Page 3 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

“Why do I feel we’re about to play a central part in Gary’s latest nightmare scheme?” Liam muttered. “Promise me there won’t be animals involved this time?”

“Well, aren’t you the pessimist? Besides, that was only the one time, with the snakes,” Gary said. “Anyhow, I was watching one of those food channel programs?—”

“You’re bringing Gordon Ramsay in to yell at us?” Aubrey cut in.

Without meaning to, Liam snorted. Aubrey was kinda funny when she wasn’t being a pain in the ass.

Ugh, ass . What had gotten into him today?

“No, I doubt we could afford the man’s per diem anyway.

” Gary chuckled to himself. “I presented the idea that you two”—he waved his hands back and forth— “will vie in a competition of sorts for the vacant space. To promote your businesses and the city. It’ll highlight that historic charm, as well as the need for redevelopment to keep the city striving into the twenty-first century. ”

The city was short on commercial real estate, but especially on Sweet Briar Street.

“So, did you get approval from the historical society for construction?” Liam asked.

“Yes, as long as we keep the changes to the facade to a minimum, all should be well.”

“Thank God for that,” Aubrey said. “I wouldn’t want there to be any facade fiascos.”

Liam let out another snort. Had she always been this funny?

“Yes, yes, very important. As I was saying, the contest can also shed light on the city’s need for new development. I still have hopes for a revitalized riverside development. But without further investment, it’ll be stuck in permit lingo for the time being.”

“It’s never a good idea to have a feud with the mayor, Gary,” Aubrey said.

“Oh, it’s not a feud. More like a…disagreement.” Gary dismissed the thought with a roll of his eyes.

Mayor Albright and Gary were neighbors. Their historic mansions overlooked the river in the most exclusive neighborhood in the city.

No one could pinpoint exactly how the feud started, but it was probably why Gary’s permits took twice as long to process as anyone else’s.

Since the mayor was head of the chamber of commerce, this was an attempt to gain favor with him and the town bigwigs, who weren’t always so fond of Gary’s antics.

“So, returning to my original point, we’ll have a competition?—”

“Which you’ve yet to tell us anything about aside from hints of the Food Network,” Aubrey said.

“As I was saying,” Gary carried on as if she hadn’t spoken, “this chamber of commerce project could benefit us all. The mayor brought up the loosest ideas of a contest, but I’m the one who took the concept and ran with it.”

“Look at you two, getting along,” Aubrey said.

“I wouldn’t go that far,” Gary said.

Liam half-listened to them. Maybe it was overconfidence, but he’d kind of always assumed Gary would announce that Elevation would get the space. After all, it’d been his idea. There’s no way Aubrey had thought of the same thing. She’d just heard about his concept and glommed onto it.

That Gary was proposing some idiotic contest made him panic.

He didn’t want to leave Port Fortune, not really. But he couldn’t deny that his growing boredom was causing his creativity to crater—that and having to tack on #hotchef to every post he made.

Before Gary could answer, Liam cut in, “You could probably find space, Aubrey. After all, it was my idea to expand, anyway.”

“The hell it was!” Aubrey tapped her foot so hard that her croc shot off her foot. Pink and covered in cherries, of course. She shoved the shoe back on her foot after putting it into sport mode.

“Is that why you’re annoyed? That your idea isn’t as original as you thought?”

Liam groaned. “Okay, fine, whatever. We both came up with the idea simultaneously. Still, your lease isn’t up as soon as mine is, and you don’t need as much square footage.” He placed his hands together, an appeal to her mercy.

The stupid #hotchef tag did bring in customers. Some nights, they had to turn folks away because the wait was too long. She wouldn’t know what that was like, given that most of her business was carryout.

“The universe doesn’t revolve around you, hot chef. My business is just as important as yours. Besides, this was Gary’s idea, not mine. I want to hear what he’s proposing.”

“I didn’t mean to infer that it wasn’t?—”

“It’s too late for negotiations, I’m afraid,” Gary interrupted. “It’s not up to me. The Chamber has decided. The contest will commence.”

Neither said a word as they glared at each other while Gary looked on.

“Perhaps stop aiming your bedroom eyes at Aubrey, Liam. She appears to be immune to your charms.”

Aubrey’s mouth dropped open before she turned away.

He whirled toward Gary. “You think those are bedroom eyes? Those are the direct opposite.”

Gary only cocked a brow while Aubrey slipped further away .

“So, are you going to tell us what this competition entails or not, Gary?” Aubrey called over her shoulder.

“How much fun would it be if I revealed everything now?” Gary’s eyes danced with mischief.

When they only gaped at him, Gary sighed. “Oh, you royal pair of sourpusses. I will reveal a card or two. The Chamber has given me carte blanche in contest creation. With the condition that we all consent to the contest being used as promotional materials for the city.”

Gary extended his arms. “The competition will consist of three…” He whirled around in a circle and tapped his chin.

“Yes, three rounds of challenges. Each will be scored on a scale from one to three points. The winner of each challenge will earn the highest number of points, a maximum of three. The loser may receive anywhere from zero to two points.”

Gary chuckled and muttered, “Yes, yes,” under his breath. He’d probably crafted the rules on the spot.

“Do the points carry over from challenge to challenge, or do you start over at zero each time?” Liam asked.

“Hm, what? Oh yes. Points obviously carry over. So, the points you have going into the third challenge will factor into the total score. So, it’s important to score as high as possible in the first two challenges, even if you lose.”

Liam took a moment to run the math. “So, if I win the first two contests with the max of three points each, I’d bring six points total into the third challenge.”

“ Or , if I brought in two points for each challenge that I won, and you brought in one for each that you lost, I’d have four points and you’d have two, you arrogant asshat,” Aubrey snapped.

