“Well, I was wondering how you agreed to do the show. Now I get why.” China sounded positively impressed with herself for solving that most challenging of puzzles. “Your mom wanted you to go to India for her award thing, and you used this as an excuse to get out of that.”

Having friends was incredibly annoying. Good thing Ashna had so few. There was no point denying it. Plus, when it came to Shobi, the less she said the better. Every time Ashna opened her mouth about her, people drew all sorts of conclusions.

China chuckled. “Here I was thinking you were doing it to help a friend—namely me.” More chuckling, because of course China wasn’t actually upset. Who could be upset with a friend who always did as you asked? “And I was so thrilled when you got the luck of the draw.” China made an appreciative sound. “Although none of us at the channel can figure out how the powers that be were able to get someone like him on the show. Unless of course it has to do with what happened in your kitchen.”

There it went again, Ashna’s heartbeat, speeding up all the way to bursting. “I have no idea what you’re going on about,” she mumbled with more of that blasted nonchalance.

China wasn’t listening, she was having one of her conversations with herself. China vs. China, her siblings called it. “Or maybe it’s the surgery. Of course! His injury has caused him to retire earlier than he expected, and he’s looking to do something different with his life.”

And a Food Network show was what he had settled on? Ashna wasn’t a betting woman, but she’d bet her restaurant on the fact that Rico wasn’t looking to be a cooking channel star.

China stayed on the runaway train of her thoughts. “I can’t even imagine what they’re paying him. Do you think he needs the money? He sure doesn’t look like someone who does. I mean, just having someone line up that beard probably costs my month’s salary. See, that’s it, these celebrities can blow through money on all sorts of things. Celebrity does that, it makes your tastes all kinds of perverse and over the top.” The sound she made was anything but disgusted. “Did you see him, though? I mean, I’d love to see him do perverse things.”

Ashna cleared her throat. “Isn’t that wrong, given that he isn’t a woman?”

“Well, he’s beautiful. I’m a lesbian, not blind.”

Okay, time to turn China’s train around and bring her back on track. “If he can’t do the show will they still pay him?” Could it really be that Rico needed the money?