The Bake-Off by Beth Kendrick Page A

Linnie Bialek.”
    â€œOh goody!” The little lady clapped her hands. “I’m always so thrilled to meet my fellow bakers.”
    â€œI’ll say!” The man clasped Amy’s hand and gave it a hearty shake. “Pleased to meet you. I’m Ty Tottenham and this is my wife, Tai.”

Chapter 8
    L innie saw Amy’s smile flicker as Ty and Tai introduced themselves. The change in expression was so fast, anyone else would have missed it, but Linnie caught the nanosecond of pure panic in her sister’s eyes.
    â€œTy and Tai,” Amy echoed. “You don’t say.”
    â€œI know, crazy, right? Obviously we were meant to be.” Tai craned her neck to give her husband a quick buss on the cheek, then said, “Hope we’ll see you gals around. What room are you staying in, anyway? Maybe we’re neighbors.”
    â€œWe’re in a suite up in the South Tower.” Amy glanced down at the digits scrawled on the paper jacket for her key card. “Room two-six-two-eight. Ow!” She yelped as Linnie threw a swift elbow jab to her rib cage.
    â€œLovely to meet you both. We have to go.” Linnie strode across the lobby and onto the elevator without a backward glance.
    â€œWhat the hell is wrong with you? You are so rude .” Amy caught the elevator doors just as they were closing and forced them back open. She rubbed her side and winced. “Ow. I think you broke my clavicle.”
    â€œYour clavicle’s your collarbone,” Linnie said. “I hit your asternal ribs. And how could you be so stupid as to tell them our suite number? I can’t believe you’d give them ammunition like that. Now we’ll have to change rooms.”
    â€œWe got the last room in the entire hotel,” Amy reminded her. “We can’t change. Not that there’s any reason to.”
    â€œDon’t be so sure about that.” Linnie jammed her key card into the “restricted floors” slot and punched in twenty-six. “I know sharks when I see them.”
    Amy burst out laughing. “Sharks in L.L.Bean corduroys and Nikes? They were just being friendly, for heaven’s sake. They’re from Ohio !”
    â€œDon’t fall for that wide-eyed, aw-shucks facade. What they just pulled in the lobby is a classic two-person pickpocket maneuver: the sandwich.” Linnie narrowed her eyes. “The woman bumped me and tried to distract me with her apologies and inquiries about things that are none of her business while her partner started to ransack my coat and bags. She’s the stall; he’s the pick. I see it all the time on the casino floor.”
    Amy made a big show of peering into her purse. “Oh, thank heavens, my wallet’s still here. Whew, that was a close one.”
    â€œHow can you be this gullible?” Linnie tapped her foot as the elevator zoomed up. “They don’t want our wallets. They want our baking intel!”
    â€œDo you have any idea how insane you sound right now?”
    â€œWho spent five years on the Junior Science Olympiad circuit, you or me? People who spend their lives training for intense competitions don’t see the world like you do. They get desperate and irrational. They get vicious.” Linnie had to avert her gaze as she finished with, “They stoop to things they never imagined they’d be capable of.”
    Amy said nothing, so Linnie kept going. “I’ve met dozens of Ty and Tais. Keep your mouth shut and your guard up or you’ll be sorry. Trust me.”
    At this, Amy grinned. “Whatever would I do without you to protect me from the cold, cruel world?”
    â€œYou’d be an appetizer at the Delicious Duet feeding frenzy, that’s what,” Linnie shot back. “From now on, you’re forbidden to talk to any contestants unless I’m standing right there to supervise. That’s right, I said forbidden .”
    â€œSo you’re