“Or—” Liam started.

“Yes, we’ve all mastered elementary school arithmetic,” Gary cut in. “There are numerous ways this can play out. The most important takeaway is that all the challenges matter.”

Aubrey folded her arms across her chest. “Now that we’ve got the scoring out of the way, there will be three rounds of what kind of challenges, exactly?”

“All will be revealed, my dear.”

When they groaned, Gary threw up his hands. “Fine. After the challenges, the winner will be revealed at Port Fortune’s First Annual Night Out. The chamber of commerce wants as many eyes on the event as possible. Happy?”

“I mean, that’s a little more information, but not what we asked for,” Liam groused.

Advertisements for the Night Out had papered the town over the last week. A charity dinner to raise money to help open a shelter to help the city’s growing homeless population, all the chefs in town had signed up to donate a dish. The event was over a month away.

Liam rubbed his eyes. “Well, I guess this is my life now.”

He had to win Gary’s crazy competition. Because as far as Plan B went, he had one paddle and a map to shit’s creek.

“Oh, don’t appear so dour; there’s good news, too,” Gary admonished.

“The winner will get the space, with construction due to start in the new year. The chamber of commerce is also graciously offering a prize of $10,000. And I will cover the renovation costs, except for any upgrades you want to add.”

Aubrey kept a neutral expression on her face until the mention of the cash prize. “This sounds like a reality TV pilot that failed to get picked up, but screw it, I’m in,” Aubrey said. “Maybe it could be fun.”

“You’re sure about this?” Liam asked. “It seems like a whole song and dance. Who knows if the contest would bring any tourist dollars to town, anyhow?”

“Given that you have nearly two million online followers between the two of you, how could it not? I’m mad at myself for not capitalizing on this idea earlier, honestly.”

He did have a point, but Liam wasn’t going to admit it. “Fine, whatever. I guess I’m in, too. Can you tell us about the first challenge?”

Gary went silent for a moment. “It will occur a week from tonight. A dinner for thirty-five, taking place in this space. You will collaborate on three courses. Course one: bread and salad. Course two: main with two sides. And course three: desserts and cheese.”

A dinner didn’t sound so bad, but Aubrey began to protest. “This challenge seems skewed to Liam?—”

“And you’d be selling yourself short by assuming that,” Gary shot back. “There’s an opportunity for you to showcase Petit Chou as a whole. Not just your sweet treats.”

Aubrey started to interject, but Gary clapped his hands.

“Those are enough details to whet your appetite; the particulars will come tomorrow. Just clear your schedule of extracurriculars. This contest will stretch over the next few weeks. Once this first challenge is concluded, you’ll learn what the second is.”

“We both have businesses to run,” Liam said. “So please keep that in mind when you’re in your evil laboratory coming up with the challenges.”

Gary laughed. “I shall do no such thing, young man! This is a unique opportunity. It’s not supposed to be easy. I have faith you’ll figure it out.”

Aubrey gnawed on her lower lip as she took in the news. God, why did he have to develop an interest in this irritating little pastry chef now ?

Gary’s phone began to ring. “Ben from The Pinnacle will be by tomorrow for a photo shoot, so make yourselves presentable!” He took two steps toward the door.

“Oh, and by the way, your presence will be expected at a little impromptu cocktail party at my manse on Thursday night. A little mingling will excite everyone for the contest campaign, don’t you think? ”

They followed him out.

“I do work at night, you know!” Liam said.

“And I work early!” Aubrey countered.

Gary returned to his phone call, ignoring them both.

She whirled around and tugged her sweatshirt over her backside.

Again.

He huffed out a breath. This contest bullshit was already out of hand.

“I hate to beat a dead horse, but it would be easier if you just let me have it. I mean, how much space could you need to make those fancy little cakes?” He draped himself across the doorframe and put on his best smile.

She rounded on him, mighty at little over five feet tall. “You already asked me once, and I told you to fuck off. Don’t ask again if you want to keep your appendages in their original locations.”

She meant his arms and legs, of course, but he couldn’t help but think of another, ahem, appendage.

“Okay, you’ve made yourself clear.” He took a step back. That fire in her blue eyes was a little intimidating.

“Now that we know where we stand, should we shake on a fair fight?”

Liam snorted. “What makes you think it’ll be a fight?”

Her smile dropped, and she narrowed her eyes. “Here’s a pro tip, Linley: there’s confidence, and then there’s cockiness. You land on the cocky side, and maybe some people find that a winning quality, but I don’t.” She paused. “Especially for a dude begging for an out less than a minute ago.”

She was right, but he wasn’t gonna cop to it .

“You telling that to me or you, darling?” He flicked his hair from his face.

Her wide-eyed gaze shot up to meet his. She sputtered briefly before she managed, “You, obviously.”

God, she was annoyingly adorable. This was one hell of a predicament, especially since they’d have to be spending time together for this first challenge.

With a grin, he extended his hand. “You’re right. It doesn’t matter if neither of us wants to do this; you know Gary, once his mind’s made up. May the best man”—he paused for dramatic effect—“or woman win.”

She slapped her palm against his. His large hand covered hers and squeezed tightly.

“Trying to break my fingers, you cheater?”

“Cheating’s not really my style.” He released her.

“With a face like that, you’re kind of cheating at life, right?” She let out a strangled noise and covered her rapidly reddening cheeks.

He sputtered out a laugh. “What the fuck does that mean?”

Aubrey hurried toward the door. She tugged the bun free, and her dark curls cascaded down her back.

Before the door shut behind her, Liam called, “Was that a compliment?”

Her response was a middle finger as she passed by the front window.