Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.

First of all, sorry it's taken me a while to post an update – was distracted by my one-shot story 'Double Trouble'. Now that I'm done, I can focus on RW!

Thank you to everyone who gave suggestions for best main!

Week 3 of the competition is wrapping up…time to wow the judges.

Week 4 = Best dessert…so…

LITTLE HELP

What do you think would be considered as 'best dessert' for the following cuisine types?

Turkish
Russian
Italian
Chinese
Thai
Spanish
Indian
French
Japanese

Answer via review or PM me… :P

Xièxiè (Chinese – thank you)

PS. Longer than usual chapter so hopefully makes up for the delay in post :P
_

Two rival restaurants and chefs – what happens when love joins the menu?

Restaurant Wars

CHAPTER 13

Rose POV

"Hello little chef, fancy seeing you here…"

I had been lost in my own world when the amused voice brought me back to the present and I found myself looking into a pair of emerald eyes.

Adrian Innocentis took my stunned silence as an invitation to occupy the seat in front of me. It was hard to believe that this guy, with his GQ-style looks and sexy charm, was the head chef of an Italian restaurant and not some rich playboy model.

I had seen him eyeing me with curiosity over the last few weeks of the competition and I wasn't sure if the interest was professional or…personal.

He was ridiculously good-looking and maybe, in another life, I could have considered this handsome man as a potential 'mate'. But for some damnable reason, whenever I thought about a guy I wanted to be with only one person came to mind, and it caused me nothing but heartache.

Giving Adrian a tight, polite smile, I tapped the mug in front of me.

"This is the only café close to the restaurant that makes a decent cup of hot chocolate. I'm actually waiting for one of my brothers – he should be here any minute".

I hoped my hint wasn't too subtle and that Adrian would pick up my 'I want to be left alone' vibe. The grin on his face said otherwise and his eyes glinted in an unspoken challenge.

"Well now I simply must try this delectable beverage, if a beauty such as yourself speaks so highly of it…"

And before I could protest he was out of his seat and lining up to grab himself a mug. I prayed silently that he would buy his in a take-away cup so that when Eddie arrived for our lunch, Adrian would leave.

But I had no such luck.

Adrian returned with a mug that was large enough to need both hands to hold it – he had ordered the extra-large size hot chocolate! Any hopes of him leaving before or even after Eddie vanished before my eyes like the steaming vapours of the drink he kept blowing to cool down.

Resigned to my fate of playing polite company, I straightened up and leant back in my seat. Just because I had to be nice to him, didn't mean I would make the effort of conversation.

'That's all you buddy...' I thought snidely, as I crossed my arms and looked at him pointedly.

The infuriating man sat back, relaxing further into the seat, completely undeterred by my cold behaviour. We sat in a stalemate stillness for almost 10 minutes. I was about to ask him if there was a specific reason he was keeping me company when Adrian abruptly broke the silence.

"So what do you think of the Russian Giant?"

I felt my muscles tense defensively, while my heart skipped a beat. I tried to school my expression to one of slight confusion, but I don't think I fooled him.

"Russian Giant? I don't know who you are talking about?"

Something flashed in those intense green eyes as he stared me down, knowing full well I knew exactly who he was talking about but I wasn't going to give anything away.

Just as he was about to say something, Eddie finally showed up. Grateful for my brother's impeccable timing (even if he was late) I couldn't help but give Adrian a triumphant look – he was sitting in Eddie's seat and now that the occupant had arrived, it was time for him to vacate it – especially since he had also finished his hot chocolate. Realising he had lost this battle, Adrian graciously got up and introduced himself to Eddie, seeing as I hadn't done the honours. My brother politely shook his hand after introducing himself and watched with a curious expression as Adrian gave me a wink before departing with his final words.

"I shall see you later little chef, and maybe we will get the chance to resume our conversation…"

I couldn't help but narrow my gaze at him while I watched as he sauntered out of the café like he was walking a catwalk in Milan.

"Who the hell was that guy?"

Eddie asked, finding my interaction with Adrian amusing. I sighed in annoyance – the last thing I wanted to do was talk about Adrian, the competition or anything else attached to Restaurant Wars. But I knew Eddie wouldn't leave the matter alone, so I gave him a brief bio on the guy.

"That's Adrian Innocentis, head chef of Spirito di Italia and he is one of the competitors from Restaurant Wars. He saw me sitting here and decided to keep my company until you arrived. Nothing else to it…"

I gave my brother a hard look, further emphasising the unspoken point that I really didn't want to talk about Adrian anymore. My mind, on the other hand, kept replaying his question.

