Page 43 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

thirty-one

Aubrey thumbed through paint swatches, unable to tell the differences between the various shades of pale pink.

She held up two swatches to the wall in the vacant space, or, as she’d started calling it, the expansion.

She’d hated the original paint they’d picked out when it arrived, so they’d returned to the drawing board.

“Am I going blind, or are Secret Kiss and Breathless the same damn color?”

Tom peered over her shoulder. “They look the same to me.”

She dropped the swatches. “I don’t know why I’m trying to do this today. My brain is currently circling the drain.”

Daphne was at home in bed. Thankfully, Chris could look after her so that Aubrey could make a laundry list of pre-construction decisions.

Tom pointed to the novelty check leaning against the back wall. “You did get the real check, too, right? Just clarifying before we start spending money.”

“Yes, Ben was by to take photos this morning with Gary and the mayor. You’re lucky you were at the market. It’ll be in tomorrow’s paper. ”

“They’re gonna put you on the payroll if you keep showing up on the front page.”

“God, I hope not. But hey, it’s good press for us and the city.”

“And for Liam, too. Maybe if the mayor and Gary keep their infighting to a minimum, we can get that development we need in town. Then Liam could stay if he wanted.”

She glanced around at her partially boxed-up kitchen. She and Tom had started the task, but it would take at least one more full day, if not two, to pack everything up before the construction crew arrived on Tuesday.

“Can we please go back to picking out paint swatches? Brad is stopping by soon, and we have to decide.”

Tom snatched the swatches from her and took them to the far wall. As he deliberated, Aubrey paused by the picture window. While she stared out onto Sweet Briar, Liam came into view.

She walked over to the front door and exhaled. This panic bullshit was getting on her nerves. She had to talk to Liam.

His face lit up at the sight of her. “Hey, I’ve gotta get to work. I just came from Gary’s.”

She leaned in the doorway. “What were you doing there?”

“I wanted his opinion on this whole Jason Morse situation, now that we know the contest’s outcome.

” He checked the time on his smartwatch.

“Shit, I’ve got to go. Damon has the night off, and we’re fully booked.

Would you mind coming with me tomorrow to DC?

Jason has a space in mind for Elevation, and your opinion is invaluable. ”

She couldn’t help but be touched, even if this meeting had the air of picking out the wedding dress for your ex-husband’s new bride.

She cared for Liam too much to stand in his way.

“Sure, just let me know when. ”

“It’ll probably be late afternoon. I figured we’d make a night of it. A band I like is playing at The Anthem, too. I think it’ll be a fun date. Although fair warning, Sasha loves this band too, so she’ll be tagging along.”

He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. Not that they’d done a very good job of hiding their relationship before, but there was no sense in being secretive about it now.

“Great, I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” she said.

With a wave, he ran off.

All those terrible thoughts burst like a dam in her mind.

“What’s up?” Tom appeared behind her.

“Operation: Bring hot chef to DC appears to be full steam ahead.”

“Okay, but that doesn’t have to be bad.”

She wanted the best for Liam, so of course, his moving wasn’t bad per se.

She couldn’t imagine how the relationship could continue.

She was fully involved in the expansion of Petit Chou.

With an expanded dining space and kitchen, she’d have to add in more staff, craft menus, and decorate the space…

this win was beyond a blessing. But her to-do list would be even longer now than it had been before.

How could she maintain a relationship with Liam when his schedule would be even busier, and he lived hours away, to boot?

Tom slapped a hand on her shoulder. “Now I see what’s going on with you.”

She shrugged Tom off. “I’m not in the mood for your armchair analysis right now.”

Tom came around her other side. “Everyone loves you, Aubs. So why is it hard for you to realize Liam does, too?”

“That’s not the problem. I can’t stand between him and his dreams.”

The words came out before she could clamp her mouth shut .

Tom stepped in front of her, giving her no choice but to look at him. “Why can’t it be both? The big city dreams, and you could meet up, all romantically? Maybe get a house somewhere in the middle of here and there?”

Tom had always been a hopeless romantic. Aubrey was far too pragmatic for that.

“It could work, in theory. But Daphne’s about to enter high school, plus the logistics of being a business owner…” she trailed off.

“Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

She shook her head. “I never told you something, Tom.”

“What did he do? He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

She waved the thought away. “No, nothing like that. He’s been nothing but wonderful to me. But…” There was one way to say it, so she might as well get it out. “Before we got together, I… I had a crush on Liam.”

Tom’s mouth dropped open.

“A total teenybopper crush I had for over three years on and off. I kept him at a distance because he was a pretty face to distract me while my heart mended after my divorce. Too bad my crush didn’t heal over like my broken heart did. Now I don’t know what to do.” She looked up at him, eyes wide.

Tom arched a brow. “Well, this is certainly a revelation.”

“It was something to protect my heart after Chris left me. A little bit of limerence to keep my anxious mind busy. It was fun enough when we were messing around during this competition. Now, I don’t know.”

Tom only sighed. “Oh, you beautiful idiot. You’ve been so busy living inside that extraordinary mind of yours, you’ve missed the point entirely.”

A stubborn tear slipped down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away. This was why it was better for her to focus on herself and her business .

Tom shook his head. “You’re not seeing what the rest of us are.

So many people sidled up to me after the dinner last night to say what a beautiful couple you two made, how it seemed downright natural for you to be together.

Don’t let that negative voice convince you otherwise, okay?

” He drew her in for a hug. “And if you don’t call your therapist for an appointment, I’m going to, okay? ”

Leroy poked his head in, saying the inserts for the advent calendar had arrived—finally, something to take Aubrey’s mind off the inevitable.

“Please stop looking at me like that.”

Lameka ran her hands over her face. “Like what? Like you’re upending my life? I’m in the middle of nest mode, Liam. Do you not see those baby clothes piled up in the hamper, just waiting to be tucked away in drawers?”

Damon appeared with a beer, which Liam gratefully took.

“I committed to the DC meeting without talking to you both. Sorry. I assumed you’d be down based on what Damon said.”

From behind Lameka, Damon drew a frantic hand across his neck. He likely hadn’t talked much with his other half about a possible move to DC.

Lameka stared at Liam, one brow pointedly arched.

Liam coughed. “It’s not too late to back out.”

Please don’t back out, please don’t back out ?—

“Of course, I’ll go with you to the meeting. Lameka, you can nest here if you need to. We’ll figure out the logistics after the baby is born.” Damon nestled on the couch next to Lameka.

“And your little sister bitches about the commute on the regular. Because we live in one of the worst metro areas for traffic. Your commute is less than ten minutes now. That’s gonna quadruple,” Lameka said.

“So, we do it for a little while. We’ll figure it out; we always do.”

Lameka pulled a face. Liam knew her well enough to know she was considering her husband’s words.

For most people, it would be awkward as hell to third wheel on a couple’s argument, but Liam had been listening to Damon and Lameka bicker since junior year.

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves; there are other options,” Damon said.

“As much as I hate to admit it, not Jason Morse options.” Lameka leaned forward and pulled a copy of Essence magazine from a pile.

She flicked through it and handed it to Liam.

“Jason is a mover and a shaker. Look at this profile of him and his wife. She owns a chain of nail salons in the DMV. These are the kind of people who can make our dreams come true. Opportunity doesn’t like to knock twice. ”

While Liam scanned the article, Lameka rubbed her belly. “Wouldn’t it be nice if you could eventually work fewer hours? Aligning with someone like Jason could lead to a life like that.” She turned to Damon. “We’ve been hustling for so long, y’all.”

Liam set the magazine aside. “We could do it in Port Fortune, too. Hell, we’ve already started down that path. It would take longer, though.”

She turned to Damon and rubbed his bald head. “That’s true. Elevation has been wonderful these last three years, but business never stays stagnant. We’ve got to pivot to stay relevant.”

Damon put his arm around Lameka’s shoulders and brought her in for a kiss. “See? This is why Aubrey’s good for you, my man. She’s a solid woman, just like Lameka. ”

She chuckled and playfully swatted his hands away. “Don’t let her get away, Liam. Especially if this DC thing works out.” She leveled him one of her patented “serious as a heart attack stares.”

“I won’t, I promise!” He laughed. She’d agreed to go to DC, so that was something. He had faith they’d figure out a plan.