Page 16 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

ten

Liam spent most of the lunch service in a funk. It wasn’t because Elevation was packed on a Saturday. No, he could run a busy service blindfolded, even in a cramped kitchen.

His foul mood was the result of realizing that Aubrey had practically come out and said she found him as appealing as garbage water.

Which, not to be a dick or anything, was a unique experience for him. But not exactly surprising when it came to Aubrey. He’d thought that maybe things had changed between them.

Guess not.

As he puttered about, working on readying for the dinner service in that odd time between lunch and dinner, someone cleared their throat to get his attention.

He peered over the counter to find Daphne. “Hey, little lady, what are you doing here?”

“I’m bored. Tom wanted me to bring you this,” she said, handing over a plastic shopping bag. “Then he said I should ask you if you needed any help.”

The little girl resembled Aubrey, with the same long, dark hair and determined smile. Her eyes were brown, unlike Aubrey’s denim-blue eyes. She must have gotten them from her father, along with her height. The kid was the same height as her mother and was in the eighth grade.

“Were you getting under Tom’s feet?”

She shrugged. “We were supposed to go home after lunch. Mom forgot about a wedding cake consultation. Tom said he ran out of work for little fingers. So he suggested I come to see you.”

For half a second, he wondered if Aubrey was trying for subterfuge. He knew her well enough now to know she’d never involve her kid in anything shady.

“I’m sure we could scrounge up some work for you. Then, after that, how about you help me with a surprise for your mom?”

Daphne brought her hands to her face. “What kind of a surprise?”

“We’ll talk about that later. How good are you at refilling salt and pepper shakers?”

She refilled all the shakers and tidied up the tables so swiftly that he reconsidered child labor laws.

After that, he brought her into the kitchen to help with Aubrey’s surprise.

Tom had provided the puff pastry and a basic recipe for making an apple galette, which he tucked into the top of the bag.

He wanted to show Aubrey he appreciated her work. Even though their relationship was purely professional, it needed to remain friendly.

Especially after he won, he could be too cocky for his own good, but he still didn’t see how he wouldn’t win in the end.

Sure, maybe he’d downplayed the artistry that went into what Aubrey did.

But he had to win. And if he didn’t…well, it could be time for this bird to fly.

A friend of a friend was opening a restaurant in Boston next year, and an old colleague was working with a ce lebrity chef’s newest project in New York.

He had more options—especially if he decided to work for someone else again.

Owning Elevation was equally rewarding and exhausting.

Getting the thing he’d always wanted wasn’t some perfect happy ending.

But then, if he left the business behind, he’d also be turning his back on his best friend, employees, and family. He’d only go if he were truly out of options. And he wasn’t there yet, as restless as he may be.

The oven timer dinged, and he reached for a mitt to pull out the galette.

“That smells almost as good as my mom’s.” Daphne stood on her tiptoes. She brought her hand toward her nose, wafting the scent in closer.

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He checked the time on his smartwatch. “Speaking of your mom, it’s almost time for our meeting.”

Daphne reached for the still-cooling galette. Liam stopped her. “Damon will bring it over, okay?”

Damon pulled out one earbud as he prepped for dinner. His response was a thumbs-up.

She followed him into the alley. “You know, my mom’s single. And ready to mingle.”

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you telling me that for a reason, kiddo?”

She grinned. “I mean, you’re hot chef. She’s pretty. I’m not dumb. You two have some zing when you talk.”

Even middle schoolers knew about that stupid hashtag! He was half tempted to ask if her mom had mentioned him, but he thought better of it, especially after his last conversation with Aubrey. That’d certainly been zingless, to use Daphne’s expression.

Liam attempted neutrality. “I don’t know about that. ”

The back door was wide open. Since he was a few minutes early for their meeting, he was surprised to hear voices carrying out into the alley.

“I just want to take her out for ice cream. What’s the big deal, Aubrey?” The unfamiliar voice belonged to a young woman.

Liam peered around the corner, feeling like a proper snoop. He found a blonde in her twenties standing before Aubrey with her arms crossed.

“The deal is that you showed up here expecting us to drop everything because you decided you wanted to play stepmom for an hour or two.”

The other woman had to be Daphne’s stepmother.

Daphne now leaned through the doorway, a hand placed to her ear.

“Kiddo, maybe you should wait for me at Elevation,” he whispered.

“No way.” She turned around. “I hardly ever get to see her claws come out.”

Liam glanced at Daphne, and they both stifled a laugh.