Why was he curious?

Did he know something?

But more importantly, why the hell did I care?

The great thing about Eddie was that he always picked up on my cues, and was more than willing to change the topic.

"Have you seen Christian lately?"

The topic he picked took me by surprise. Though now that he mentioned it, I realised I hadn't in fact seen my eldest brother for quite some time. Since Christian had his club to run and didn't actively work at the restaurant, the family normally saw him during meal-times. He would make the effort to attend at least one of the meals in the day – he worked late and slept in most mornings – so most of the time we saw him at dinner before he made his way to the club. But lately he barely made an appearance. I was surprised I hadn't picked up on his strange behaviour – though in my defence I had a lot on my mind (mainly a gorgeous, forbidden Russian…).

Shaking my head to ensure my thoughts wouldn't stray on the unwanted subject, I re-focused on Eddie, who was still waiting for my response.

"No, I haven't seen him properly for a few weeks now. In fact I think his strange behaviour started after that night at the club…"

Eddie didn't need reminding which 'night' I was referring to, and his eyes widened in understanding. Clearly our older brother met someone that night, someone he was keeping secret from the rest of us.

"Who do you think it is?" asked Eddie, leaning in conspiratorially.

I honestly had no clue, since there was only one person that night that even registered on my radar, but it was nice to sit back and gossip with Eddie. It felt like it had been years since I was able to relax and think about anything else other than the competition, the restaurant or a certain Belikov.

It wasn't long before we had to return to the restaurant, and we still hadn't solved the mystery of Christian's secret lover. But for the first time in ages, I felt carefree and with a large smile, left the café arms linked with my big brother.

But my light-hearted mood didn't last long.

The following day we were back at the studio, filming the Week 3 challenge and as always the Belikovs were already here. It wasn't the sight of Dimitri that had deflated my mood but the gorgeous girl with long brown hair that was talking to him. She was tall and slim, but with just enough curves to make her look sexy. From where I stood it was pretty obvious she was flirting with Dimitri and the jerk looked like he was enjoying the attention, giving her his killer smile and occasional chuckle. They looked awfully chummy and I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach – Is this his girlfriend?

The brief encounter I had with Dimitri (as Xander) had revealed he didn't do long-term, committed relationships, though I had gotten the sense by the end of the night that I might have been someone he would have made an exception for. So, I wasn't entirely convinced this beauty was a 'steady' girlfriend… it was more likely that she was his latest conquest!

"Don't frown so hard little chef, otherwise your face could become permanently frozen in that ugly scowl".

CRAP! I thought, as I reluctantly turned to face Adrian and his smug, knowing facing.

"What do you want Adrian? I'm really not in a good mood to banter with you", I gritted out, trying hard not to transfer my frustration onto him.

He raised a single eyebrow in question before flicking his head in the direction of the people I had been glaring at.

"You know that's my cuisinier, Avery, right? She and my garde manger, Jessie, will be alternating in helping me during the competition".

I looked at him confused, before taking another quick peek at the girl who I now knew to be Avery. This was definitely the first time I was meeting her and she sure wasn't the petite blonde who had accompanied Adrian the last few weeks.

Seeing the lost look on my face he understood my unspoken question.

"The previous partner I had with me at the competition, Sydney, is my sous-chef and is no longer able to continue helping me out. Her delicate condition makes her health unpredictable at the moment, so I've asked Avery and Jessie to help me for the remainder of the contest".

If he thought his explanation had answered my question, he was wrong – it just bought up a whole new host of them. Giving me a smug grin, he waited and watched my frustration build-up until I broke my silence and asked him the question he knew I had on the tip of my tongue.

"What's wrong with Sydney that she can't help you?"

I didn't mean to sound rude – I'm normally not a nosy person and it was definitely not my business what Adrian did with his staff, but I'd prefer Sydney being here over Avery and wanted to know what could be keeping her away and if it really could prevent her from returning for the rest of the competition.

After a dramatic pause, Adrian looked around (as if to assess the coast was clear) before leaning in to whisper.

"She is … pregnant little chef, and in case you were wondering…I'm the lucky daddy".

My mouth fell open and my eyes almost popped out of my head. He had to be kidding me – this was unfathomable on so many levels. Firstly, Sydney looked like she was my age (if not younger), secondly Adrian had been constantly ogling and flirting with me (at least I thought so) and finally, they seemed so different – it was hard to imagine them as a couple, let alone about to have a baby.

