Marcus, he thought, would be stern but kind. Surprisingly so, given that reputation for precision and perfection. Someone who’d care for a nervous contestant, who liked sunshine, who made small pleased noises about a cookie he enjoyed.
Those were not good thoughts to be having on camera, mid-judging. He tried to surreptitiously adjust posture. Shifting weight. Shifting hips.
Eric finished chewing and swallowed. “You helped out Jasmine, too, a couple of times. You and Evan. We saw that.”
Marcus turned that way. “We can’t judge on good sportsmanship.”
“It’s just the nice thing to do,” Nate said. “Next time it might be me. And I hope somebody’d help me if it was.”
They all exchanged some more glances.
He added, “Anyway it’s the holiday spirit, right? I’m not saying whether I’m on the ni
