Cupcakes and Christmas - R.J. Scott Page 0,67
liked to think the best of others, but by the time Justin came back to me with his sound bites done, I’d worked up a full head of righteous indignation.
“Jeez, don’t tell me she propositioned you?” Justin teased, and I snapped back to see his smiling face. I was on the cusp of spilling out what she’d just proposed, but why should I put a voice to her insidious suggestions. What would that do for Justin’s self-esteem after he’d admitted he felt lucky to be in the last three. I made a show of shaking my head clear of her company and returned his smile.
“She has no chance.” I tugged him closer and kissed him in full view of the cameras, the hotel, and several groups of milling tourists staring at the most perfect view in the world. It was a simple, frosty, sparkling kiss, and it was perfect. “She’s just a class A… ” I wanted to say bitch, but my momma had taught me always to respect people whatever evil streak they had in them. “Nasty person,” I finished.
Justin slipped off a glove and rooted for his phone, pulling it out and getting us to pose for a selfie with the lake behind us. He typed the caption and passed the phone to me for approval, something he’d started doing in the last couple of days after he’d admitted he was feeling more respectful of my brand. I’m not sure I even had a brand on social media, but he told me I did, so I bowed to his experience. I read the caption out loud.
“Lake Louise, possibly the most surreal place I’ve ever seen. It’s like something out of a movie and with Brody next to me it’s the best kind of day. Word is that in the middle of the lake there’s an iceberg, but we realized it’s just Clare. #WhereIsClare #TheresClare #IcyHeart.” I snorted a laugh and then bent at the waist when the single laugh became me losing the will to keep the laughter in. He joined me, and we laughed like a couple of idiots for so long that I missed my call to go over for my sound bites and had to be collected by an eye-rolling Rita, who had to tug me down the path.
When I spoke about the competition and my hopes and dreams for the last chance to get to the final, I was still grinning like an idiot, not helped because Justin stood behind the camera crew making faces. Every time Rita turned to look at him, the particular face he was pulling would be replaced by a benign smile.
He made my heart full. He made me laugh. I loved that. I loved his smile, and his heart, and his eyes, and just as we finished the interviews, I realized one very important thing that almost took me to my knees.
I love so many parts of Justin.
It wouldn’t take much for me to love all of him.
Clare said nothing on the way back to the Fairmont Springs Banff Hotel and when the van dropped us off, she stormed off, followed at a slower pace by the crew, and then it was just us again, and we had the rest of the day to ourselves. I’d like to say we were celebrities in this beautiful Christmas town, being that we were in a huge US baking show but firstly, this was Canada, and secondly, everyone was so chill about the filming that took place here at all times of the year. We bought gifts from The Rocky Mountain Soap Company, had a coffee in Whitebark Cafe, and spent two hours in The Spirit of Christmas shop. It was a vast space full of polished dark wood, filled with everything Christmas, from tiny fragile ornaments to huge train displays. My favorite thing was a full-size stuffed moose, which currently had toy monkeys sitting on its back. Justin took photos of everything. We didn’t stop talking, from Justin’s story about how the toy monkeys were naughty, particularly Errol, who needed spanking. Who would have thought that a long-winded and whispered scenario about spanking the monkey would mean we laughed uncontrollably for at least ten minutes?
“I love Christmas.” I picked up the best Banff tree ornament I could find, a moose sitting on a bench, in painted wood, and added it to my basket of awesome, which is what I called the pile of souvenirs I was buying for family. It didn’t