For the first time since I had met Adrian, a genuine smile graced his handsome face as he stared off in the distance, clearly thinking about Sydney as he addressed my unspoken wonder...

"You are probably questioning how Sydney and I hooked up…it's a long story that I will save for another time, but suffice to say she is my baby-mama, the love of my life and… soon to be my wife…"

I couldn't help but give him a huge grin – he had been showering me with nothing but harmless flirtation! I could actually relax around Adrian and seeing the real love he felt for Sydney, I found myself liking the guy even more. Slapping his arm playfully, I gave him a mock glare.

"So you were just messing with me all this time when you were flirting and practically stalking me?"

Adrian returned with his own sly smile and shook his head in mock exasperation.

"I don't know what you are talking about, little chef. And 'stalking'…Really? Someone holds themselves in high esteem?"

I burst into giggles and for the first time since I met him, I found myself enjoying Adrian's company. In fact, I was certain he and I would become really good friends.

After trading a few more retorts back and forth, Adrian bid me 'adieu' and returned to his workstation. It was only after he left, did I feel the heated gaze of someone else. Seeking out whose eyes I could feel on the back of my neck, I felt my breath catch in my throat when my eyes made contact with his dark molten gaze.

Avery was nowhere in sight (thank God) but it wouldn't have mattered, because right now I was the focal point for Dimitri's hard gaze. I tried to read the various emotions that flared in those beautiful eyes and face – longing, desire, anger, jealousy…

Wait…what or who could he be jealous of?

And then it clicked – Adrian! He had noticed me bantering with the gorgeous chef and it looked like he wasn't too happy with the way we interacted with each other. But I couldn't understand why Dimitri would be jealous, it's not like he and I were dating or even supposed to like each other.

If that's the case then why did you care he was talking and laughing with Avery?

Sometimes I wanted to slap my inner self!

I felt my face harden and become impassive, just as his own turned stoic when his father returned to their workstation. He focused his eyes to the front, instead of my direction, but I still had the feeling he was keeping an eye on me through his peripheral vision.

Having had enough of his caveman-like behaviour, I went back to concentrating on the host, Galina, as she got ready to start filming the 'welcome' segment.

"Welcome back to Restaurant Wars! Things are starting to heat up now that eliminations have commenced. Last week we said auf wiedersehen to the wonderful chefs at Die Festung after they were given the lowest score for their 'best entrée' – beef rouladen. This week we are cooking the 'best main'. Don't forget guys, at the end of today, we will be saying goodbye to one of you, so remember to give it your all! Oh and let's not forget the reason why you want to win the competition…"

I tuned out, knowing by now the usual structure for the episode – the welcome, recap of last week, reminding everyone what the prizes were for the competition and then Galina walking around, speaking to each restaurateur to find out what they were cooking. It was tedious and actually boring, but we had to sit there, acting like it was all very interesting and we were excited/eager about everything.

Once the last 'one on one' was completed, Galina pointed to the large screen, hanging above the judge's podium, to remind everyone the list of dishes that were being prepared today.

"And here are our final mains…"

Turkish – Manti

Italian – Chicken piccata

Russian – Beef stroganoff with noodles

Indian – Masala dosa

Thai – Red duck curry with coconut rice

Japanese – Gyudon

French – Beef bourgnignon

Chinese – Chicken chow mein

Spanish – Cocido Madrileno

As always, we were given our 'hour' and everyone went to work, while the production team set-up the different cameras and debriefed Galina on the structure of the episode. I was in charge of cooking the sauce that was to go with the lamb manti and had to keep an eye on it to ensure it wouldn't burn. While waiting my eyes wandered to Dimitri.

And my mouth almost fell open at the sight.

Dimitri was working on the dough (for the noodles), so had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt, leaving his bulging biceps to ogled by everyone. I wasn't the only chef having difficulty concentrating (and breathing), as we watched him work the dough with intense determination. As I watched every inch of his muscled arm flex and move, my mind took me to my fantasy world – a world where Dimitri and I could be together without any complications.

I knew firsthand how those arms felt – hard as steel yet softer than velvet, they had made me feel safe and secure when he had them wrapped around me the night we had fallen asleep together. The hands that were busy pounding and kneading the dough had been gentle and sensual as they had explored every curve of my body on the dance floor and later in his bed when we had made out.

Thinking about the make-out session, I wondered what would have happened if I hadn't been so hesitant that night.

