Grump’s City Girl (Boots and Heels #2)

19. Beau

Chapter 19

Beau

I didn’t know my ass from my fucking elbow.

What had started as a simple ploy to get us kicked off the show by throwing a massive wrench in our pretend relationship… might have damned well opened a can of worms in our real one. I was jealous, for real this time, even though I had no tangible reason to be jealous.

Cassie was not mine.

I was not hers.

I’d drawn her into my mess, and now I was letting these unexpected real feelings eclipse the fake ones. Emory came over and handed me a bottle of water. “You look like you want to be anywhere else but here.”

“I’d rather get my teeth pulled without Novocain.” I took the bottle.

“You want her back, don’t you?” he asked, without preamble.

I never had her.

I forced a grimace. “Is it that obvious?”

“Yeah.” Emory laughed, rubbing his jaw. “I can see why you want her back, Beau. She’s an absolutely stunning and easy girl to get along with. She’s smart?—”

“Goddamn brilliant,” I grunted.

“—and she’s got a good head on her shoulders. Frankly, man, you must have been a dumbass to have lost her,” Emory said honestly. “I can see why you’d be pissed about Rome, man, but I don’t think anything is going on. She doesn’t look like the type of person to be spiteful and throw anything like an affair in your face.”

I stared at the bottle. “Yeah, I overreacted.”

“I think you need to talk to her,” Emory said. “Trust me, I fucked up with my fiancée a couple of years ago by keeping everything in and almost lost her if I hadn’t gotten my head out of my ass and gone to therapy. Tell her what you’re feeling and that it cuts you up inside to see her with another guy.”

Knocking my head back on the wall, I sighed. “I’ve never been good with my words, man, but I’ll try. I don’t even know where my head is.”

“Well, you better find it quick,” he nodded as Cassie and Liliana reentered the room. “The show's about to begin.”

He clapped me on the back and went off to stand by Amy while Cassie slowly made her way to me. She stood quietly, facing directly ahead. “I’ll do the cooking.”

Well, that was a given since I’d already started on the first half of the challenge. “Okay.”

The host came back in, and after the cameras started rolling, Sutton began, “We’ve transformed the dining room into a supermarket, and you have five minutes to get all the ingredients for the recipe your other half will cook.

"Remember, after that time is up, you’re done. You cannot return to the supermarket… you cannot bribe or bargain to go back. Believe me, if you try, five minutes will be taken from your cooking time if you attempt it.”

Ariana came around, handed us the list of ingredients, and I looked it over. “Carnaroli rice, beef or chicken broth… saffron threads…”

This was my prime chance to get us kicked off, and I’d apologize to Cassie later, but I had to take it.

“Are we ready?” Sutton called, his eyes sweeping over us. “Let’s go.”

They really did turn this place into a supermarket; there were aisles of shelved foods, all stuck in the same category, and piled at the front were stacks of shopping baskets. I clenched the list in my fist, already knowing what I was about to do.

“The time is on,” Ariana said, and a clock descended from a gaffer. “Ready… set… go!”

I grabbed a basket and headed to the spice rack first, grabbed the saffron, vanilla, salt, and pepper in case she needed it. I got to the produce and grabbed something rounded and flaky—that was a shallot, right? Fuck if I knew. I dumped a packet of mixed fruits, heavy cream, sugar, and a handful of gelatin packets into the basket.

“Butter—” I saw a box with a yellow stick on it, grabbed it, and then ran to the rice. I was supposed to get Arborio rice, but I swiped Jasmine instead. I got a box of shrimp broth instead of chicken or beef and a bottle of extra-dry white wine. Next was cheese—Jesus, what kind of cheese? I checked the list. “What the hell is parmigiano ?”

I’d googled it, but right now, I needed to look like an idiot.

The cheese on the shelves had no labels on them, so I didn’t know which was which. There were round cheeses, square cheeses, and tall, short triangles. I was starting to panic as I heard the clock ticking down.

“Alice,” I called over to the girl down the aisle. “Do you know what Parmigiano is?”

She looked up, jabbed at a triangle of cheese—she was right on that one… but I grabbed the triangle next to it, then huffed it back to the front moments before a siren went off. I doubled over and sucked in a breath.

“That was intense. I should have followed my mom down the supermarket aisles instead of going right to the corndogs,” I muttered.

Cassie was studying the instructions for making the meal, and as Sutton called over, it was time for the person cooking the meal to head to the backyard where they had set up the kitchens. Cassie barely looked up from the recipe to thank me for getting the ingredients.

Before she went off, I grabbed her arm, and her head snapped up. I bit the inside of my cheek before saying, “I’m sorry.”

