“Yes sir. We employ sixty to a hundred employees, depending on the time of the year. Of course, some of the holidays bring a wave of orders. From Valentine’s Day to Easter and late in the year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’ll be honest, this is the first time I’ve ever worn a chef’s jacket. If y’all ever come to my place, you’ll see me in my black-and-white apron.”

“Well, apron or chef’s jacket, these two can bake,” Martin announced with a dramatic pause as he moved toward the audience with both arms out to his side while they cheered.

Martin stopped at the edge of the stage and turned back toward Kelly. “Kelly, do you know who nominated you?”

“No.” She shook her head and shrugged. “I don’t.”

“Well, we want to share with you both who nominated you. But first, did I just see one of Cupid’s arrows whiz across the stage?”

Kelly wasn’t following what Martin was trying to say.

“So, I’m not sure if you’ve picked up on the secondary theme in this year’s special bake-off,” Martin said. “We had a married couple. A first-date couple.” He turned to Kelly and Andrew. “And these two.”

Andrew shot a look toward Kelly. Her vision narrowed. What’s going on?

Kelly looked at Andrew. He looked confused too.

“This person,” Martin continued, “completed the online form and said that you two had been the best cooking team she’d ever known. That before your job took you halfway across the world, Andrew, the two of you had plans to partner your talents. She thought bringing you together in this competition would be a wonderful way to reunite you. And since you’re both so competitive, a fun way for you to both showcase your skills. In her mind, it’s a win-win no matter which of you wins.” Martin laughed. “Say that three times fast.”

A drum roll pounded, filling the air with chaos as the lights dimmed.

“Could it have been your mom?” he whispered.

“Not in a million years.”

The huge screen on the side of the stage broadcast the audience shot. The spotlight panned across the room and then stopped in the middle of the second row.

The camera focused on the woman, and her smiling face filled the screen.

“Would you mind reading your letter for us?” Martin climbed down the stairs to the audience and sidled up to the woman. “Mrs. Dawn York Redding nominated you both.”

“Dawn?” Andrew dropped his head back. “You?”

“I knew why you were coming to New York the whole time, brother,” she said with a smile.

Kelly was confused.

“Dawn, I took the liberty of bringing a copy of the letter with me. Will you?” He handed the piece of paper to her.

“Sure.” She held the paper then looked toward the stage. “I hope y’all are going to forgive me for this.”