I could remember us being tangled together – our legs locked in a heated embrace rubbing against each other, while our arms roamed free, exploring every facet of our bodies. Our lips refused to part (even though at times we became breathless) and when our tongues got involved, I had swooned at his taste.

There was smoothing distinctly spicy and sweet about Dimitri and I couldn't help but wonder if this was how he tasted everywhere else on his body.

We hadn't done much past 2nd base, so my mind decided to fill in the gaps – allowing me to envision what could have been.

I imagined my lips moving to explore his jaw and neck, eliciting a deep growl of desire that would have drenched my panties completely. His hands becoming impatient and desperate would have pushed off the shorts I was wearing and I could almost sense two of his large, long fingers caressing my throbbing slit.

Moaning softly, I imagined myself riding those fingers, while they curled and twisted inside of me. The heat in my stomach built up and I felt my muscles tighten – the sensation felt familiar as I was no stranger to the occasional self-loving. My mind went into overdrive and I could picture him multi-tasking – his fingers thrusting harder and faster, while his other hand fondled a breast and his lips, locating my sensitive area behind the ear, sucking like I was a delectable lollipop.

Whatever this was, I did not want it to stop…

"Kahretsin! Kiz, pay attention!"

Baba's angry voice shattered the fantasy and I became aware of my surroundings just in time to have him push me out of the way as he grabbed the boiling sauce off the stove – it had been seconds away from overflowing and minutes from being burned and completely unusable.

Dark brown eyes, identical to my own, flashed in anger as baba resorted to his native tongue to dress me down.

"What is the matter with you Rosemarie?! You almost burned the sauce and nearly ruined the dish! Why weren't you focused on your task?"

It was very rare to be on the receiving end of baba's anger (that privilege was held by my brothers, especially Christian), so I wasn't surprised to feel the prickling sensation behind my eyes, letting me know tears were waiting to make their escape. My head fell in shame.

What WAS wrong with me? I had almost cost us the competition because I had allowed myself to lose focus on the task!

"Üzgϋnϋm baba" I whispered quietly, refusing to make any eye contact because the traitorous tears had already filled them.

Baba came over and tilted my face up. His features softened, while his eyes held guilt and regret.

"It's ok kiz and I'm sorry for snapping at you. Why don't you take over the chopping of the herbs and I will mind the sauce".

When I turned around to face the chopping board, my eyes did a quick sweep. Luckily everyone else had been occupied with their own cooking to have noticed what had transpired between us – well, almost everyone.

My eyes, still shining with unshed tears, locked on to those heavenly, molten chocolate ones and something silent passed between us. I saw Dimitri's jaw tighten in restrained anger, as his eyes flicked to my baba, realising the outburst had caused me to well-up with tears. I unconsciously shook my head, letting him know it was ok, that it was my fault. His facial features relaxed, but he was still tense and his fingers (that were wrapped around the dough) tightened – not in a threatening manner, but almost in a comforting gesture, as if he had grasped me instead. Allowing him a small smile in return, I forced myself to attend to my cooking duties.

It wasn't long before we were done and the 6 plates dished up. Even though the rest of our cooking time was spent focused on our designated tasks, baba's constant glances made me realise I was not out of the woods, and was probably in for a lecture/interrogation on the ride back home. My attention slip was not a light matter – if the sauce had been ruined we wouldn't have had the time to create a whole new one from scratch and the whole dish would have been affected!

Since the start of the competition, baba had been the one to take the dishes to the judges, but this week he wanted me to do it. Something about wanting to make sure I got some 'exposure time' as well. For the moment all thoughts of Dimitri (or anything else) were pushed aside as I carefully walked to the little, hidden area where the judges waited for us. I pushed the tray of food before me, while trying to shove down the lump in my throat as I felt my nerves kick in.

Galina stood to the side, offering me a warm, welcoming smile (probably to ease my nerves).

"Hi Rose, thanks for bringing in your food. It looks yummy! Can you tell us what you have made today?"

I internally rolled my eyes, annoyed that I had to yet again repeat what we had made. Plastering a smile, I treated the people before me like they were food critics visiting our restaurant.

"Of course Galina. Today we made Turkish lamb manti that was tossed through a brown butter sauce and finished with a caramelised tomato paste that is accompanied with a side of garlic yoghurt sauce. I recommend that the yoghurt sauce be mixed through so it's equally distributed in the dish and the flavours are balanced".

The judges all nodded their head in unison, as I watched Galina take her place at a side table that was set-up for her to enjoy her own plate. The serves we presented were probably more 'entrée' size than main, but it was understandable considering the number of dishes they all had to go through today.

