“You can take a little break while the judges get a look at each of the dishes. It’ll be a while before you go in for your judging. When it’s over, before you find out who’s eliminated, you’ll be able to see and taste the other three entries.”

Butterflies jumped around in her stomach. She couldn’t wait to see how her work stacked up against the competition.

“You’ll be the last one to go into judging on this round. We probably have a couple of hours. Let’s go get you some lunch.”

Kelly followed her down the hall. “Those last five minutes were torture.”

“It’s out of your hands now. And if it’s any consolation, I think yours is the prettiest and really fit the theme the best.”

“Yes, that helps!”

Brenda laughed. “I might be biased, though. I want you to win, but that also means I have to keep you alive through all these rounds. Lunch is waiting in your dressing room.”

“I can’t eat. My stomach is spinning.”

“Please try to eat a little something. I promise you it’ll help with the nerves.” Brenda guided her down the hall, talking on a walkie-talkie to be sure the coast was clear for her to move Kelly back into her dressing room. “Okay, we’re good. Let’s go.”

Brenda used her key to unlock the door and let Kelly in.

“Where’d these flowers come from?” Kelly said. “They’re beautiful.”

Kelly leaned her head back and closed her eyes. One down, three to go…if she did her job right. It was so nice of the producer to send flowers for her dressing room. She reached over and arranged the fern that had drooped on one side.

A cold plate with more food than she needed for the whole day was on the table. She nibbled lightly, not really wanting to eat at all, but she tried.

Brenda rummaged through a basket on the counter. “Craft service hooked us up. Snacks, drinks, all kinds of goodies. Healthy and the good stuff. I never know exactly how long these rounds are going to take. We’ll have something to snack on later.” She moved the basket to the glass coffee table next to the flowers. “Do you know how you’re going to describe your dish to the judges?”

“Yes. I’ve been practicing in my head.” Kelly dug into the basket and took out one of the fruit and yogurt parfaits. Stress eating wasn’t usually a problem for her, but right now it seemed to be doing the trick.

After two hours of excruciating waiting, Brenda’s radio finally crackled back to life. “Go ahead,” she said into the radio.

“We’re ready for McIntyre on the judges’ stage.”

“On our way.” Brenda clapped her hands together. Excitement made keeping up with long-legged Brenda easy.