Some Like It Spicy (21 page)

“Ashton.” Ty stood in front of her, looking so handsome lava filled her belly. The world around him was dark and blurry and she knew she was dreaming. She reached her arms out for him.

“Come to me,” she said, her voice distant to her own ears. Usually her dreams of Ty involved hot fudge and whipped cream, but this time it was just the two of them. No distraction, no barriers. “Come to me,” she repeated.

He didn’t move, just stood over her and said her name again in that drawl she loved. “Ashton.”

Apparently Dream Ty was shy. She sat up, grabbing his arm and yanking him toward her until he lost his balance and fell on her.

“Kiss me,” she commanded.

“Ashton.” This time the voice didn’t belong to Ty; it belonged to Jolene.

What the hell? This was unexpected. She’d never been interested in… Why would Jolene be invading her dream?

“Ashton!” From atop her, Ty grabbed her forearms and shook her. Suddenly, the blurriness cleared and she realized with sickness that she
hadn’t
been dreaming. Day had turned to dark while she’d been asleep. Ty had come to wake her up and she’d responded by pulling him on her and trying to have sex with him with the crew—and camera—watching.

“Oh!” she yelped, shoving him off her. She scrambled to her feet and looked around. All eyes were on the two of them.

“Sorry, Chef Cates,” she said, not able to meet his eyes. “I was asleep, and…you startled me. I…didn’t know it was you.”

“It was my fault.” He took the blame gallantly. “I shouldn’t have woken you like that.”

“Okay, people, let’s get back on track,” Sally called out. “We need to film the elimination. Everyone take their marks.”

Ashton pivoted away from Ty and headed to her spot. From their places, Jolene and Duffy were eyeing her. Ashton just shrugged. “I was in a deep sleep.”

“Tell the truth,” Duffy teased. “You were dreaming about me.”

Ashton’s laugh was genuine. “You got me. The sunburn is particularly a turn-on.” Duffy’s normally pale skin had taken a beating under the sun. The only white left on his skin was the big circles around his eyes that had been protected by sunglasses.

Sally cut them off and called, “Action.”

Ty began his recap for viewers who joined into the program partway. “Chefs, today you were challenged to cook a gourmet meal over a campfire using ingredients found in RVs. Considering the conditions, you all did remarkable jobs. Unfortunately, one of you must go home.”

Andrea started the critiquing. “Jolene, your fish was delicious. Very flavorful. And you managed to spend all day in this relenting heat and still look beautiful.”

Ashton craned her head to the side. Andrea was right. Jolene looked like she was glowing rather than sweating, and the bun she’d pulled her hair in to cool down made her look like a prima ballerina. Ashton hadn’t seen herself in the mirror lately, but she was pretty sure her face, like Duffy’s, resembled an overcooked lobster and her hair had frizzed like she’d stuck her finger in a socket.

“I especially liked your method of cooking the fish in tin foil, along with the vegetables. It was exquisitely prepared. Well done.”

Jolene flushed at the compliments, making her even more beautiful.

“But it was rather simple,” Claude put in. “I expected a higher-caliber dish at this point in the competition.”

Jolene’s face fell as the judges turned to Duffy. “Do you have much experience cooking duck?” Ty asked.

Duffy shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

“I found the meat to be rather dry,” Ty said. “The barbecue sauce, although phenomenal, didn’t hide the dryness.”

“I took a risk,” Duffy said, a slight tremble in his usually composed voice. “I wanted to show you I have a broad range of cooking skills.”

Claude’s face held a smirk that Ashton recognized from her father. “Risks only work when they’re successful.”

His words went straight to her heart. She’d taken a risk too; lamb was a meat she generally only used for specials. And she’d never barbecued it before, especially on a makeshift barbecue. Oh, God, she was going home.

It’s okay
, she chanted to herself.
It’s better this way
. The home visit would have been a disaster and her relationship with Ty had to end sometime. This was as good a time as any. Last night had been the best of her life and she’d always have that memory, and—

“Ashton.” Ty’s voice was calm, reassuring.

“Yes,” she croaked.

