Fire In the Kitchen (24 page)

Cassidy mimicked him, turned his plate around 360 degrees, and lifted it up to smell it. “Looks and smells amazing, Dante.”

“Thank you,” he replied graciously.

The judges indicated for them to bring their dishes forward. They examined the creations, speaking to one another only with their eyes, in a language indecipherable to everyone else.

“So, Dante and Cassidy, what incredible desserts have you prepared for us today?” Valerie asked them.

“Sublime lime,” they responded in unison and then looked at each other in amazement.

“Interesting,” the bald judge replied as he scratched his head. “Please leave us to deliberate.”

They left together in stunned silence. Dante held the door open for Cassidy and they sat in the waiting room for a long time. Conversation was limited.

“Amazing day,” Dante said, shaking his head, still trying to come to terms with the fact that they had prepared the same dessert, albeit with a completely different take on the presentation. “Great cooking, Cassidy. I’m proud of you.”

“Amazing day,” Cassidy repeated. “Amazing. Great cooking, Dante. You were something else out there.”

“How did you make the pudding for your lime plant?” Dante asked her. “And how on earth did you get the same name for it as mine?”

“The name part was a bit weird. Maybe we both heard it being tossed around when we were making our desserts?” Cassidy shrugged. “The recipe I had for it, though, was amazing—a process I’d never used before. You had to cook the limes whole first for at least an hour to allow you to use the whole fruit for the essential burst of flavor.”

“Right,” Dante said.

“I found the recipe by chance. Well, Mum had it, but she can’t remember who gave it to her. She thought it was one of her friends.”

“I see,” Dante tapped his index finger on his lips. “When did she give it to you?”

Cassidy rested her chin on her knuckles. “Crazy enough, the day before I had to sign up for the competition.”

Dante nodded slowly.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the scrap of paper. “Look, it’s even advertising the competition on the other side.” She flipped the piece of paper over several times as if the competition details or the recipe would disappear.

He raised his eyebrows.

“Wait a minute.” Cassidy put her hand over her mouth and sucked in her breath. “It was around the same time you were in the café for my coffee class. It’s your writing, isn’t it?” She stood and paced around the room. Her voice grew louder. “You left it behind by mistake, didn’t you?”

“It’s okay.” Dante’s tone was gentle. “We’ll work it out.”

“I don’t believe this is happening,” she said. “Say something horrendous, yell at me, anything. I couldn’t feel any worse.”

Dante put his arm around her shoulders. “Don’t worry about it,
bella
. It was all about the execution.”

“I’m devastated.” Cassidy squeezed his hand and sighed. “I think I was close. I was so close, I could taste the success. I’m going to have to pull out. Now I’ll never know if I could beat the best chef in Perth or not.”

“Nonsense,” Dante soothed. “The majority of chefs got as far as they did in this competition by following recipes, but it was the taste that got them through. Even Carlos’ last winning dish was made from one of my recipes. It’s all part of the game.”

Cassidy pushed him back gently and shook her head. “Not the way I play it.”

“How touching,” Valerie said as she entered. “You really do share everything, don’t you? We’ve made our decision, everyone’s waiting.”

“How long have you been standing there?” Dante growled at her.

“Long enough,” she purred.

Dante ignored her and reached for Cassidy’s hand. “Let’s do this.”

They walked in together to a mixture of thunderous applause and the usual annoying jingle.

“We both made the same dish and I used Dante’s recipe without knowing it,” Cassidy blurted before Dante had the chance to say anything. “I’m withdrawing from the competition.”

There was a collective gasp from the judges and the onlookers.

Dante looked at her. “If you withdraw, we both do. I mean it.”

“You are so pig-headed,” Cassidy replied. “I have to do what I think is fair.”

“May the best dish win,” Sophia called out from the audience. This suggestion was followed by thunderous applause. The judges nodded in favor of the crowd’s judgment.

