"Are you sure that I don't make you nervous when I get closer to you?" he teased me. Each word he said he took a step closer to me. By now my heart was pounding so loudly that I thought he might be able to hear.
Being near him made my thoughts all...
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"Welcome to the Last round of The Summer Baking Championship." Andrew paused as the cheering and clapping roared. I looked around and felt a sliver of nervousness but luckily it was something that I could easily overcome. Being around Noah, I have learned not to let my nerves get the best of me. "This round is the most important round in the whole competition. Today we will find out who would earn the title of being the winner as well as get 10,000 dollars." Another roar of applause erupted. He looked around pleased with the response and vibe of the crowd. After the applause died down a bit, he continued, "Since this is the last round we thought to add a bit of surprise not only for the viewers but also for the contestants. So are you ready contestants?" He announced and I looked around in surprise.
"What do you think the surprise is?" Noah whispered in my ear and I shrugged in response. Whatever it was, I was going to give my all.
"Today you will be judged by not 2 judges but by 3. So put your hands together, for your surprise judge who made her name by educating and inspiring hundreds and thousands of home bakers around the world through her baking show. She has also published some of the most popular cooking books in America. Let's welcome on the stage, Esther Davis." Andrew announced and then Esther joined the stage.
I could feel my jaw open in surprise, my eyes couldn't believe that The Esther Davis was standing a few feet away from me. Her baking show was part of the reason that made me interested in baking. And I was told that was one of the shows my mother used to watch before she died and after that, her show had much more meaning to me. I stopped my train of thought, to cheer for Esther. I took her in, she was in her late 40s now, and yet her style for clothing as well as her presence was still powerful. She was wearing a pink blazer that highlighted her gray eyes, and her hair was open and in waves, she stood on the stage with a smile as she looked around. I looked over at Noah and was about to fangirl but then I noticed that he looked pale.
I was about to ask him if everything was okay when Esther spoke. "Thank you Andrew for such kind words and everyone for this warm welcome. I'm honored that I'm here today for the final round in the Summer Baking Championship."
"We are so glad to have you here today, Esther. Let's get down to business now, I believe Esther you have planned something different for our contestants today, would you like to explain that?" Andrew asked Esther.
"Yes, so for this round we are going to blind tasting your dishes. You will have 2 hours to complete your dishes and after that, your dishes will be brought to us; Melissa, John, and I would rate your dessert out of 10 points each. And the dish that gets the highest points would make their maker, the winner of the competition." She explained and then gave a grin as she held up her index finger in the air. "Wait, but that's not all. You also have to feature one of the ingredients that I have bought with me and these are some of the ingredients that I love to use. Can we please reveal the featured ingredients?" She asked and then someone removed the cloth that I just noticed was covering a table in the pantry. "So your featured ingredients are blood oranges, persimmons, strawberries, apples, chocolate and Kahlúa." She concluded and looked around to see our thinking faces. I was already thinking about what we could make with these ingredients and my mind went to Tiramisu. I looked towards Noah to notice him looking down. I frowned as I noticed the change in his behavior.
