Page 116 of Frosted Fakes

"I told you to shut up."

But Julia was smiling, and Elliott was smiling, and for a moment, the rest of the room didn't exist.

Then the announcer's voice cut through the murmur of conversation.

"And now, the award for Best Cookbook of the Year…"

✽✽✽

Elliott's name echoed through the venue, and for a moment, she was absolutely certain she'd misheard.

Then Shay screamed directly into her ear, and she knew it was real.

"You won!" Shay was shaking her arm like she was trying to dislodge it from the socket. "Elliott, you won!"

The table erupted. Milly burst into tears. Jamie let out a whistle that could probably be heard three streets away. Tom looked like he might actually pass out, which would be inconvenient given that Elliott needed him to run the bakery next week.

And Julia.

Julia was looking at her like she'd hung the moon, and Elliott's brain shut down entirely.

"Go," Julia said, laughing. "They're waiting for you."

Right. The stage. The award. The hundreds of people staring at her.

Elliott stood on legs that didn't feel entirely connected to her body and made her way toward the front of the room. The walk felt endless. She was aware of applause, of faces turning to watch her, of the bright lights that made everything slightly unreal.

She climbed the steps. Someone pressed a heavy glass trophy into her hands. A microphone appeared.

Elliott stared at it like it might bite her.

"Um," she said. Her voice echoed back at her, too loud. "Thank you."

Silence. The audience waited.

Elliott had prepared a speech. She'd written it out, revised it, practised it in front of the bathroom mirror while Julia pretended not to listen through the door. She couldn't remember a single word of it.

So she said the only thing that came to mind.

"I'm not very good at this." A ripple of laughter. "Talking to people. Accepting help. Admitting I can't do everything alone." She looked down at the trophy. "I spent a long time believing that needing people was weakness. That if I just worked hard enough, I wouldn't have to rely on anyone."

She found Milly's face in the crowd. "I was wrong."

The words came easier now. "This book, just like my first, only exists because of the people who refused to let me push them away. Milly, who believed in me before I believed in myself. Who gave me a place to belong when I had nowhere else." Milly pressed a hand to her heart, tears streaming freely. "Shay, who never once let me wallow in self-pity, even when I really wanted to." Shay blew her a kiss. "Jamie, who provided the wine and the wisdom in equal measure." Jamie raised his glass. "Tom, who kept the bakery running while I was buried in deadlines and didn't complain once." Tom had gone bright red and looked like he might cry.

Elliott's gaze found Julia.

"And Julia." Her voice caught. She cleared her throat. "Who taught me that asking for help isn't weakness. It's the whole point. She made me better. In every way that matters."

Julia was crying. She was definitely crying, even though she'd deny it later.

Elliott raised the trophy slightly. "So. Thank you. To all of you. I couldn't have done this alone." A pause. "Literally. I tried. It was a disaster."

Laughter. Applause. Elliott escaped the stage as quickly as dignity allowed.

She'd barely made it back to the table, had barely set down the trophy and accepted Milly's tearful embrace, when she saw Gabby approaching.

Julia went rigid beside her.