look in his eyes told me he was focused on making sure the fondant went on smooth over the rice crispy squares.

It amazed me how effortless he made things seem. From the outside you'd think he was half-assing it, but the end results always proved otherwise.

When he did something, he went above and beyond. Whether it was baking or make sure I didn't have to suffer through thirty minutes of dodgeball—once he set his mind to it, he didn't walk away until his goal was met and then some.

I felt lightheaded thinking about how he came into my life when everything around me was falling flat, a cake that wouldn't raise. Nate was the missing ingredient. He was the baking powder I didn't realize I needed.

My heart seemed to expand in my chest as one word bounced around in my head.

Love.

I loved Nathaniel.

The thought shocked me back into the present. I remembered where I was and that there was a timer behind me ticking down the seconds and that I was supposed to be frosting a Christmas tree.

One of the cameramen, Connor, I think, had his camera pointed at me. He had a slight smirk on his face. What weird expression did I have on my face when it dawned on me that I was in love with boyfriend? Did the hundreds of live viewers see it? Connor definitely did.

Shaking it off, I focused on the cake and my piping bag of green icing. Whatever new realizations would have to wait to be unpacked until after the competition.

♡ ♡ ♡

We made it the final round on a technicality. Our Christmas tree was lopsided, the star cookie might've looked nice with its shimmery gold glitter, but it was too heavy to stay up. Clearly, that part had been poorly thought out. And the icing didn't look at all how I pictured it.

That cake should've sent us home. We would've gone home if Rita and Erin hadn't cheated and used toothpicks to keep their dreidel attached to their cake. One of the rules was that everything had to be edible.

The judges made it pretty clear that, if it wasn't for Rita and Erin's poor choice, Nate and I would've been out. They didn't like our design and thought it was too straightforward and, compared to the others, lacked creativity.

All that confidence I had after winning the last round was snatched back. I wanted to forget the whole competition. No way were we winning the final round. To Ibram and Carmen, making flowers was probably child's play.

Nate only knew basic decorating. I wanted him to focus more on making the cake taste good, so I couldn't even pass the task off to him. Making it look pretty was my job.

We brainstormed ideas last night, but they seemed amateur compared to what Ibram and Carmen could do.

If we hadn't signed that contract, the one threatening to sue us if we tried to back out of the show, I probably would've made a run for it.

A hand touched my shoulder and I almost jumped out of my skin. "Sorry," Nate said, pulling his hand back. "Nervous?"

"Nervous is an understatement," I told him, taking the turkey sandwich he held out to me.

We were waiting for the stations to be cleaned and dishes to be washed. Nate and I ate our sandwiches in the grass where we usually spent our breaks.

The only thing that distracted me from the inevitable loss ahead of us was the thing I realized when I should've been focused on the cake.

I couldn't even look Nate in the eye. My attention went to smearing a packet of mustard on my sandwich. Thankfully, Nate thought my lack of eye contact was nerves.

"The last round was rough," he admitted in between bites of his own sandwich. "But we got the next one."

My eyes flicked to him then. He couldn't be serious. "Did you see the advent calendar they made? They even had little treats for all twenty-five days!"

"Exactly. They went hard on that design," he said. "They won't have that same energy next round."

I scoffed, tossing my barely touched sandwich back into its plastic container. "So, we win on another technicality? That's not what I came here to do. I want to win because I'm the better baker, not because the other team was exhausted."

His face softened as he moved closer to me, dipping his head so I'd meet his eyes. "Charm, that not at all what I meant. Your skill is what got us this far. I've holding you back."

Before I had a chance to tell him how untrue that was, he continued.

"When we were brainstorming ideas last night, you and Mimi would come up with these dope designs," he said, picking at his food. "Then you'd remember me and my limited abilities and have to change it up. You should be here with your aunt. You two would've dominated."

Maybe he was right. If Aunt Mimi were my partner, we'd be unstoppable. The more I thought about it, though, the less it felt right. Nate might not have been as good as my aunt, but he was who I wanted to be there with. What he lacked in talent, he made up for in passion.

He was fearless, walking into new situations like he'd done it a million time. That confidence was exactly what I liked—no, loved—about him. And it was what would win us the competition.

"I have an idea," I said, standing from the grass.

Nate watched in confusion as I gathered my food. "Which is?"

I held my hand out to help him up. "You'll see."

♡ ♡ ♡

Peeling back the parchment paper to reveal the marbled design on the cake was truly the only thing to calm my nerves since the challenge started.

We had less than an hour left and there wasn't a single flower on the cake. It took great strength for me not to check Carmen and Ibram's station. As long as I kept my eyes on my own cake, I could hold on to the little bit of confidence I still had.

My idea sounded good in theory, but as the minutes ticked away, the doubt tried to take over. But I had faith in Nate.

As I scrapped the excess icing from the top of the three layer cake, I glanced over at him. He was deep in concentration as he tried out different piping techniques on a piece of parchment paper.

My plan relied on him being a quick learner and a gamer. You know, that hand-eye coordination thing gaming was supposed to help you with. He was supposed to find a flower-like pattern he was comfortable doing. I gave him pointers while I worked on the cake.