“Your lamb dish was perfectly cooked and flavorful. Well done.”

She let out a choked laugh. “Thank you.”
Please let my knees continue to hold me up
, she prayed.

“But the fried apples were overcooked,” Andrea said. “And they didn’t pair well with the lamb.”

Sheer will kept her standing as her legs began to buckle. She locked her eyes on Ty, knowing this was good-bye.

“First, the good news,” Ty said. “Tonight’s winner is…Ashton.”

A huge cry filled the night air and it was a moment before Ashton realized the noise had come out of her mouth. She couldn’t help it; she flew to Ty, hugging him. Then, because she had to, she hugged Claude and Andrea.

She’d made it to the finals. The implications were going to scare the shit out of her tomorrow, but for now she just wanted to bask in the glory.

“Ashton, you may take a seat.” Ty pointed to the safe zone. He then turned to Duffy and Jolene. “Chefs, take your places in front of your flames.”

With a heavy heart, Ashton watched her two favorite people in this competition, knowing only one would make it to the final challenge.

Ty lingered over the task, walking between the two several times until Ashton’s own chest nearly burst. Finally, he extinguished a flame. “Duffy, you can’t take the heat. Get out of the kitchen.”
Duffy’s chin dropped, but he nodded.

“Congratulations, Jolene and Ashton. As you know, for the final challenge, you’ll be cooking for your family, as well as the judges. Ashton, your prize for winning this challenge is you get to pick if you go first or second.”

First or second? What did it matter? The experience would be excruciating either way. Of course, the more time she had, the better chance she could pay a family to stand in for her real one. If only. “I’ll go second.”

“Then we’ll see you in Chicago next week.”

Ashton snapped her phone closed and squeezed her fist around it, fighting the urge to throw the cell across the room. Six calls to Jenna over the past two days and six calls ignored. She thought of trying the restaurant phone, but she didn’t want to fight with Jenna during business hours. Actually, she didn’t want to fight with Jenna at all.

Especially now that she needed her support. The home visit challenge was one week away. The show had scheduled her and Jolene nearly every minute of that time, making it impossible for Ashton to fly home and mend fences with her friends. She wanted Jenna and Chloe to come to the dinner she’d be cooking for her parents; she needed a buffer zone between her and her father. But what if Jenna didn’t forgive her by then? What if she
never
forgave her?

Taking a deep breath, she opened the phone and dialed. This time, her call was answered right away.

“How’s it going?” Chloe’s voice was concerned, yet warm.

“Jenna’s still not speaking to me,” Ashton said past the lump in her throat.

She heard Chloe sigh. “I don’t think she actually made the decision not to speak to you. I think she’s just not ready yet.”

“Did I really do something so awful?” As the words came out of her mouth, Ashton realized she desperately needed to know the answer. Was it awful that she’d slept with Ty? Was it unforgivable?

“It may not have been the best choice,” Chloe hedged. “But love can be that way.”

“And if it is just a fling?”

“Then it
was
a really bad choice. But it’s not just a fling, whether either of you admit it or not.”

Ashton was silent for a minute. Then, “Will you come to the home visit?”

“Absolutely,” Chloe answered immediately. “Jenna, too.”

“Thanks,” Ashton said softly. “And when you see Jenna…” She cleared her throat. “Ask her to call me. Or at least answer when I try her.”

“I will. ’Bye.”

Ashton closed her phone, feeling only slightly better.

“Ashton.” She turned and saw Jolene in the doorway of the bedroom, visibly upset.

“What’s wrong?”

“You need to come downstairs right away.”

Her heart beating against her chest like a cannon, Ashton followed. Jolene led her into the kitchen, where she’d obviously been making a snack, the television on in the background.

“What’s wrong?” Ashton asked again.

Jolene pointed to the television. “That.”

Ashton tilted her head toward the television and gasped. She and Ty filled the screen, their naked bodies barely concealed.

Chapter Twenty

Ashton collapsed onto a stool, gripping the granite countertop for support. “Oh, God. How did this happen?”

