Page 36 of Competing Against Thor

"Okay, I think I could have done better though."

"You always think that," I pointed out. "If you put forward the most perfect sculpture in the world, you'd want to do better."

"Fair point," he responded.

Brandon and Kenji looked as exhausted as I felt, and the four of us were directed to the same seats we'd sat on for the semi-final, except that now there were only four of them. It seemed as if we were going to watch the judges again.

Our sculptures were moved to the front, with envelopes placed in front of them, which I assumed included our names.

I let out a nervous breath. This was going to be harder than I thought it would be.

To my surprise, Thor reached out and took my hand, giving it a squeeze. Hopefully, nothing would be broadcast of the affection, but even if it was, it wasn't the end of the world, not when I appreciated his touch.

The judges entered and started looking at each of the sculptures in turn, talking amongst themselves. I was almost certain I saw Xochipilli smile at mine, while Aine seemed very interested in Thor's sculpture. I supposed it wouldn't be too bad if he beat me. But if Kenji's sculpture won, I was going to find that difficult to stomach. Even from here, I could see a couple of mistakes in the bright colours he'd chosen. It wasn't that I thought my own was flawless, just that it looked better overall.

Eventually, the three judges moved into a huddle, presumably discussing the winner between themselves.

It wasn't until they broke apart that I realised I'd barely been breathing.

"Are you ready?" Rosie asked the judges.

Aine nodded.

"I'd like to introduce the CEO of the Jinx Dating Agency, Aine, to you all," Rosie said brightly. "She'll be announcing the winner."

"Thank you all so much for taking part in the competition," Aine said, her voice surprisingly light, I'd expected something heavier thanks to her job. "We've seen such beautiful pieces over the past few weeks and it's been very difficult to send people home, and even more so to pick a winner from these four fantastic sculptures." She gestured to the sculptures behind her.

I crossed my fingers and hoped to all the gods, real and imagined, that she was going to announce my name. I needed the potential clients it would bring, not to mention the recognition that would come from a competition like this, especially with serious competitors like Brandon and Thor.

Aine picked up an envelope from her pile, but I couldn't tell which one it was. She slid it open with what felt like excruciating slowness. "And the winner is...Daisy Chains."

My eyes widened as the words sank in.

I'd actually done it.

"Well done," Thor said, looking at me with pride in his eyes.

I managed a weak smile and got to my feet, making my way over to Aine.

She smiled widely at me. "I look forward to working with you," she said, holding out her hand.

I took it, a little lost in a haze. "Me too."

"I'll have everything set up for a meeting so we can go through the full commission and brief, but for now, enjoy your win."

"Thank you."

I turned around just as Brandon and Kenji arrived to congratulate me. Both were a little reserved, and potentially underneath could be bitter about the fact I was disqualified and only got to come back into the competition by chance, but that was something they needed to work through.

"I won," I said to Thor, kind of in a daze about the situation.

"You did," he responded.

"I actually won."

To my surprise, he pulled me into his arms. It wasn't as good as a kiss would have been, but the embrace was still good, and made me feel as if I hadn't done this alone.

Epilogue