Then the chef judge, whose job it was to be the bad cop, poked at the pancake with a fork. “But this is the second time you’ve made doce de leite on this show. The saffron was a great twist, but I’d suggest showing us a little more range if you want to go all the way. Work together to figure each other’s flavors out. That’s what this is about. Don’t rest on your laurels.”

His meaning was clear. He was accusing them of trying to get by on the strength of their popularity. That made Ashna angry. Their dish was really good. Unlike the other contestants’, it had no flaws. It was actually the best thing made that day. There were no words for how that felt.

“I’m proud of the food we put out today,” she said. And being able to verbalize it was like wrapping the cloak of the accomplishment she was feeling tighter around herself.

“I am too,” Rico said behind her. “We reached across a great distance in terms of style and culture and blended it perfectly to honor both. I think the world needs a lot more of that.”

“Another perfect shot from Frederico Silva!” DJ said.

Everyone including the judges came to their feet clapping and the smile across Ashna’s face stretched her cheeks so wide they hurt.

When she stole a glance at Rico, he was soaking up her smile, her joy, as though he’d been starved for it. If ever he’d made an effort to hide his feelings around her, she knew he’d given up that fight.

“You two have great chemistry and this dish speaks to that,” a judge said worshipfully. “Just give us more.”

“More. More. More,” the audience chanted and Ashna felt Rico’s hands squeeze her shoulders, warm and triumphant.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Watching other people hug Ashna had become a particularly painful experience. Not that Rico didn’t understand their need to do it. He watched Jonah throw his arms around her with a sensation in his chest that fell somewhere between agony and hope.

It had been two weeks since Ashna had defeated, with a flaming vengeance, the demons that had been eclipsing her cooking. They had survived two more eliminations (if their staggering audience votes could be called surviving). Last week they had made a picnic basket of sandwiches, and yesterday Ashna had helped him turn out the perfect persimmon and mango tart that paired with Sonoma wines they had been assigned.