Jolene raised an eyebrow. “That’s what I was going to ask you.”

Hysterical laughter racked through her, shaking her insides. “I’m finished. My career is over.” She put her head in her hands as the laughter turned to sobs.

No more restaurant. No Jenna or Chloe. No Ty.

She felt Jolene’s arms wrap around her, and she let herself accept the comfort. “Who taped us? And why?”

“By the looks of it, the footage is from the campgrounds. That probably means it was a crew member.”

“Clint,” Ashton said instantly. “Or one of the assistants, I suppose. The quality is too good to be a phone camera. But why would they do this?”

“For money,” Jolene replied. “I’m sure they made a lot of it selling the footage.”

“Tonight on
E! News
,”
someone on the television said, “more on celebrity chef Ty Cates’s steamy affair with contestant Ashton Grey.”

Ashton laid her head against the cool granite. She knew what would happen. They would dissect every episode, look for clues, and quickly surmise the affair had been going on from almost day one. Fans and chefs alike would hate her, and the chances of her finding a job after all this was as likely as her and Ty living happily ever after.

The house phone rang, but she didn’t have the energy to even lift her head. She heard Jolene walk across the room and answer. After a moment, Jolene said harshly, “No comment.” Then she slammed down the phone and ripped the cord from the wall.

Ashton stared at her.

Jolene shrugged. “Wrong number.” She walked to the wine cooler and pulled out a bottle of chardonnay. “I think we need this.”

With supreme effort, Ashton lifted her head and accepted the glass Jolene offered her. “Why are you being so nice? You should hate me.”

Jolene shrugged. “I’ve had a while to get used to the idea.”

So that confirmed Ashton’s suspicion that Jolene had known about the affair. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I thought about it,” Jolene admitted. “After those first few nights, when you’d sneak in. I know you think I’m deaf and blind at night, but I’m not.”

“I’m sorry,” Ashton said.

“You’re an amazing chef. I knew you weren’t winning challenges because you were sleeping with Ty, and I didn’t think it was fair for you to be eliminated because of it. Actually, I’m surprised it didn’t come out sooner.”

“What do you mean?”

Jolene let out a snort. “You two haven’t exactly been discreet these last couple of weeks. Every time you’re near each other, I expect smoke to lift off you.” Had they really been that bad?
Yes
, Ashton decided, thinking about it. They’d taken way too many stupid chances, as if they were daring people to catch them. This was their fault, as much as she wanted to blame Clint, or whoever had filmed them and leaked the tape. If she and Ty had kept their pants on, there wouldn’t have been a tape to leak.

“I suppose the silver lining in all of this is that I won’t have to do the home visit,” Ashton said as she sipped her wine. “They’ll probably bring Duffy back in my place.”

She wondered what her father would say when he heard about this. Probably something about how she had to sleep her way to the top because she didn’t have the talent to make it there on her own.

Her cell phone rang, startling her. She peeked at the caller ID, her pulse racing. It was Sally. Anxious to get this over with, she answered.

“Don’t talk, just listen,” Sally said brusquely. “We’re having an emergency meeting to decide what to do about you and Ty. As far as reporters go, you have no comment. Got it?”

“Yes,” Ashton said.

“We’ll call you when we’ve made a decision.” Sally hung up.

Almost immediately, her phone rang again. This time it was Ty. “Are you okay?” he asked without bothering to say hello. “When I find out who taped us, I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”

She half sobbed and half laughed. “It’s our fault. If we were afraid of being caught, then we shouldn’t have been doing it.”

“Ashton, we didn’t do anything wrong.”

She let out an incredulous chortle.

“Okay,” Ty amended. “Maybe we did. But we’re consenting adults—”

“Who should have known better,” she finished. She wiped a tear from her face. “But it’s over now.”

“No!” Ty swore. “Dammit, we can’t do this over the phone. I want to see you.”

“How?” she asked. “I’m sure reporters are staked outside your place and probably here, too. I’m afraid to look out the window.”

He thought for a minute. “Meet me at Scott and Ellen’s. Get in a cab and tell the cabbie to drive around for a bit first. At this time of day, you’ll lose any reporters within minutes.” He gave her the address. “Please, Ashton.”