She didn’t ask me what I was sorry for; she didn’t ask me if I meant it. Cassie smiled and said, “I’ve got to go.”

She slipped from my hold and headed to the kitchen, then hefted the basket and went to her station. Alice was beside her; behind her were Rome and Danielle, and at the back was Nelly.

“You all have one hour to cook these meals,” Sutton said. “And I hope you have all the ingredients because the grocery store is—” He clapped his hands loudly “— closed.”

“If your desserts are complicated, I’d advise you to start on those first,” Ariana said. “But time management here is key. If you cannot finish everything, make sure you get at least one good plate up instead of two mediocre ones. Okay?”

“Your time starts…” The clock spun to one hour. “… now !”

Cassie had the pan on the stove instantly before unloading the basket, and when she got to the packet of rice, her legs went out from under her. Her forearms hit the table, but she sunk to her haunches. I made to go to her, but Rome held me back and shook his head. In seconds, Sutton was by her side.

I snarled like a wet cat.

“Cassie,” Sutton said calmly. “Are you all right?”

She laughed with her head down. “Just peachy, but I am a bit lost on how to make risotto with jasmine rice. I thought he grabbed Arborio or Carnaroli or shit, even Roma rice.”

“You know how to make traditional risotto, right?” Sutton asked, his steady tone never wavering. “So, you know that both have different starch content, and if you know that, you can adjust for this one: the ingredients, measurements, and timing. You have a lot to do and not much time to do it, Cassie. Shift your focus and let whatever is bothering you ruminate in the back of your mind, okay?”

I heard his words, but my focus was on his hand rubbing up and down her back. Cassie nodded and got to her feet, then shifted the rice away and started with dessert. I sucked in a breath and turned away, forcing a look like I was upset that I had screwed up—again.

“She’s going to be fine, Beau,” Quentin assured me. “She’ll turn this around.”

I hope not because we need to get off this shitshow as soon as possible.

I paced a little, making sure the cameras followed me a little, then leaned on a nearby wall and pressed my fist to my mouth. Most of the other cooks were making headway while shifting looks to the clock. Cassie had her head down all the time.

She was stirring something in a medium saucepan and then scraped a vanilla pod, her jaw tight. She paused. “Sutton, can I have a pen and paper, please?”

He looked to Ariana, who then hurried off to the side while Cassie ran off to a small scale. By the time she went back, Ariana had the pen and paper for her, and I swear Cassie grew four more arms.

She was stirring a pot, scribbling something, weighing something, pouring something into glasses, and had put it in the fridge. Then—she started on the risotto.

“Thirty-five minutes left,” Sutton called out.

Cassie kept her head down, measuring, mixing, sautéing, toasting rice. “Nelly, can you spare me some thyme or rosemary?”

“Sure,” Nelly shouted. “Come grab what you need.”

She did, then turned to Amy. “May I have a cup of your vegetable broth? I’ll trade you my shrimp broth for it.”

“Go for it,” Amy nodded. “I need a punch of flavor for Caldo de Camarón anyway.”

She swapped the boxes and went back to work, and I wondered if she was changing the recipe or adjusting it.

“Ten minutes,” Ariana called. “Make sure the plates are pretty.”

I had never seen such laser focus in my life as I gazed at Cassie, and I got a glimpse of what she could be in a boardroom back in her city life.

“Five minutes,” Sutton warned.

She was cutting it to the wire, wasn’t she?

When the warning hit thirty seconds, she spooned the risotto into a bowl and dashed to the fridge to get the dessert; the moment she dropped it on the table, Sutton called, “Time. Hands up.”

I sunk to my haunches and covered my face, unsure of what was going to happen here. Did we make it, or did we break it?

Half an hour later, the meals were covered in silver cloches on a long table in the backyard. We were all scattered around the space, waiting for the judges to come back, and I wondered what they would come up with this time.

I’d taken a quick shower and redressed with a new T-shirt, light jacket, and dark jeans. Then, I walked back to the backyard, trying to find Cassie. She was gone. I knew what I needed to do, sucking in a breath and swallowing my pride—I was doing a lot of that these days—I walked to Rome. He looked at me warily.

I spotted a pesky camera swinging at us from the corner of my eye.

“Listen, about yesterday,” I squared my shoulders. “I am sorry about that, man. It’s just… half of me is living in memories, and the other half of me is like a year ahead of me thinking me and Cassie can become something again, and to see her flirt with you rubbed me the wrong way.”

“I get it,” Rome replied. “But nothing was going to happen, Beau. I respect you and your house too much to ever do anything like that. Besides—” his gaze slid over to Alice “— she’s growing on me.”

