Page 25 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

seventeen

Liam couldn’t shake his nerves. It was finally the day of the second challenge. He was only one point behind Aubrey, but that gap would be harder to make up if he lost this challenge.

If he did win, he’d get to set the stage for sex. It would be great either way, but he liked the idea of “winning” Aubrey—as a consenting prize, of course.

Days had flown by since their date. They hadn’t seen much of each other because they’d both been slammed with work and preparations.

This challenge was so different from the first—they only collaborated on the prices they’d charge for each item.

There’d been some back and forth, but nothing like there’d been for the first challenge.

While Teddy ate, Liam started to feel more confident. He’d worked on food trucks before when he’d first left home over a decade ago, and that time of his life had been exhausting and exhilarating all at once. It was a lot more fun when he was a teenager. Now he was pushing thirty.

While Teddy finished licking every morsel from his plate, Liam scrolled through his notifications, finding that Aubrey had tagged him in a post.

Challenge #2 is going down in Madison Park this afternoon! Come one, come all, if you want to see me beat #hotchef for the second week in a row! I’ll also be debuting new dishes.

After winning, Aubrey had posted a lovely message, thanking Liam for challenging her. Now, the gloves were off. He pulled up a flyer Damon made for the event and reposted it on his feed. Gary had only let them advertise the challenge three times each, so he wanted to remind his followers.

It’s time for #hotchef to triumph! Come out to Madison Park this afternoon, rain or shine, to try out some old favorites and delicious new bites!

He posted the flyer and put his phone down. After ReviewGate, he hesitated to be cheeky in his posts. He didn’t want to make things worse for Aubrey.

“Guess that means I need to win this fucking thing,” he told himself as he snatched his keys, double-checked on Teddy to be sure he was settled, and headed down to the restaurant to start his day.

When Liam arrived at the park, Benito, one of his junior kitchen guys, was busy working to get set up for lunch service. An extensive line already wrapped out of the park’s gates and onto the street. Mary, Gary’s assistant, was set up in front of the truck with an iPad and a cash box.

“Got you this, Mary.” He tossed an Elevation T-shirt at her.

She caught it. “Will you wait here while I change?”

She ran off toward the public bathrooms. Liam observed the crowd.

Judging by the alluring aromas wafting out of Aubrey’s food truck, she was already at work.

If she had an annoying trait, it was that she usually proved him wrong if he thought he was on top of something—an excellent trait in a partner but awful in an opponent.

Ashley stood directly opposite him. But of course, her little table had been decorated with a pink and white tablecloth and a small vase of fresh flowers.

Mary returned, and Liam ducked into the truck to help Benito finish getting ready. He looked around, proud he’d taught him well.

The first item was a new spin on his classic burger, called the over-easy. Patrons could choose from a chicken or duck egg to top their burger. Along with his signature sweet potato fries, he also offered a kimchi-like slaw. His other main was his take on a spicy chicken sandwich.

“Hello, hello!” Gary approached the truck. Aubrey was in tow, her brows creased, making her appear serious but still beautiful. “I know you’re both in the thick of it. But what would the game be without the ringmaster to announce the rules?”

“I think you’ll need that top hat if you keep this up,” Liam said.

Gary tutted. “Customers will order as usual, with their own money. This makes the choice more authentic. You’re allowed one sandwich board, advertising your wares.”

Aubrey already had a perfectly lettered sandwich board in front of her truck. Liam was pretty sure he’d forgotten to pack his.

“As soon as the challenge is over, Ashley and Mary will bring the iPads and cash boxes to the office. After we tally the amounts, the winner will be announced. It’s fairly straightforward this time. I can’t promise the last challenge will be.”

He scurried off, leaving Liam alone with Aubrey.

“You ready to see who wins?” Liam asked.

“Let’s just be diplomatic and say, may the best person win.” She arched up onto her tiptoes and thrust a hand at him .

“To the victor go the spoils. And I think we both know what that means.” He squeezed her hand.

Her cheeks exploded with color. “You jerk. I’ll talk to you after.”

He chuckled as she walked away, fully allowing himself to enjoy the view.

An hour into the challenge, Aubrey finally had a chance to look up. Her take on empanadas had been the sure winner, with the ham and brie panini still a decent seller. Garlic and rosemary mashed potatoes, handmade sea salt, and vinegar potato chips rounded out her sides. Both sold equally well.

If she won this thing, these would be the sort of items she’d offer for in-house dining. Excitement bubbled up inside her at the thought of what could be.

She’d thought she’d been doing gangbusters until she saw Liam’s line stretching out past the park’s entrance onto Rose Road.

“Fuck,” she hissed under her breath. She’d worried this challenge would be more up his alley than hers. Had she been right?

As much as she hated to admit it, Gary had been spot-on with this challenge. Leaving it up to the people to see which of them had a more viable product.

She’d done all she could do.

Once two thirty came and went, Aubrey and her intern, Annabelle, slid out of the truck and collapsed onto one of the benches facing the giant, bubbling fountain .

Ashley and Mary were already on their way to Gary’s office.

“That felt like three seconds, not hours,” Annabelle said.

“Tell me about it.” Aubrey chugged down a large bottle of water.

The door to Liam’s truck flung open, and he hopped out, fresh as a spring daisy.

He jogged across the park, pausing to toss a penny into the fountain like the Disney hero he was.

She laughed to herself. Even if she lost in the long run, she’d be happy for all they’d been through. She never would have had the courage to approach him otherwise. Now, he gazed at her as if she were the prize. Maybe they were both starting to lose their competitive edge.

“I’m going to start cleaning up so we can get back to Petit Chou ASAP.” Annabelle returned to the truck as Liam flopped onto the bench beside Aubrey.

“Well, I think that went well, don’t you?”

“You had time to think? I barely had time to breathe.” She blew a strand of hair free of her eyes.

He nudged her knee. “Breathing? Isn’t that so twentieth century?”

She laughed. “You charming fucker, you.” She looked up, her heart stuttering when she found those brown eyes already focused on her.

“You think you’ll be able to stick around until the winner’s announced?” he asked.

Aubrey’s phone buzzed with a text, and she reached for it. Liam mirrored her actions and arched his hips upward to pull his phone out of his pocket, temporarily making her forget what she was doing, as well as her name.

She recovered before he noticed and tapped on the notification.

“Four-thirty at his office. They’re going to start comparing the figures soon.

” Liam stood up. “That means I’d better get back to help with dinner prep.

I’ll see you there.” He crouched in front of her and acted like he was going to kiss her, but he must have thought better of it.

Not that there were many people about anyway, but still.

“Then we’ll see who gets to decide what happens after. ”

He took off before she could reply. Nervousness hummed through her body, and not just because she was anxious about the results. Of course, the competition mattered to her, but so did Liam. And if he’d won, she had a pretty good feeling she was the spoils he was after.