“Okay,” she said before she could change her mind. She hung up and turned toward Jolene. “I’m going to meet him.”

Worry creased Jolene’s forehead. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? There are reporters out on the sidewalk.”

Ashton pressed her palms against her eyelids as her head pounded. “How am I going to get out of here?”

Jolene thought for a moment, and then her eyes lit up. “I’ll go out the front in a hooded sweatshirt with sunglasses. I’ll wait until all the reporters rush me before I reveal I’m not you. Meanwhile, you can go out the back door and sneak around.”

“Not to knock your plan, but do you think anyone is going to confuse you with me?” Skin color was only one of many obvious differences in their bodies.

“It’s a long shot, but it’s worth a try,” Jolene insisted. “I’ll keep my head down. Even if they realize I’m not you, they’ll probably still bombard me with questions.”

How could she let Jolene face those vultures while she ran?

Indecision must have shown on her face because a look of determination rose on Jolene’s. “I’ll be fine. We’re doing this,” she insisted.

Jolene put on a gray sweatshirt of Ashton’s, pulling the hood tightly over her head. When she added the sunglasses, so much of her face was hidden, it probably
would
take reporters a few minutes to realize she wasn’t Ashton.

“Go to the back,” Jolene said, shoving her hands in her pockets. “Wait until I step onto the porch before going out.”

Ashton nodded and then embraced Jolene. “Thank you for doing this. You have the right to hate me, you know.”

“I know. But I never could resist a great love story.” Jolene winked and then headed to the front door.

Well, this love story is over.
She didn’t say the words to Jolene, though. She wasn’t ready to admit it out loud.

As soon as she heard Jolene open the front door, Ashton slipped out the back. She ran the five steps down to the ground and stopped by the wooden fence. The tall wooden slats stood a good foot higher than her, so she couldn’t see if anyone was lying in wait. Hands shaking, she unlatched the lock of the gate and slowly opened it.

As she peered out, her breath caught at the number of news vans crowding the small street. She could hear reporters shouting, too many voices to distinguish individual questions. There didn’t appear to be anyone watching the back, though, so she slipped through the gate and bolted down the street, where cabs often sat.

As she made it to a car, she heard someone scream. “There she is! That’s Ashton Grey!”

Frantically, she pulled open the door and dove in. “Drive!”

“Where?” the cabbie asked in a heavily accented voice.

“I don’t care.” The tears began to roll down her cheeks. “Anywhere. Just drive. Quickly!”

The tires screeched as they pulled away from the curb. She made the driver roam aimlessly as she looked around for any news vans or obvious tails. When she felt secure enough, she gave the driver Scott and Ellen’s address.

He dropped her off at a modest house in Brooklyn. After paying him, she stepped out of the cab and walked up the steps to the stoop. The door opened before she could knock, and then suddenly, there was Ty. Strong, warm Ty. And she forgot their relationship was over and simply fell into his arms.

He held her tightly, too tightly, but she didn’t complain. She didn’t want him to let her go. He moved her inside enough so he could close the door and then he just held her. They stood in the doorway, wrapped in each other’s arms, until she lost track of time. An hour could have passed, or maybe it had only been minutes. All she knew was that she was safe. At this moment, in this place, she was safe. And the moment he let go, the world would shatter.

Finally, Ty broke the silence. “Should we talk?”

“What’s there to say?” she mumbled against his shoulder.

His arms fell away and everything seemed to dim.

He took her hand and led her into the living room. “Sit.” He pressed her onto the couch and sat next to her.

She didn’t know what to say, so she said the first thing that came into her head. “We’re so stupid. Why did we think we could get away with this?”

She saw Ty take in a deep breath and then exhale. “Ashton, I—”

“And it was all for nothing!” she cut him off, all the rage that had been building inside her erupting. “For a fling! I threw away my career and bankrupted my best friends for what? Sex I could have gotten anywhere!”

It wasn’t true; sex with Ty was the best sex of her life, but she needed to rail and scream at someone and he was there.

