Emma's POV
The practical exam is on a Wednesday.
Dominic drives me. I didn't ask him to. He just appeared at seven in the morning in his coat with his keys and said, "I'm taking you," and I was too focused on mentally running my mise en place to argue.
In the car I go through the sequence out loud. Timing, plating order, the sauce that needs thirty seconds exact or it breaks.
He doesn't tell me to relax. Doesn't say I'll be fine. Just listens and when I trail off he says, "What happens if the sauce breaks?"
"I start it again if I have time. If I don't, I plate without it and lose points."
"How many points?"
"Enough to matter. Not enough to fail."
"Then you have a contingency. You're fine."
It's exactly the right thing to say. Not reassurance. Logic. I could kiss him for it.
"Than
