Page 35 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

twenty-four

“If I didn’t know better, I’d swear you were up to something.”

It was late afternoon, roughly half an hour before sunset. Liam rode his motorcycle out from the alley and onto Silver Spring Street. “Other than redeeming the IOU for one ride with my girl?”

Her heart tumbled over her feet— his girl.

“Gimme one sec, okay?” He left the bike and went inside. She leaned against the wall, trying to settle her heart. Even her damned overthinking brain wouldn’t get her down tonight.

He appeared with a pink motorcycle helmet tucked under his arm. “Couldn’t have you riding around unprotected. I needed a second helmet anyway.” He passed it to her.

She tilted it back and forth so it caught the light. It wasn’t only pink but also had a unicorn-like shimmer.

“Do you like it?”

“It’s pink and sparkly, duh, of course I do.”

He laughed and leaned forward. She caught a kiss he laid against her brow. “I figured basic black wouldn’t do for my girl.”

There they were again, those two impossible words .

“You figured right.” She let him kiss her again, this time on the lips.

He cradled her jaw in his hand. “You ready to ride?”

“Still no hints about the destination?”

“Close enough that I’ll be back in time to get back to work, but far enough for it to be an adventure. Well, that might be overselling it. It’s a petit adventure. See what I did there?”

She gave him a gentle shove. “I did, even though I’m not sure I wanted to.”

He left her there and slung his leg over the bike. It roared to life a moment later. “Hop on, Aubs.”

Once she was settled, she wrapped her arms around his waist. He slid a hand down to squeeze hers. “You ready to go?”

She startled at the sound of his voice in her helmet. “How did you do that?”

“Might’ve stolen your phone earlier to set up the Bluetooth connection.”

“You’re consistently impressing me with your craftiness. Let’s hit the road.”

The engine roared under them as he kicked off the curb. She didn’t miss the glances from passersby as they zoomed by.

Liam’s voice crackled across the line. “We’re cool as fuck, no wonder everyone’s looking at us.” He headed south on Ford’s Parkway, leading them out of town.

“No hints on our destination?”

“You didn’t go to Port Fortune High, right?” he asked.

“No, I finished high school in Japan.”

“Then you’ll find this much more impressive than my high school girlfriend did.”

She allowed the wind to whip past her. “You’re taking me to the town make-out point, aren’t you? You’re almost twenty years too late for me to be impressed by that.”

He laughed. “Don’t count me out just yet. ”

They took a left off Ford’s Parkway about twenty minutes out of town and went up the hill overlooking the river.

She’d been to Stone Grove Park before, on some scavenger hunt when Daphne was in elementary school.

On the way up the hill, they passed several signs stating the park was closed after dark.

“You are a rebel, aren’t you?”

His laugh crackled in her helmet. “It’s a Monday night. I’d be surprised if there were anyone here. I’m armed, just in case.”

She draped her hands lower against his waist. “Hmm, it doesn’t feel like it to me.”

The sharp intake of his breath was somehow more intimate coming through her helmet comm.

“You’ve got to stop that. Otherwise, I’m gonna crash this bike.”

The park was lovely at sunset, with streetlamps illuminating a path with several spots to sightsee at the river and beyond. They had maybe fifteen minutes before it would be fully dark.

He flicked the lights off as he parked the bike in the gravel parking lot. There was no one else around. He slid off the bike before helping her off. After locking up, he led her onto the path.

“So, what did you call this place when you were in high school? Fingerbang Lane? BJ Way?”

He snorted. “I can’t remember now, probably because when I wasn’t up there making out, I was smoking pot.”

“So, you’re telling me I should make sure Daphne avoids this place when she gets into high school.”

They entered a loose copse of trees. No wonder the teens picked this area for nefarious activities. It was well hidden from the rest of the park.

“We both know Daph isn’t dumb enough to hang out with the stoners.” He came to a stop. “Here we are. ”

Laid out in front of them was a picnic spread worthy of a magazine. Lanterns sat on either side of the blanket, with pillows pressed against trees.

“When did you have time to do this?”

“I didn’t. Sasha did, on her way out of town. She’s a romantic at heart.”

Aubrey took his hand, allowing him to help her onto the blanket. “She likes the city life, huh?”

Liam began to uncover the food Sasha had laid out. “Her school is forty-five minutes south of the city, but she does a lot of her clinicals at DC hospitals. It’s why she went to school up there in the first place. She wants to be a big city trauma nurse.”

“What about you? You’ve let on that you miss the city life, too.”

He pushed the charcuterie board toward her and began working on the wine bottle cork. “I do. Life is just more exciting in the city, you know? But if I leave, I’ll have to keep that stupid hot chef persona to stand out.”

She plucked a grape and tossed it into her mouth. “Well, it’s looking like you’ve got this thing in the bag, so I’m assuming you’ll stay after?”

He cut her a glance. “What do you mean? We’re dead even point-wise, and we haven’t completed the third challenge yet.”

“Me and live TV don’t have the best track record.” She let out a nervous laugh. “I may have been inwardly spiraling since the challenge was announced.”

