Page 24 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

sixteen

“Here?” Aubrey squeaked out.

God, she was adorable.

Liam leaned closer. “Nobody can see us. But you’re steering the ship. I want you to be comfortable. I’ll respect your decision either way.”

He could sense the cogs working in her mind as she puzzled out what to do. He reached under the table and touched her knee. “No pressure. I’m just being cheeky.”

Her gaze focused on him. “I don’t object. Sorry, sometimes this still doesn’t feel real, this whole dating my crush thing.”

“Hey, remember, I’m no Henry Cavill.”

She snuck a kiss on his cheek.

He swooped her in closer. “That was nice, but I’ve been dying to kiss you properly all night.”

He tilted her chin upward and brought his mouth to hers. When their lips touched, she made the softest little sound—somewhere between a sigh and a moan. It undid him more than a little. He slid closer, one hand intertwining in her soft, dark hair.

Aubrey’s arm slipped around him as she shifted in the booth. God, all he wanted was her in his bed. But that wouldn’t happen tonight, so it was time to dial it back.

He broke the kiss, and her eyes opened, dark and wild.

“You’re something else, Aubrey.” He wasn’t sure how he managed to string a simple sentence together after a kiss like that.

She grinned. “You could probably convince every woman and more than a few men in America to sign over their 401(k) to you.”

They both chuckled.

“I kind of like this flirting thing we have going on. That said, I’m glad we’re talking it out. I don’t want shit to get weird, if that makes sense?”

“Like when you find out I don’t have three nipples but eight, like a cat?” She waggled her eyebrows.

“If that’s the case, I’m gonna have to investigate. Y’know, for science.”

Steve stopped by with another round of beers. Aubrey tried to put distance between them. Liam slipped a hand under the table and gripped her thigh, holding her in place.

“You don’t want to see what I do if you try to pull away again.”

Her mouth opened and closed several times before she managed a nod.

“Anyway.” Liam released his grip on her thigh but didn’t remove his hand. “We sure do joke a lot about nipples. You could show me, if you want me to know the truth.”

“See what I mean about your persuasive skills? The bra stays on, mister, and I’d say the same even if we weren’t in public.” She wiped at the bead of sweat that had formed along her hairline.

With a grin, he brought her in close with his free hand. “Well, fine, I’ll take your word on it about your nipple situation, then,” he whispered into the nape of her neck. “Seriously, no pressure.”

“All will be revealed in time.” She tapped the end of his nose. “If you’re lucky.”

He removed his hand from her thigh. “It would take more than that to put me off. You’ve hit me faster than a sugar rush.” He sputtered when she leveled him a skeptical glance. “Not that I know what that’s like. I figured you’d appreciate the analogy.”

She reached for his hand, dragging it back to its rightful place on her thigh. “I do.”

“I have an idea.” He brought his mouth under her ear. She gasped. “The winner of the second challenge gets to decide when things, pardon my pun, elevate to the next level. When, how, why, no, wait, I think we both know why.”

“Ugh, you’re not even a dad and making jokes like that.” She swiped a handful of bar nuts, tilted her head back, and tossed them in her mouth. After she finished chewing, she said, “Yeah, why not add another level of competition to this?”

“We’re both competitive types. I like it.” He brushed her hair out of the way and kissed her on the side of her neck. She exhaled a long, slow breath.

“But seriously, I may not be a dad, but you are a mom.”

She turned to him. “Sure am. This is only our first official date. There’s no need to take things super seriously.”

“You’re right; enough talking about it; how’s planning for the food truck challenge going?”

She tugged up her shirt and tucked her legs under her. “I think we have a menu sorted. We’re testing it out on our employees beforehand.”

“Hmm, that’s a good idea. I’ll have to steal it.”

She snapped her fingers. “There I go again, giving you trade secrets. You really should be working for the CIA. ”

“I’ve missed my calling. Seriously, good luck. We’ll both need it, right?”

Time slipped by easily as they fell into conversation. He had a hard time keeping his hands to himself, having her so close. Good thing she didn’t seem to mind.

She pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. She usually didn’t mind keeping such early hours. But she wasn’t ready to leave just yet.

“We should probably get going,” Aubrey said.

“Wait, it hasn’t been that long, has it?”

She chuckled. “So what you’re saying is you lose track of time when we’re together?”

He flipped his phone over. It’d been nearly two hours since they’d arrived.

“I’m not ready to leave. It feels like we just got here. But I know that’s a sacrifice I must make when we hang out.” He draped the back of his hand against his forehead.

“You already have me out past my bedtime.” She wagged a finger at him.

They finished their beers and settled the tab with Steve after giving him comments about their experience.

She looped an arm through his as they stepped onto an empty Tulip Turn.

They didn’t talk much until they reached Aubrey’s van.

“Text me when you get home, okay?”

She stood on her tiptoes to give him a goodnight kiss. “Will do.” She held his gaze, her hands coming to his biceps. “I’m looking forward to this second challenge being over, Liam. More than you know.”

When he tried to pull away, she kept a hand on the back of his neck, holding him in place as she deepened the kiss.

Hot damn, she sure kept him on his toes .

She broke the kiss and hopped into her van. “Don’t stay up too long thinking about me.”

He let out a dirty laugh. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you liked teasing me.”

The van’s engine roared to life. “Maybe I do. See you later, Liam.”

He stood on the corner, watching her until her headlights vanished around the corner.