“That’s a shitty thing to say,” the blonde whined. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t want us to have a relationship with her.”

From where he stood, he could only see Aubrey’s back. His eyes had a mind of their own, and they skirted down to take in her backside before he mentally cursed himself.

“Of course, I do. But I’m a parent every day, not just for the fun stuff like ice cream and trips to the nail salon. Or worse, play-acting mommy on social media.”

Liam couldn’t help it; he muttered, “Oh snap,” under his breath.

When a chastising male voice joined the conversation, enough was enough. It was gross to eavesdrop on a personal matter, especially with Aubrey’s kid.

He gave Daphne a pat on the shoulder. “Go inside before we’re found out. I’ll follow in a minute.”

She gave him a subtle eye roll but didn’t object. “Mom? Are you in here?”

The conversation halted when she skipped in.

“Hey, kiddo. I wanted to take you for ice cream. Your mom said no,” the other woman said, pulling a pout that would rival any of his nieces or nephews.

The big guy—Aubrey’s ex, he assumed—was built like a brick shit house and had a mug that wasn’t half bad to boot. Liam had seen him before—they belonged to the same gym.

His eyes widened when the ex mumbled, “Stop whining,” under his breath. Perhaps trouble brewed in paradise.

“I don’t want ice cream anyway.” Daphne looped her arms around her mother’s waist.

The younger woman narrowed her eyes. She reminded Liam a little of Dani. A spoiled Daddy’s girl, Dani tended to flip her shit when she heard the word no.

Liam cleared his throat and finally stepped inside. “Hey, Aubrey, should I come back? It’s time for our meeting.”

She whipped around, the hard lines of her face softening. “No, you’re right on time. Sorry, you two, now you’ll learn you can’t just drop in on us. Next time, call.”

“Aren’t you that chef?” the ex asked. Maybe he was trying to intimidate Liam with that big jarhead scowl. It would take a lot more than that.

“I’m Liam Linley. I own Elevation Eatery.”

“Ooh, you’re hot chef,” the blonde said. “I’m Kayla, Daphne’s stepmom.”

She extended a hand. Behind her, Aubrey’s ex made no effort to hide his eye roll .

Liam also wanted to roll his eyes, but for a different reason. He was more than hot chef. He wiped his hands on his pants. “Sorry, my hands are sticky. Wouldn’t want to subject you to that.”

Kayla’s face fell, and Aubrey’s asshole ex took a step closer. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“Mom and Liam are competing for this space. Besides, why would Mom tell you? You barely call,” Daphne groused.

Oh, shit. A third-degree burn, delivered with ease by a middle schooler. Liam coughed into his shoulder to stifle his laugh.

“Okay, well, Liam and I have business to discuss.” Aubrey turned to her daughter.“Do you want to stay or go with your father?”

Even after these boundary-stomping assholes were nothing but rude, Aubrey didn’t sink to their level.

“Stay here. I want to annoy Tom.”

Aubrey laughed. “The lady has it. Sorry, guys.”

“Listen here—” the dick started.

“I think Aubrey said what she needed to say,” Liam said. “Besides, we’re supposed to be in a meeting right now.”

Aubrey glanced at him with an expression he couldn’t quite place.

“Dad, why don’t you walk me to Petit Chou?” Daphne extended her hand to her father. The guy may be a dick, but his expression softened when he looked at Daphne.

“Okay then, little bug.”

The stepmom trailed behind them, casting a come-hither look at Liam. He quickly glanced away.

Once they were gone, Aubrey collapsed into a nearby chair.

“Ahem.”

Aubrey dropped her head into her hands at the sound of a new voice. “Now what? ”

Damon stood in the doorway, apple galette in one hand, plates and cutlery in the other. While she rubbed her temples, Liam took the plates and galette from Damon.

“I have something that might make your day a little better,” Liam said.

Aubrey glanced up as he set the galette on the table.

“What the hell is that?” She leaned forward. “An apple galette? When did you have time to make puff pastry?” She reached for the knife that Damon had set on the cutting board.

“I didn’t. Tom let me have some.”

“Really?”

He shrugged. “I thought it would be an easy recipe to practice, so maybe I can start incorporating dessert at Elevation. I’d devise my recipe; this was just me messing around.”

She sat back in her seat and sighed. “That was nice of you.”

He rattled cutlery onto the table and set a plate in front of her. “Don’t worry about it. Although I couldn’t do it as well as you, I wanted to try.”

She grinned. “I can’t make burgers like yours, but I still make them.”

They both laughed.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.”