saying?”
My twin looked cagey. “Oh, you know, the usual…”
“It’s not about me, is it?”
“They just feel like you’re not a good match for Jonathan, that you’re too thorny and opinionated, and he deserves better,” she admitted.
“Geez.” My heart sank.
“You can’t listen to what people write on the internet,” my twin insisted. “They’re all just jealous. You still have a small but vocal fan base that is arguing with them.”
I blew out a breath. Lilith rubbed my shoulders.
“Eyes on the prize. You’re going to win the guy, the bake-off, the internship, and the scholarship,” she said, pep talking me. “After this, we’re going out for drinks, and who knows! We might even splurge and head to New Jersey for an all-you-can-eat buffet!”
“Yes, because nothing says celebration like an all-you-can-eat buffet,” I said with a snort as I started on the next cake layer.
Lilith stole a scrap of the chocolate cake I had cut off to even it out. “Yum! You have this in the bag, sister.”
I hoped so. When my cake was finally finished, I placed the figures of Jack and Sally on the tip-top, right where the frosting made that signature Tim Burton curl.
“Time!” Anastasia called.
Keeley burst into tears. “My cake isn’t great, and it’s all her fault.”
“Oh, for crying out loud!” I said, rolling my eyes. “It’s all your fault, Keeley. Instead of actually trying to do a good job, you decided to concoct this elaborate sabotage plan.”
Keeley cried louder. “Why are you so mean to me?”
“Oh, for the love of—can we just get on with the judging?” I demanded.
“It’s Christmas,” Keeley bawled. “Why can’t you be nicer to me? I’m your family.”
Because a few Christmases ago, you got me locked up in a psych ward! I wanted to scream. But that was not going to look good on camera.
I hissed out a breath. “And people wonder why I hate Christmas.”
Anastasia’s eyes widened slightly.
“Well,” she said, “Keeley, since your dessert is in a precarious position, why don’t you go first?”
My cousin sniffled and wheeled her cake over to the judges’ table.
“I made a baked Alaska peppermint bark cake,” she said. “This was the cake I always dreamed of as a little girl. I wanted a white Christmas wedding with the winter prince of my dreams.” She sliced into it, and half-melted ice cream oozed out.
Keeley started crying again.
Anu took a piece of the cake, scooping it with a spoon. “The flavors are really nice,” she told Keeley gently.
“You know,” Nick said, “sometimes things don’t work out as you planned them, but you have to roll with it.”
“Just like in a relationship,” Anu said and winked.
Keeley sniffled and nodded.
Jonathan looked slightly perturbed and poked at the soupy mixture. “You can’t get so hysterical. This is baking, after all,” he remarked. “It’s not like lives are on the line.”
“But there is money and love on the line,” Anastasia piped up. “Let’s see our next contestant. Morticia, could you show us your dessert?”
“This is a beautiful cake,” Anu said when I wheeled it over.
Jonathan had a soft smile on his face.
“I don’t know,” Nick said, frowning as he sliced off a piece. “I never did like cartoon characters on cakes. It feels a little childish.”
“There’s nothing childish about Christmas,” I quipped. “Adults can enjoy a Christmas movie.”
“But if you look back on previous Bake-Offs with Holly and Chloe,” Nick said, “they had elegant, sophisticated desserts, and you have Disney.”
“It’s Tim Burton!”
Nick shrugged. “I mean, the cake itself is nice. It’s just not restaurant quality. Compared to some of your earlier dishes, this just isn’t doing it for me.”
“I like it,” Jonathan stated. “I would serve this at a holiday party.”
I paced around in the lobby, refreshing Instagram and reading through the comments while we waited for all the votes to come in. People were being pretty mean online. The camps were split on whether I had sabotaged Keeley.
There was also a knockdown, drag-out fight in progress about whether cartoons and especially Disney were only for kids. I was happy to see the Tim Burton fans come out in full force. Someone had posted the snippets of video on the Disney superfan forums, and people were responding in droves.
“Belle said she’s about ready to nuke the whole Instagram account,” Lilith joked as she and Emma came into the lobby after they had finished taking pictures of the desserts. “It’s all over the gossip sites now. There’s betting. It’s a fever pitch—everyone is trying to get their votes in.”
“Are they worried the system is