A Wildly Seductive Night(16)

The producer by the camera fired off another one: “But you think you can beat him?”

She reached for a martini glass and poured some gin. “I will certainly do my best. That’s all a gal can do, right?”

She winked and continued her work, the cameras capturing B-roll of her mixing, pouring, and making. Tension rolled through her because she didn’t have a recipe yet, wasn’t even sure she could conjure up something remotely special enough. But she did her best to remain cool and calm. Never let them see you sweat.

A card shark back in the day, Julia was renowned for having no tells. She could bluff with the best of them, and she sure as hell hoped all those damn card skills were coming in handy now as she poured some lemonade in a glass, testing how that would taste with one of her top-shelf liquors.

She didn’t want to let on her belly was doing an impression of a bag of jumping beans. Nerves trampolined inside her.

This is only a contest.

But even so, she was a competitive gal, and being on the show had made her bar even more popular. That meant she could contribute more to her family and help with Carly’s college fund. Sure, her husband did just fine, thank you very much. But that wasn’t the point. The two of them were a team. Paying the bills. Raising their kid. Making their lives happen. The better off her bar, the better off her family. Besides, JT was firing salvos left and right, and that didn’t sit well with her. She had a good reputation in the food-and-beverage business, and she’d built that on hard work and talent.

But before she came into Speakeasy for the shoot today, her phone had dinged with an alert from one of the trade mags covering the reality show. In the piece, JT crowed about how he was going to come out on top. “Isn’t it time someone dethroned Miss Purple Snow Globe? Let’s be honest. She’s a one-trick pony, still riding on the success of that single drink. She’s like the Tainted Love of bartenders.”

Being compared to the biggest one-hit wonder song of all time?

Ouch.

Just ouch.

While Julia had no qualms about someone else besting her, a little grace in sport went a long way. JT lacked it, and that made her yearn to beat him more.

Though demolish was more like it.

When the camera operator said cut, Julia released a breath and took a long drink of an iced tea. The cold settled her.

Byron wandered behind the counter and clapped her on the back. “You gonna kick his hiney?”

Julia laughed. “That’s the goal, my friend. But what’s the plan for choosing a winner? We three judges clearly can’t pick who made a better drink with me as one of the contestants in this little side battle.”

Byron’s eyebrows wiggled. “Don’t you worry. I’ve got a plan. A good plan.”

“Well . . .” She parked her hands on her hips. “Are you going to tell me?”

He shook his head, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Not yet. But it’s a good one.”

She poked him in the chest. “And why should I believe you? You pretty much sent me into the lion’s den.”

He shook his head. “I beg to differ. I sent my very best into the den, and she’ll emerge unscathed.” He cleared his throat. “You got some ideas, though?”

He sounded nervous, and Julia couldn’t help but delight in the fact that he was now on his toes. She tugged his silvery beard. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head.”

She did have some ideas, but she sure as hell wasn’t going to tip off him or anyone else. Not with cameras nearby. She kept the ideas locked in her head and would test them properly. At home.

The crew left, and after a couple hours dealing with paperwork and business matters, Julia packed up for the day. She said hello and goodbye to her manager and bartenders in the early evening when their shifts began, then caught a subway downtown, putting distance between her working world and her family time.

An evening at the playground at Washington Square Park with her two favorite people sounded divine. When she arrived, she tossed all her competitive worries behind her because her husband was pushing Carly in a swing.

“Higher! Higher!” Carly shouted, delight skyrocketing in her six-year-old voice.

Julia beamed. Shedding her cares, she made a decision that whether she won or lost a little bet in a show, she’d be just fine. So what if JT won? She had these two people in her life who made her incandescently happy.

“Hey, sweet pea,” Julia called out.

“Look at me!”

Carly swung high on another arc, her little feet pointing skyward. Julia’s heart raced up her throat as she watched her tiny daredevil. “Be careful, honey!”

“I will!” she shrieked, and then Clay blew Julia a kiss.