Chapter Twenty-Nine Rab
We should just film. It’s going to be great for the viewers who are watching their romance arc. She doesn’t show up? To the final?”
I closed my eyes and pretended not to hear Kelly whispering gleefully with Vaughn behind the cameras.
It was now an hour and a half past when we were meant to film, Lyra hadn’t answered any of my—or anyone else’s—calls, and Vaughn was livid.
I couldn’t lie, it had hurt when she hadn’t picked up my call.
Or answered any of my texts.
After all these years of studiously ignoring each other, only to have her be unavailable the first time that I needed to reach her… had stung. I was doing my best to not let it show, but Kelly’s excited prodding wasn’t particularly helping me keep a cool head about it.
“Did you two have a fight?” Kelly came over to my table and asked me the same question she’d already asked me three times.
But this time, the cameras were rolling.
Apparently, they thought my heartache would increase their ratings.
“Trouble in paradise? Let me guess… you got her the wrong present for Christmas?” Kelly tapped a red-painted nail to her ring finger and winked at the cameras.
I rolled my eyes. “We didn’t have a fight, and no, I haven’t gotten her anything for Christmas.”
Kelly gave Nevin a knowing look.
“Well, lad, just a tip from your old pal Nevin here.” Nevin grinned, hamming it up for the cameras. “Most women are hoping for something glittery under the tree.”
“Like a snow globe?” I asked, widening my eyes and pretending to play dumb.
“Well, now, there’s nothing wrong with a snow globe for Christmas, is there?” Kelly intercepted what was surely going to be Nevin’s teardown of my choice of gifts, gently reminding him he was currently filming a Christmas special, so a snow globe would presumably be very on theme.
“Of course, of course. Much like this beautiful set our decorators have designed for us. Isn’t it lovely, everyone?” Nevin held his hands out, and the cameras panned away from me toward the elaborate set that the designers had built for the last day of shooting.
We might as well have been inside a snow globe.
The backdrop was rolling hills covered in snow, silvery tinsel with delicate shimmering strands crisscrossed the ceiling, and gorgeous fir trees were clustered behind and thoroughly covered in twinkle lights and silver bows.
Occasionally, fake snow was puffed into the air at the side of the room and floated gently down among the tinsel, adding to the sparkling snowy effect in the test kitchen.
Marcie had almost had a fit.
Even now, I could see her just off camera, looking like she was ready to fight Vaughn in a cage match. I got the impression that she hadn’t expected her bakery to be so thoroughly transformed, and she was ready to go back to life as usual, without so many people in her space.
“Don’t worry, lad.” I turned to see Henry, who had sidled around the front of his table and come to my side, while his partner from the bookstore eagerly discussed her favorite holiday recipe books. “She’ll show.”
“I hope so.” I pretended nonchalance, but instead my emotions were swirling like crazy.
It’s not the same as before. But… it was taking all of my willpower not to flash back to the boy I’d been at sixteen, waiting on Lyra to show.
I’d been so gutted then. And so angry since.
Now, though, I was being filmed, and a lot of other people in the magickal world were obsessed with this reality show. But where is she?
“She will, lad. She will.” Henry patted my arm.
I didn’t know what to say. Lyra wouldn’t just leave me hanging, not with the whole magickal world watching, but I wasn’t sure what to think right now.
I swallowed, worry twisting my stomach. I had to believe that this wasn’t intentional, but the timing? A small voice that was becoming increasingly louder as time went on kept insisting she was doing this on purpose.
I hated thinking that about her.
“Lad. I can see you spiraling,” Henry whispered, and I snapped back to attention, looking down at the kindhearted ogre. “Don’t think about the past. Think of Lyra. In the now. Would she do this to you?”
“No,” I said automatically.
“Exactly. So something else is up.”
“Maybe she fell asleep?” I said. I had kept her up much of the night, unable to keep my hands off her.
“Henry, how are you feeling about your odds today?” Kelly asked, drawing Henry back to his table and team while I went back to talking myself out of leaving the show to go find Lyra and demand an explanation from her.
“Do yourself a favor and steer clear of the MacGregors,” Mandy told me, pitching her voice low as she arranged bowls in a neat little row in front of her. “Messy witches. The whole lot of them.”
“I’d rather a messy witch than a bitter one,” I said, glaring so hard at Mandy that she shut her mouth and turned her back to me. How dare she insult Lyra? The woman who was sunshine in a bottle?
“Cut!” Vaughn called. “Lyra, we were filming.”
