Brenda gave her a sly wink. “Not all of it bad either, from what I saw.” She led Kelly to the dressing room. “You’ve got ten minutes to freshen up and get changed.” An identical uniform hung on the back of the door. “I’ll be back to get you.”

Kelly stretched her arms over her head, then slowly bent to the side. Her limbs felt heavy. If she sat down now, she might never get back up. Eight hours of competitive baking was a long day. Her muscles ached, and her eyes burned from being under the bright lights all day.

The judges were judging her entry right now. Her stomach knotted.

She grabbed the change of clothes, raced into the bathroom and turned on the shower. She put a shower cap on her head and jumped in, letting the hot water pour over her. She silently counted out the seconds to one hundred eighty, then stepped back out of the shower. Her body relaxed a little as she quickly changed into the clean clothes, then threw away the shower cap and ran a quick brush through her hair.

Brenda hustled her down the hall to hair and makeup.

Kelly sat in the chair, and three people came from different angles around her all at the same time.

Then Brenda’s phone rang. “Yes. Okay. Right. In Studio A?” She put her phone in her pocket. “Slight change in plans.” She grabbed Kelly’s hand. “Come on, we’re going to the stage.”

“Not the kitchen?”

“Nope. Not sure what’s going on.” A line creased in Brenda’s forehead. “They’re going to do an on-stage interview. They want you to walk straight out. You’ll see your cake there on a table. There’s a blue box taped on the stage to the right of the cake. Stand in the box.”

“To the right of the cake. Blue box.” Kelly nodded. “Got it.”

“Good luck.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Chapter Thirty-One

From his spot just off stage, Andrew could see the judges seated behind a long table covered in a formal black, long tablecloth with a white runner. Glass vases of red roses separated each judge.

The stadium seating on this sound stage was filled with people, and there was a thrum of nervous excitement building.

Martin paced the set in front of the judges. “It’s the first time in all of our Bake-Off history that we’ve encountered this during a competition.” He turned toward the judges.

Andrew could see both cakes, but from here he couldn’t make out much detail.

“Our judges are stumped,” Martin continued.

The crowd cheered. Andrew’s insides churned. He’d been so sure his entry would blow any competition away. It had turned out perfectly.