“Shit, I’m sorry, Aubs.” The cork sprang free. “Care to share?”

“It was like twenty years ago, but they made me something of a meme when I was in high school. I had a mishap with a chopstick.”

He raised an eyebrow. “What kind of mishap?”

She tapped her eye. “I got startled, and a chopstick bounced off the plate and jabbed me in the eye. It was a right comedy of errors. Captured on live TV, of course.”

“Why didn’t you mention this before?”

“Honestly, I tried to put it out of my mind. I’m grateful I went to high school before social media took over, and the incident didn’t spread further than my school.” She handed him her glass. “I should be fine, but I’m honestly just eager to get it over with.”

“Which means, knowing you, you’re working on your Plan B.” He poured the wine.

She swirled it around in her glass and took a sniff. “Funny you mention it, Tom and I were just discussing that today.”

“Do tell.”

She took a sip. “We’ll close in January to reorganize and deep clean the space. From there, I don’t know. We can’t afford to move, even if it were an option. So, we’d probably resign the lease and hope by the time it renewed again, more development has come to the city.”

Liam nodded. “I could only move if Devour footed the bill. And honestly, renovation would be a bit much without the cash prize. I couldn’t afford to close for as long as it would take to do the work, and still pay my staff.”

A stab of worry hit her in the side of her chest. “It’s a compelling offer, that’s for sure. I think you could do big things in DC.”

He hitched up his knee and rested his elbow there.

“I could, but I’m not sold on the idea, either.

It would be a huge change. It’s also not entirely up to me.

Damon and my brother are partners in the business.

And I’d be losing a measure of control being under someone else’s umbrella.

There are pros and cons. I wouldn’t be able to retire hot chef anytime soon. ”

“So you’re considering it? ”

He reached for a slice of salami and rolled it up. “It’s not an accurate representation of who I am.”

She touched the side of his face. “It shows who you are on the outside. Nothing more.”

He gazed up at her. “You know that, but people make assumptions.”

“Like you did, huh?”

She gave him a push. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

He grabbed her by the waist, surprising her as he hefted her into his lap. “No, I don’t think I will. Although I wish you had said something earlier. We wasted a lot of time.”

She considered reminding him it wasn’t like their crush was a two-way street all these years, but what was the point of that?

She draped an arm around his shoulders and lowered her mouth to his. “We’ll make up for it now.”

They slid back against the tree as they kissed. His hands came to her hips before one slid up to her waist, fingers tantalizing at the waistband of her leggings.

The elastic halted his progress, but not for long. She hitched up her hips and tugged the leggings down and over her ass. Her exposed skin broke out in gooseflesh.

Liam’s laugh was low and dirty. “Tell me what you want, then.”

She leaned closer to him. “I think it’s the same thing you’re after.”

He exhaled as he cupped her ass. She took a moment to savor the sight of him, equally ruined by her as she was by him.

“Are you going to sit there and hold me all night?” she asked.

“I’ll have you know, this is my emotional support ass.” He gave her another squeeze .

Her laugh dissolved into a sigh as one hand slipped around to slide inside her underwear.

He drew his thumb down the center of her. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Oh, wait, are there cameras here? Oh God?—”

He dipped his index finger inside her. “I might’ve done a little reconnaissance. There’s one camera at the entrance. The rest are dummies. I know how your brain works, Aubs. Besides, we’re mostly shaded under the tree.”

He knew how her body worked, too.

“Look at me, Aubrey.”

She was so lost in the sensation that he had to repeat himself not once, but twice, before her eyes opened.

“I’m so close, please don’t stop.” She sighed as she moved against him.

He grabbed her chin. “Eyes open. Don’t you dare look away.”

His tone was so insistent, she had to obey. The lantern light gave his dark-brown eyes a golden hue. He tugged down her bottom lip with his free hand. “You’re so beautiful when you fall apart, I hope you know that.”

She clutched his shoulder as she came, their eyes locked.

As she blinked back to reality, the weight of his stare had her tilting her head away from him. His grip was relentless.

“I thought I told you not to look away?”

She leaned forward until she was nose to nose with him. “If that’s what you want, that’s what you’ll get.” She tilted her head to peer at him. “I’ll watch you when you sleep, too. Maybe I already do. You should check for a camera on Teddy’s collar.”

He let out a laugh. “You make it hard to be overprotective.”

“Hmm, hard,” she murmured, lowering her hand to rest against his cock. “Maybe we should get back to your place. Then it’ll be my turn to watch. Oh, wait. You have to get back to work. Shame.”

“You give me whiplash, the way you can switch from making me laugh to dirty talk.”

She rolled her leggings back up and over her hips. “I’m a woman of many talents. Come on, let’s ride. And yes, I do mean?—”

He grabbed her chin again. “I know what you meant.”

They shared another kiss before he helped her up and then onto the bike.

On the way into town, they didn’t talk much. She rested her head against his back, eyes on the world as it whipped past.

Soon enough, this competition would end. And she was more than a little terrified of losing Liam before she had him.