“I guess this competition is working then.” I nodded, then held out a hand. “We’re okay?”

He shook my hand firmly. “No worries here.”

“That’s good to see,” Sutton said from the middle of the circle of seats. “We’re glad you mended fences—” his gaze turned to the rest that was trickling in “—and we need all of you to take your seats. Filming will begin in a moment.”

I spotted Cassie as she came in, clad in an overlarge rustic gold sweater that dropped to the top of her thighs. She had her hair pinned away from her face and looked placid. I didn’t know if I could meet that emotion.

She came over to me and gave me a tight smile. “You doing okay?”

“I hope so,” I murmured.

“I know you got the wrong ingredients on purpose,” she whispered. “But in hindsight, I should not have completed the second dish to increase our chances of getting kicked off.”

“Let’s see how it goes.” I nodded as the hosts came along.

“Now, about your dishes,” Sutton called out. “We’ve tasted them all, and we’ve made our decisions, but first, a replay of how you started?—”

Of course, the clip landed on me grabbing the rice, but at least I looked harried and worried; anyone would take that to mean my attention to detail was out the window.

“Beau,” Ariana called over. “Can you give us any insight into what you were thinking there?”

My lips pressed. “Earlier today, I flew off the handle at Rome and Cassie. I kept going back to that moment, and it replayed in my head. I was distracted and disappointed in myself, and that's why I gave her the wrong ingredients. Usually, I can separate my thoughts so I can handle a million things at a time, but this time… I dunno…”

“Emotions got involved, perhaps.” Sutton inclined his head.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Unexpected ones.”

“That will explain why you were so flustered,” Sutton decided, then moved on to Ryker and Danielle. “You two surprised me. I expected bickering and denials and refusals all the way. You, Ryker, you jumped in without a word and got everything she needed. Are you two coming to a middle point?”

“Well, she kissed me,” Ryker admitted frankly. “We were arguing two days before, well, she was reaming me a new one, and I kissed her to shut her up. I know, right? But I realized that our antagonism isn’t only that. Maybe there’s some attraction, too.”

Sutton pivoted on his heel and faced Ariana, his tone dry. “I’m as shocked as you are.”

“Really?” Ryker laughed. “Tell that to your face.”

“But there was one team who vacillated so much we didn’t know where you two were,” Ariana said. “Emory and Amy, you two were all over the place. Emory, you seemed to want to take over everything, and Amy, your voice just vanished. What happened there?”

“Amy…” Emory looked over, his expression mired with turmoil and sympathy. “…doesn’t feel well today. I don’t know if I should?—”

“You can tell them,” she said quietly.

“She doesn’t know if she has the energy to continue here,” Emory said, his words ringing like a death knell. “She wants to stay, but she’s getting homesick.”

“Alice, our offer stands,” Sutton said, “We can get a mental health professional in here ASAP if you want.”

She looked around, her expression lost, and Emory took her hand and squeezed it. Sucking in a deep breath, Amy nodded. “I’ll take it, thanks.”

Liliana tapped her earpiece, and Sutton said. “We’ll be right back.”

The cameras cut, and Sutton and Ariana ducked away for a moment, and I began to fear what was coming next. Three minutes later, Sutton stepped forward, and the camera started rolling.

“We’ve ranked the food in two categories, the taste and the following of the recipe. The winners for this round for getting the correct ingredients and following them to the T… are Quentin and Nelly. That Moussaka and Rizogalo were exceptional, five stars.”

“Rome and Alice, your Mexican Caldo de Camarón and conchas were good, but the Caldo needed more punch. Ryker and Danielle, your Danish dish landed you in the middle of the pile, which left Beau and Cassie… and Amy and Emory in the bottom.”

“Cassie, your panna cotta was lovely, but the Risotto was not what we’d asked for. You turned the risotto with saffron into herb risotto,” Ariana said. “Beau was disorganized earlier, and you two had shut down. Those have put you on the chopping block…”

I held my breath.

“…But we don’t want to send you home just yet,” Sutton said, and my heart slumped. “And with the new developments with Emory and Amy, we don’t feel it is right to eliminate any of you, not when two of you were not at your best. You four have another week to stay here, but beware next time, it might be one pair that walks away… or it might be two.”

“So, get some rest, revamp, and come back better next time,” Ariana said. “Good night… we’ll see you again soon.”

Fuck.

I’d failed again.

I should have headed to my rooms to change into proper riding clothes, but I craved fresh air so badly I just walked away, heading to the stables. Everything was in the shit pile, and the fixer in me didn’t know how to wash it away.