“I know, I’m sorry. I didn’t want to rush out, but if you haven’t started the challenge yet, I’d still like to join,” Lyra said.
I whirled to see Lyra just off set, standing in the hallway, wringing her hands. She wore a deep purple long-sleeved dress with sparkly silver threads, and her hair was pulled back from her head in a high ponytail. Worry creased her pretty face.
My heart ballooned.
Vaughn sighed and then looked to Kelly and Nevin.
“It will film better with her on it. The cameras love her, and the viewers will be dying to know if she can get her magick under control enough to finish the contest. I say we let her on,” Nevin said, straightening his red tartan bow tie.
“Fine by me.” Kelly yawned. “I just want to wrap this up so I can get a cocktail and be done with work for the year.”
“We’re delighted to hear how enthused you are with your job,” Vaughn drawled, and tapped his clipboard with his pen. “Right, let’s crack on. Take your place, Lyra.”
Lyra rushed forward, her face all apologies, and I didn’t even care what had happened, I was just so happy to see her. As soon as she was at the table, I pulled her into my arms and dropped my forehead to hers, brushing a soft kiss over her lips. Cameras be damned.
“Damn it, hold that, hold that,” Vaughn ordered, snapping his fingers at the cameras to get them rolling. “Can you do that again?”
“Nope,” I said, and Lyra laughed. I kept my voice low. “I called you.”
“Phone is dead. You didn’t have a charger for it, remember?” Lyra whispered.
Of course. One of the reasons she’d gone home was to charge her phone.
“Lyra,” Kelly said, drawing us apart and reminding us we were filming. “A bit of a dramatic entrance today, wouldn’t you say? Care to tell us why you were late?”
“My phone died, and I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night,” Lyra said, and then her cheeks flushed as she realized what she’d admitted to the entire world on camera.
“There’s a good lad,” Henry called, and I choked back a laugh.
“If it’s all the same to you,” Kelly said, rolling her eyes at Lyra, “the rest of us wouldn’t mind cracking on with today’s challenge.”
“Of course, please proceed. I’m excited to see what we’re making for the final challenge,” Lyra said smoothly, fidgeting with her sleeve. I glanced down to see a bandage poking out from the edge of the sleeve before she pulled the fabric down to cover it.
Why was she bandaged? It hadn’t been a regular plaster, either, but instead the white surgical wrap used for more serious wounds.
Concern filled me, and I turned to Lyra, whose eyes rounded when she saw the expression on my face.
“Not now. Please,” Lyra whispered, barely opening her lips, and fury whipped through me. Something had happened. Something that had harmed her.
Dragging a deep breath in through my nostrils, I worked to calm myself down and focus on what Kelly was saying, even though I was more than ready to murder anyone who had hurt Lyra.
“Contestants. Today is your biggest challenge yet. The theme? Twelve Days of Christmas,” Nevin called, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
“Not only will this be your most complex challenge, but it will also require your very highest levels of magick.” Felicity groaned, putting her hands over her face.
Worry shadowed Lyra’s face, and I reached out to take her hand while the judges continued to explain the challenge.
I didn’t care if the cameras were trained on us, or zooming in on our hands.
I would shout from the rooftops that Lyra was mine.
We’d been apart for too long to be shy about hiding what we were to each other now.
“In honor of the ‘Twelve Days of Christmas’ song, you’ll need to bake twelve different pastries or desserts, all of which perform something magickal when presented to us.
You’ll be given two extra hours for this challenge today, for a total baking time of five hours.
” Kelly slanted an annoyed look at Lyra.
“Which is why being on time is so important.”
“Maybe they should get a penalty for delaying us all?” Mandy suggested.
“Oh, that’s a—” Kelly’s eyes brightened.
“No,” Vaughn called. “Carry on as normal.”
“As I said, you’ll be given extra time for this challenge, but, with that being said… time starts now, everyone,” Nevin said, and chaos erupted in the kitchen. “Remember to wow us!”
“Lyra, what—”
“There’s no time, and I’m not talking about it here,” Lyra whispered, bending to pull spices off the shelves. “I’m fine, I promise you. Let’s just get through this.”
“You’ll tell me, though?”
“Of course.” Lyra paused to look up at me. “I wouldn’t hide anything from you, Rab. It’s just not something I want to discuss on camera.”
Relieved that at least I would get the story, I set aside my worries and helped Lyra pull ingredients onto the table. I had no idea how to make a pastry, let alone twelve of them, so I’d be relying heavily on her for help.
“Let’s write this down,” Lyra decided, grabbing a paper and pen. “Otherwise I’m going to get wildly off track.”