I tried to stand still, but it was difficult and found myself rocking back and forth on my heels, while I took in their expressions. Tatianna and Alberta kept impassive expressions, so you couldn't tell whether they were enjoying the food or not, while Hans and Robert smiled appreciatively, digging in for more. Even Galina's face was beaming at me (but I wasn't sure if this was because of the food, or her role as the chirpy, 'always happy' host). The only person who looked like they weren't enjoying themselves was Ellen Kirova. She didn't act like the food was disgusting per say, but her facial expressions and mannerisms weren't positive.

A few whispers were exchanged amongst the judges and at one point Alberta shot Ellen an exasperated look, like she was annoyed by something she said. Finally they all turned to face me and it looked like they had selected Hans to be their 'spokesperson'.

"This was delicious – all the flavours were balanced perfectly. The added touch of dates in the mince was an interesting addition but it didn't overpower the dish, just complemented the sweetness from the tomato paste. All in all, it was a very good main".

I let out the breath I had been holding and with a tentative smile, was about to thank the judges. But before I could say anything Ellen Kirova spoke up, much to the displeasure of the other judges.

"But in the future Rosemarie, you might want to be a bit more original and authentic. I know this must be a dish common in Turkey, but it's also very common in Italy. If I was your average person off the street and was presented this dish, my first thoughts would be meat filled ravioli and think its origin was Italy – not Turkey. The further along we go in the competition, the more important it will be to differentiate yourself from the others. Just some 'food for thought'".

The smirk that played on her face was one I would have gladly removed with a punch, but since we were still filming and I couldn't afford to be removed from the competition for assaulting a judge, I simply nodded my head in understanding, thanked them and quickly exited the area. My heart was pounding in my chest – had I cost us the competition? The lamb manti was my idea as it was one of my favourites and made me think of homely, comfort food. Because everything was made from scratch (including the dough) I had been convinced it would have shown the judges the love and dedication that goes into our cooking. And even though I hated Kirova for her snarky comment, she was right – we may as well have called it lamb ravioli!

The knot in my stomach twisted and I rushed towards the toilets, feeling something akin to a panic attack coming on. Gasping for air, I stood in the quiet corridor that lead towards the restrooms, struggling to find my composure.

'Please God don't let us be eliminated', I prayed desperately. It would kill my baba if we were to leave the competition so early – we always made it to the top 5. I was so lost in my dark thoughts and breathlessness that I didn't notice the large figure making their way silently towards me until I felt a pair of strong, warm arms wrap around me, pulling me out of my drowning emotions. Blinking back the tears, my eyes connected with the molten chocolate ones that had haunted my dreams since the day I met him.

Instead of the usual snark or coldness I found concern and something deeper that I didn't dare to identify. He hesitantly pulled his right arm back, freeing his hand to gently trace up my arm until it cupped the side of my face. I unconsciously lent into his palm, savouring the comfort.

"What's wrong Roza?" he whispered, as he eyes kept the connection while I felt his thumb stroke my cheek reverently.

I wanted to tell him all my fears – not just what happened now with the judges, but everything that was bothering me currently. Most of all, I wanted to curl up in his arms and feel protected from the harshness of the real world. Now that I had met Dimitri I wanted more from life than just cooking and running a restaurant. I opened my mouth to speak, but was interrupted yet again – this time by the loud booming voice of my baba.

"Rosemarie, are you down here?"

And just like that, our moment was over and that stoic, cold mask fell back into place on Dimitri's face. Giving me a short nod, he pulled away and made his way to the restrooms, knowing if he went back the way he came he would bump into my baba. My heart clenched painfully at the loss of his arms and I watched him with deep regret and longing as he walked away from me. I sensed my baba turning into the corridor and had just enough time to school my expression before turning to him – a small smile gracing my lips to show nothing was amiss.

"Sorry baba, had to use the little girl's room".

He shook his head indulgently with a smile before beckoning me to follow.

"They are 'deliberating' now so might as well pack up… Come on kiz, the sooner we have everything cleared, the sooner we can go home".

He didn't turn around to check if I was following him and started making his way back to the workstation. I followed obediently, though it felt like I had left a small part of me behind in the corridor.

I was so busy helping baba out I hadn't even noticed when Dimitri returned to his workstation. In fact I was so consumed with my task, that when the production manager announced it was time for the 'reveal' I almost jumped out of my skin.

