Page 40 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

twenty-eight

Liam checked his reflection in the mirror. “What do you think, old man? Am I respectable enough for dinner with the girlfriend’s fam?” He patted Teddy’s butt.

A leather jacket, his best jeans, and a button-down shirt. He was about as dressed up as he got unless he had a wedding or a funeral to attend.

Teddy opened one eye and regarded him before closing it again. The cat was fed and curled up on his favorite blanket. Human concerns were not his problem.

Liam gave him another pat, then he reached for his car keys. He was grateful that they were willing to have dinner early, so he didn’t miss out on another shift at Elevation.

On his way out the door, he stopped at the fridge for the cold bag with the steaks he’d been marinating for dinner.

Aubrey’s father was handling the sides, and she’d made a Japanese cheesecake for dessert.

She’d joked he should be glad they were having this dinner before they knew who the winner was, or she would have made chocolate cake because of their bet .

He should have made a counter-bet, but he didn’t want anything from Aubrey that he didn’t already have.

On the drive across town, he mulled over his upcoming meeting with Jason.

DC had grown on him a little. It would be a considerable risk that could pay off big time, especially with someone like Jason Morse on his side.

They’d exchanged a few emails, with Jason or one of his assistants answering his questions almost instantly.

They were in courting mode, that was sure enough.

He just wondered what life would be like once they had him.

If they did, after the pasta brain flopped on live TV, he was less certain the contest was a sure thing. Of course, he wanted to win; he’d be an idiot not to want to take advantage of such an opportunity.

But if he didn’t win, Aubrey was well deserving of the prize. And if his path led him outside of Port Fortune onto bigger and better things, well, maybe that’s where he was meant to be.

He was grateful for this dinner; at least he’d have a couple of hours to forget about his fate after the competition.

After he rang the bell at Aubrey’s, Daphne ran out the front door and hugged him. He wasn’t expecting the near tackle. The kid had impressive strength.

“Be careful, Daph.” Aubrey appeared on the front porch and took the cold bag from him.

“Kid, you should think about football. You’d be a great defensive tackle.”

Daphne smiled. “I don’t know if I’m interested in sports. Did you play any?”

While moving into the house, he told Daphne he had played baseball in high school and was on a rec rugby team.

“Hmm, do they have girls’ rugby? I like knocking people over. ”

Aubrey laughed. “She’s been like that since she learned to walk. It’s less charming now that she’s taller than me.”

Liam laughed. “I’m pretty sure there is. Maybe I can investigate for your mom.”

As Aubrey hung his coat in the closet, Daphne skipped ahead of them.

“She’s a great kid,” Liam said.

Aubrey closed the closet door and turned to him. “She thinks the world of you, too.” There was an edge to her voice he couldn’t quite figure out, but before he could ask her about it, Aubrey’s father appeared.

“Hello, fellow William. I’m sure glad you go by Liam, and I go by Bill, or life could get mighty complicated around these parts.”

Aubrey groaned. “It’s a little early for the dad jokes. Come on, let’s get dinner started.”

He loved his crazy, chaotic family, but dinner with the Dennisons was a completely different experience. After a fantastic meal, they retired to the family room to play Scrabble.

Liam soon realized Daphne was something of a Scrabble shark if such a thing existed. When Liam cried foul, Daphne let out an evil laugh.

“I know a lot of words because I came in third at the state spelling bee.”

“Jeez, you could’ve warned me, you little hustler,” He groused as he pulled dud letters from the bag.

“And allow you to underestimate me? Never!” The evil laugh came again.

Aubrey palmed her forehead. “That’s a line from an anime she loves. We’ve been hearing it a lot lately.”

A sudden wave of gratitude washed over Liam, and he reached over to squeeze Aubrey’s hand. No matter what happened on Friday, he’d already won.

Aubrey wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but she was pretty sure Liam had the competition in the bag.

Even after the pasta brain implosion, his appearance had left folks charmed.

The comments on his socials were thirsty, to say the least. His followers had jumped up by five thousand after the Sunrise Washington segment.

While she’d seen engagement and her numbers increase, it was nothing on that level.

Gary hadn’t said if they’d be looking at that sort of thing when deciding the winner, but come on . They had to.

She’d channeled that nervous energy she’d spent fretting about the contest into a plan to reorganize the existing space. They’d gotten used to shoving things where they fit instead of having an actual system.

And if she were patient, additional space in the city could become available, especially if the contest achieved its goal and brought Port Fortune into the spotlight.

She worked out a plan in her sketchbook. Getting organized was half the battle. They could close for a week over New Year’s, then maybe do a grand re-opening with Liam around when Elevation reopened. Would that annoy him?

No, he’d find it cute. He was just supportive. Maybe that’s why she’d come to terms with losing. Of course , she still wanted the prize. It would do wonders for her business. But if she was anything, she was a realist and could sense this prize had all but slipped through her fingers.

“Earth to Aubrey, are you there?” Liam slid his large frame into the booth opposite her .

She slammed her sketchbook closed. “Sorry, I was just doing some sketching.”

“You must’ve been super into it, because I was doing my best interpretive dance in front of the window to get your attention. I think I’m going to end up going viral for all the wrong reasons.”

She laughed. “I apologize for missing it. Do you think you could show me again sometime?”

“I have to work tonight, but tomorrow, maybe?” He leaned across the booth and squeezed her hand. “Or maybe a post-competition celebration? If we’re up for it, I mean? This thing is still up in the air, you know?”

She flipped over her hand and threaded her fingers through his.“You’ve got it.”

He leaned across the table, kissed her, and bustled out the door. Aubrey went back to her sketching, her mind elsewhere. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed when she came out of the haze. Instead of reimagining Petit Chou’s new organizational system, she’d drawn a rough sketch of Liam’s face.

She drew her thumb over the fine pencil lines of his jaw. She should finish it before the announcement. Seeing his reaction would be the consolation prize her heart needed.