“Second, this actually has to do with said boyfriend. DJ needs your help.” Trisha tried to look pleading, but she was incapable of pulling off helplessness.

Ashna very much doubted DJ needed help, and she could clearly imagine the scene where he had tried to stop Trisha from whatever fanciful errand she was on.

“Right,” Ashna said, leaning forward in her chair. “First, if DJ needed my help, he’d ask himself. Second, I know that face.” She stuck a finger at Trisha. “And that one.” She moved her finger to China’s face. “What are you two up to? Spit it out. I need to be at the farmer’s market at five A.M.”

“There’s my girl. We would very much love to spit it out.” Finally China spoke, relief clear in her alpha-of-the-pack voice. Her ability to lead crews through crazy schedules had made Food Network steal her away from a local production company earlier this year.

“So, you know how DJ was going to be a pro on my new show?” China was one of the producers on Cooking with the Stars—a new competitive show that followed the format of Dancing with the Stars, where they teamed up celebrities with professional chefs and the duos duked it out for viewer votes and judges’ scores.

Ashna had helped China and Trisha talk (bully?) DJ into it. DJ was handsome, madly talented, charismatic, and had that magic element for American television: a Very British Accent.

“Did you say was?” Ashna asked, alarmed.

“Yeah, he’s not going to be a pro chef on the show anymore.” Trisha sounded far too cheery.

“I thought he was all excited about it. What happened?”

“Well,” China said, “Aaron Smith, our host for the show, his wife has cancer. So he had to quit to take care of her.”

“Oh no. That’s so sad.” Ashna pressed a hand to her mouth.

“Yes. But the prognosis is excellent. Catching ovarian cancer at stage one is a win.” Trisha sounded every inch the doctor she was. “DJ is taking over as host.”

“DJ? Our DJ?” Ashna sat up.

“The very one.” Trisha beamed like a smitten fool. “It’s the accent. Also, he’s actually a better fit to host the show than Aaron was in the first place. He knows so much more about food. Plus, I was a little worried about him working with a celebrity. He’s such a diva about cooking, I can’t imagine him teaming up with someone who might not turn out something utterly perfect.”

Ashna grabbed China’s beer and took a sip. “What does all this have to do with me?” The moment the words left her mouth, she knew she shouldn’t have asked.