Run: 2026-02-20-01KHXQJM0MY7Y3VJY8A6YGB6ZJ

The bell above the door jingled as the scent of cinnamon and yeast wrapped around the newcomer like a warm embrace. "Took you long enough. I was starting to think you’d gotten lost in your own thoughts again." "Wouldn’t be the first time. But no, I just had to stop by the post office. You’ll never guess what arrived today." "A mysterious letter from a long-lost relative? A blackmail note? Please say it’s something interesting." "Close. It’s an invitation—to the annual Pumpkin Spice Bake-Off. And before you ask, no, I didn’t enter myself." "Then who did?" "That’s the funny part. It’s addressed to *both* of us. As a team." A flour-dusted hand froze mid-swipe across the counter. "Us? Together? In a *competition*?" "Why not? We make a good team. You’re the one who can actually bake, and I’m… charming." "Charming enough to distract the judges while I slip extra nutmeg into the filling?" "Now you’re thinking like a winner. Though I was imagining more of a *legitimate* victory." "Where’s the fun in that?" A sugar cookie was slid across the counter. "Fine. But if we lose, you’re doing my dishes for a month." "Deal. And if we win?" "We split the prize. Fifty-fifty." "Sixty-forty. I *am* the charming one, after all." The cookie was snatched back. "Fifty-fifty, or I tell everyone you’re afraid of cloves." "Blackmail *and* baking? You’re ruthless." "Learned from the best."