His face darkened. “Is that really how you feel?”

No
. “Yes.”

He stood and turned his back to her. “You don’t see me as anything more than a fuck.”

“The first night we were together, we both agreed to keep our relationship casual.” She rose and walked around him so she could meet his eye line. “To break it off if anyone suspected.
You
made it personal.
You
decided we should risk getting caught by sleeping together with a film crew only feet away.”

“Oh,
I
decided?” He threw up his hands. “You had
no
part in the decision. I forced you.”

“No, you didn’t force me—”

“But you need to blame me for everything that happened,” he finished for her. “The famous Ashton Grey temper is really coming out now. I finally see the woman from the audition tape.”

Blood drained from her head, making her feel dizzy. “How dare you bring that up!”

“Why?” He shrugged. “That’s who you really are. Not the woman I’ve been with the last few weeks.”

“No,” she said, feeling like she could throw up. “That’s not me.”

“Sure it is. You’re the woman who doesn’t take responsibility for her actions. I saw it in that first challenge when you wouldn’t even budge on the suggestion that your sandwich needed more salt.”

“Because it didn’t!” she shouted.

He laughed, but it was hollow. “You fight everyone, you blame everyone, because you’re too afraid to confront the person you’re really angry at.”

“Oh, yeah? And who’s that?”

He didn’t miss a beat. “Your father.”

It was as if he’d punched her in the gut. The oxygen left her lungs and she wheezed, unable to catch her breath. She bent in half as she gasped for air.

“Ashton.” She could hear the concern in his voice as he put a hand to her back, but she swatted him away.

“Don’t touch me.” She staggered to the front door.

“Ashton,” he said again.

She couldn’t look back at him. She reached for the doorknob. “We’re through.”

Before he could say anything, she bolted out the door and down the stairs. Seeing a cab, she flung herself into the street, nearly getting hit.

“Are you crazy, lady?” the driver screamed out the window.

She searched through a haze of tears for the handle. Somehow, she managed to make it inside the dingy interior.

“Where to?” the driver asked, looking at her through the rearview mirror.

Good question. She couldn’t bear to go back to the brownstone and face the mob of reporters. Maybe to a motel, but the idea of such solitude seemed crushing.

She wanted to go home. No doubt all her appearances had been canceled, and Sally could tell her she was off the show just as easily in Chicago as New York.

The decision made, she answered the driver. “LaGuardia, please.”

…

Ty didn’t know what had happened. One minute, they’d been holding onto each other for dear life, the next they were throwing verbal daggers. They’d both hit their marks, and he, at least, was bleeding out.

He sank down on the couch, his head in his hands. Somehow, stupidly, he’d thought they’d be able to weather the scandal together. Somehow, stupidly, he’d thought she loved him back.

Why had he thrown her father in her face? What he said was true, no doubt, but she was in as much denial about that as she was that they’d just had a casual fling.

But he’d been so angry with her, especially when she’d called him her “fuck buddy.” Maybe he had an issue with anger, too.

Now that his career was over, he’d have a lot of time to think. Okay, maybe that was a little harsh. His career as a celebrity chef was over. And wasn’t that what he’d wanted? Now he could go back to Atlanta, where he belonged. Maybe the woman he’d been searching for was there.

But in his heart, he knew he belonged to Ashton.

He heard the door creak open and footsteps in the entryway. Relief rushed through him, thinking Ashton had returned. Instead, Scott tiptoed in the room.

“Is that your attempt to be quiet?” Ty growled.

“It was more an attempt to sneak past you if you were crying. Are you crying, man?”

A chuckle bubbled within him. “Not yet. Where are Ellen and Laci?”

“They’re still across the street at the park. We saw Ashton get into a cab. She didn’t look good.”

“Was
she
crying?”

Scott nodded. “Yeah. She was crying.”

Ty put a hand to his chest as if he could hold in the pain. He hated the thought of her alone and upset. He doubted she’d take his call, but he’d check up on her later through Jolene.

“It didn’t go well, did it?” Scott asked.