Daniel was especially excited about the idea of Nate learning something in real time. He was practically camped out at our work station until he realized he had another team to talk to.

"You ready?" I asked after I got the blue marbled cake all set up for him.

He stepped back from the counter, blue icing on his brow and apron. "You tell me." There were about a dozen different designs crammed on that piece of parchment. "I like these four," he said, moving over to the cake. "I was thinking about having them going up the side, with the bigger ones on the top."

I never got tired of seeing him so into baking. He was always thinking three steps ahead. To think, when I first met him, I thought he was just video game obsessed and lazy. He made me eat those words, literally.

"It sounds good. I like it." An uncontrollable smile broke out on my face.

His grin was adorably cute and modest. He moved into kiss me, but pulled back when he caught Connor the camera man zooming in on us.

I wondered if he didn't want to kiss me in front of the public or if he was worried that my dad was part of that public.

Still, I snuck in a kiss on his cheek before he got to work on adding the flowers to the cake.

♡ ♡ ♡

If I never stood in front of a group of judges again, it'd be too soon. I clutched Nate's hand as the three judges scrutinized our cake from every angle.

The flowers came out nicely and I was a little jealous of how fast he picked it up. The judges were also impressed that Nate had only just learned to make them.

Seeing our cake next to Ibram and Carmen's, I tried to leave the comparing to the judges, but I couldn't help it. Their cake was gorgeous. It was a dark teal color with flecks of gold foiling and at the top was an array of roses, and butterflies made out of wafer paper.

They definitely didn't tire themselves out with the last challenge.

When one of judges, Lauren, cut into our cake, they were in awe of the blue ombre of the three layers. I held my breath as they took small bites of the cake. Their faces didn't give much away as they chewed at an excruciatingly slow pace.

"The coconut buttercream is immaculate," Rajani said, being the first to break the silence that was slowly killing me.

Alex nodded in agreement. "I think this might be the best cake I've tasted today. I hate the word, but I'm gonna say it anyway: Moist. The texture is perfect."

"I'm still amazed by the flowers," Lauren chimed in, eyeing Nate.  "Did you really learn to do this today?"

He shrugged bashfully. "I'm a fast learner."

I tried to hold back my grin, not wanting to get my hopes up too much at the praise the judges were giving us. They didn't say anything negative about Ibram and Carmen's cake either. I guessed they were saving that for when they announced the winning team.

The three judges left the tent and Daniel took his mark and a camera zoomed in on him. "The judges have tasted each cake. Now it's time for them to pick a winner," he said in his cheerful TV host voice. "Let us know who you think should win using the hashtag #Bakeapalooza!"

Nate let out a heavy sigh next to me, wiping at his brow where beads of sweat formed. "How long do you think they'll be back there?"

"Hopefully not for long," I said, watching as the judges disappeared behind into another tent across the lawn. "I just want this to be over already. The stress is going to kill me," I whined, resting my head on Nate's chest.

There was a weight on my shoulders that wouldn't go away until the judges made their decision.

Nate wrapped his arms around me and a relaxed just a little in his embrace. "There's nothing to be stressed about. I told you I'd get you the win."

That was a pretty bold statement. Still, it comforted me to some degree. It was nice to know he was remaining positive while I was two seconds away from falling to the ground and begging it to swallow me up.

"Let's check in with our two lovebirds." I jumped away from Nate at Daniel's voice. He was walking over to us, a couple camera men in tow. He had just finished talking to Ibram and Carmen. "I'd ask how you're feeling, but Charm here looks a little green. Nervous?"

"Very," I said, trying to laugh it off.

Daniel asked a few questions about our baking histories, how we came to be partners and how we felt we did in the competition. Nate was way more comfortable in front of the cameras than I was, so he took over answering most of the questions.

By time our mini-interview was over, the judges were coming out of their tent. My heart nearly jumped out of my chest as they walked over. My hand found Nate's as we took our place standing beside Ibram and Carmen.

"If we look like we aged ten years," Rajani said in that rehearsed, casual way judges on competition shows talk in. "It's because we have. This was truly a difficult decision for us to make."

Lauren jumped in next. "Both of your cakes wowed us, both in flavor and design."

"But, sadly, there can only be one winner," Alex said, holding a hand over their heart. "Ibram, Carmen—"

My heart was in my throat. My handed tightened around Nate's so tightly that he winced. I relaxed when I realized the judges were only giving an overview of their previous creations. They were stalling for dramatic effect and I hated every second of it.

They praised Ibram and Carmen for their beautiful cake design, but pointed out that their raspberry jam filling could've been better.

"Charm, Nate," Lauren said, bringing the judge's attention to us. Their poker faces were incredible. "While we loved the flavors of your cake, and Nate's ability to learn under pressure, your design was not the best."

Another soul killing pause.

"Ibram and Carmen," Alex said, their face still giving away nothing. "I'm sorry—"

I couldn't hear what they said after that. I was frozen in place. My ears were ringing. They were apologizing to Ibram and Carmen. That meant...

Suddenly, my feet were no longer on the ground. Nate had lifted me in a hug and I knew for sure I wasn't imagining things.

We won.