“Let’s agree for a trial by taste buds,” Dante said to Cassidy, and everyone cheered. “Remember your mantra:
It’s all about the food and the crazy things you can do with it
. Prove it. No one here, including myself, gives a damn that I put the ingredients together in a recipe. And you did tell the truth. Give yourself a break.” He saw the indecision in her eyes and knew she was starting to waver. “And don’t be so selfish. How will I ever know if I could have beaten the popular Cassidy Summers in a cook-off?”

“I accept your challenge, Dante Cristiani.” Cassidy bowed. “Let’s hope we don’t have any regrets tomorrow.”

Cassidy could tell Valerie wasn’t happy with the turn of events. Her expression of indifference wasn’t lost on Cassidy. The judge with the thick glasses coughed for everyone’s attention. In excited anticipation, Cassidy couldn’t control her legs. She kept hopping from one to the other, unable to stand still.

“We have a very simple judging rule in this competition we always revert to whenever we’re in doubt.”

Rules?
Cassidy thought.
More rules?

“If we can’t decide on a clear winner based on taste
and
presentation, we always go for taste above presentation.”

He looked at Cassidy.

Dante squeezed her shoulder as the judge continued. “Cassidy, your dessert was a feast for the eyes and a pleasure to the senses. It was imaginative and delicious. We’re sure there will be many amateur cooks trying to emulate your dish as soon as it appears on our show’s website.”

The audience applauded and Cassidy heard Amy’s unmistakable wolf whistle. She grinned. She’d given it her best shot and felt mighty fine.

The judge turned to Dante. “Dante, the way you marry your ingredients together in your recipes is pure genius. The subtle hint of chili in the lime syrup was the finishing touch to make a good dish great. We enjoyed it very much.”

Dante bowed. “Thank you for your kind words.”

“As a matter of fact, we equally enjoyed your desserts and couldn’t decide on a winner based simply on which one tasted better. So we called the taste test a draw.”

Cassidy was thrilled. Dante lifted her up and gave her a kiss that left no doubt they were happy to be shared winners.

“Don’t get too excited,” Valerie spoke up. “The food may have tasted the same, but there was still a definitive winner.”

Cassidy felt her knees go weak and she was glad Dante was holding her up.

The bald judge spoke up. “Superb tasting, perfect presentation—we have to give Cassidy a ten out of ten. Congratulations, Cassidy, you are the winner of
Celebrity Chef.”

Dante pulled back the covers of the crocheted quilt and looked around the converted railway carriage with a slightly bewildered look. It never seemed to change, that look, when he woke up in this place. Cassidy had rented the carriage for a few months, just for fun, and she tried to look at it through his eyes. Everything she’d found to live in was either homemade, recycled, or environmentally friendly.

He has his causes, I have mine.

She loved the cast iron bed head she’d picked up from a garage sale and painted blue, the art deco kitchen containers from op shops, and the shaggy zebra-patterned rug from her old bedroom at home. The result was eclectic and fun.

The tiny kitchen served its purpose, as long as she didn’t attempt anything too gastronomic—most of her culinary feats had once been created at the café for her customers, or more recently in the competition for millions of television viewers. She’d also discovered an interesting fact about Dante now that they were living together—something the public had no idea about. He was a neat freak in the kitchen, but incredibly untidy in the home. She was the opposite, so she believed that leveled their relationship onto an even keel.

She grinned sheepishly at Dante as he grabbed a bath towel and pulled open the heavy carriage door to use the outdoor shower. She’d tried to explain to him on many occasions it was liberating to shower outside, where you could feel the gentle breeze and the sun on your face. Privacy wasn’t an issue because the shower was hidden amongst the trees and passion fruit vines at the far end of a friend’s property—unless you had unexpected visitors, which could be a bit embarrassing. Winter also had its disadvantages.

He’d kept his word and agreed to a compromise: He would vacate his stylish home and move in with her, in living conditions he considered less than favorable, if she worked with him. Sophia had been ecstatic when he’d informed her that Cassidy was going to take over the reins of the café part of the restaurant.

Lying in bed, Cassidy sighed. Everything had fallen into place—she was a big sister to a new baby girl, she had the love of her life by her side, and she had a great job. Carlos was out of jail and making amends with Dante. Dante and Carlos were even writing a cookbook together. Dante had forgiven his cousin, she knew she would eventually forgive him too.