We all gathered in the usual 'big' space, awaiting judgement. It was an over-dramatic process and I had little patience for the theatrics, but it was a small price to pay for being part of the competition. A tiny part of me hoped that next year they would go back to the old way of running the competition, but I'd overheard Eric and Rhea talking about great ratings and the possibility of conducting the competition in televised format from now on.

Trying to keep the impatience off my face, I stood next to baba and waited for Galina to begin.

"As always, you all did a stellar job! I'm so full I think I could skip the next three meals! Of course, being a competition, we have come to that time again when we say good bye to one of you. First, we will let the judges give us an overall critique of each of your dishes".

And so all of the restaurants were told (by one of the five judges) what they did right and what could be improved. Alberta was giving us our feedback, but by the time it had come to our turn, my nerves had made me restless and a constant ringing in my ears made me miss most of the feedback. I was gripping my baba's hand tightly and if I could, I would have closed my eyes.

When I final refocused I was surprised to see the final two restaurants were the Japanese and Chinese.

'Oh my God!' I thought, I was certain we would be in the bottom two. I wanted to practically scream and shout with glee but managed to keep it together. My eyes found Dimitri's easily, and I was surprised yet again to see him gazing at me. His stoic mask was on and he looked like he was listening to the judges as they spoke in detail about what went right and what went wrong for the two restaurants who were in the bottom two. But his eyes were regarding me carefully and I could see that he saw through my own façade (as I did his) because the corner of his delicious lips twitched in slight amusement at seeing me struggling to restrain myself.

I made myself away, worried my heartbeat was too loud and that baba would potentially hear it and wonder what had caused the spike. I was able to bring my attention back to the verdict just in time to hear them eliminate the Chinese restaurant – Bĕijīng Kăoyā.

As they thanked the judges and said goodbye to the rest of us, Galina wrapped up the episode.

"So this week we say zàijiàn to the wonderful chefs at Bĕijīng Kăoyā. We wish you guys the best in your future endeavours! Now it's time to put some sweetness into the mix! Next week the challenge will be 'best dessert' – I'm soooo looking forward to this challenge – I love my desserts! If I could, I would only eat desserts morning, noon and night! Anyway, rest up, plan and prepare so you are ready for another exciting episode of Restaurant Wars!"

I released a huge sigh of relief, ecstatic we weren't going home and that filming was done for the day. I couldn't help but turn and hug my baba.

With an uncanny knowing look, he patted my back as if to comfort me.

"You were worried we were going to be eliminated today weren't you?"

I hid my head in his chest, ashamed to make eye contact. I mentally prepared myself to hear some kind of lecture or be scrutinised under a disappointed gaze. Instead, I found love and warmth.

"Kiz, this is just a competition – not life and death. Yes, it would be nice to win and it would be wonderful if we can do better than the Belikovs, but in the end it's just a contest between people showcasing their talents. I don't want you putting unnecessary pressure on yourself – your wellbeing means more to me than any prize they could offer. Today you almost burnt the sauce because you were distracted and stressed, but it could have been worse – you could have seriously injured yourself. You need to keep your head in the game and the best way to do that is sit back and enjoy the ride. If you put too much on this, it will drag you down and then you will have cause to be ashamed – because you let a silly little competition get the best of you. Come on, let's finish packing and head home".

He gave a small kiss on my temple before releasing me from the hug. I smiled back at him, happy to see he wasn't upset with me. Watching him leave to load up our stuff into the van, I turned and almost bumped into Adrian.

"Hey little chef, you feeling ok?"

He looked genuinely concerned for me, which I found touching, and now that I knew about his fiancée and the baby, I found myself relaxing around Adrian – if anything, there was something about him that almost made me want to confide my deepest secrets to him.

Staring into those intense emerald eyes, the truth came bursting from my lips – one that I had been trying to deny for the last few of weeks.

"I think I'm falling for the Russian Giant".

Google translate

Kahretsin = Fuck (Turkish)

Üzgϋnϋm baba = Sorry father (Turkish)

Zàijiàn = Goodbye (Chinese)

Normally I don't show the interaction between the contenders and the judges, but I wanted to for this 'episode' so you would get some insight into what goes on.

Poor Rose – she is being pulled in so many directions, but at least she is starting to realise she has genuine feelings for Dimitri. And I love her close relationship with her baba. I can't imagine Victor would have been as forgiving/understanding if Dimitri did something similar.

And I hope you enjoyed that sweet little moment between Rose and Dimitri in the corridor – wonder what would have happened if Abe hadn't interrupted them?

Remember to review/PM what you think should be considered the 'BEST DESSERT' for the remaining cuisines.