So why, every so often, like today, didn’t it feel like enough?

Several minutes passed before Dante pulled open the carriage door again and stood in the doorway with the white towel hanging low on his hips and tiny droplets of water glistening in his black hair. For a man who spent so much time eating rich food, he had an amazing physique. He looked so masculine, so enticing…Cassidy pulled back the sheets and patted the bed beside her. He grinned, but didn’t come closer. Instead, he removed the towel and used it to dry his hair.

Cassidy felt a physical pull that entangled itself with her love for him. “Tease.”

“Hungry?” He grinned.

“Ravenous.” She licked her lips and raised her eyebrows, making sure there was no doubt what she was starving for.

“Brunch?”

He started to get dressed, meeting her eyes with an expression she couldn’t decipher.

“That isn’t what I had in mind for our only day off, Dante.”

“I know where they make great pancakes,” he teased. “It is, after all, the dish that caused our first fireworks.”

Cassidy pointed to her kitchenette. “Let’s make them here…then we can continue our pyrotechnic journey?”

“Humor me?” He offered her his hand. “We can look forward to playing later.”

Cassidy groaned as she allowed him to pull her up to a sitting position. “I hate you.”

She clambered out of bed, showered, and put on a white sundress before pulling her blonde hair into a small ponytail. She caught him grinning at her.

“What?”

“I like your hair longer,” he said.

“I didn’t grow it for you. I grew it for me.” Cassidy smiled as she put on clear lip gloss and mascara.

“That’s why I like it.” Dante reached for her hand and they left their home. He pulled the train carriage door shut and padlocked it. “You dare to be yourself. That’s what I love the most about you.”

Their feet crunched on the gravel until they reached the top of the driveway. Dante pressed the remote and his car welcomed them with its familiar bleep. He opened Cassidy’s door for her, and she knew she would never get sick of him doing that. After he gave her a quick kiss on the lips and helped her into the car, he tried to help her with her seat belt.

“Overkill,” she said, removing his hand and doing it herself while he walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in.

He started the engine and drove toward the sea.

“Where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

Driving with Dante was never relaxing. He always had to find the fastest route, and he hated slow drivers in the fast lane. A green Volvo was hindering his journey, so Dante sped up until he was a fraction too close.

“Okay, so my partner isn’t perfect,” Cassidy said under her breath and then spoke louder. “Dante, slow down. Give the poor man a break.”

“
Merda,
” Dante said as he moved across to the other lane and sped up again to overtake from the wrong lane.

“I’d say, ‘Where’s the fire?’, but we’ve already had too many of those,” Cassidy said drily.

Dante pulled up at their destination and turned to face her with excitement in his dark eyes.

“We’re here.”

“You’ve…got…to…be…kidding…me.” Cassidy shook her head and put her hands over her eyes. “I enjoy working here, but I draw the line on coming here on our only day off, when it’s closed. I thought you were taking me to brunch.”

“Oh, such a fuss,
cara mia
,” Dante said as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. “Coming?”

Cassidy didn’t wait for him to open her door. She stepped outside and was instantly enchanted by the delicate sea breeze and the sound of the surf. She knew she’d never tire of it and was about to suggest a walk, but when she looked up at Dante, he seemed to have ideas of his own.

He crooked his elbow. “Coming inside?”

“I suppose so.” She linked arms with him and they walked to the rear service-entry door. “Have I ever told you that you are a right royal pain in the butt?”

Once inside, they made their way up the stairs to the commercial kitchen that was normally a hub of activity and the heartbeat of the restaurant. Dante raced ahead and dragged a chair from his office for her.

“Sit,” he said.

She saluted as she sat. “Yes, Chef.”

With his usual meticulousness, Dante had the ingredients he needed in no time. He held a bowl of fresh ricotta cheese in front of her nose and served her a small spoonful of it.

“Oh,” she moaned as she tasted the soft, delicate cheese. “Fresh ricotta. You must teach me how to do that.”

“
Si
.” His eyes twinkled at her. “Whenever you like.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Ricotta pancakes?”