Page 50 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

thirty-eight

When Tom had called in a panic to tell her there’d been a disaster in his kitchen and he hadn’t finished making the cake for his Tia Maria-Joan’s birthday party, it’d been a no-brainer for Aubrey to step in.

She knew Tom’s family well, and his aunt loved the super dark chocolate version of her standard cake recipe. It was rich but not too sweet. She’d had all the ingredients at home to whip up a replacement cake. She’d been invited to the party, but was in no mood to celebrate.

What else did she have to do, with her kid out of town—in Virginia Beach at a Comic-Con—with her dad, and her father busy with his charity duties? She’d been alone in that big house with not even a dust mote to keep her company.

With the cake finished, Aubrey drove downtown to Tom’s townhouse. When she arrived, expecting to do a simple hand-off, Tom surprised her by slipping into the passenger’s seat.

She put the car in park. “What are you doing? Am I driving you to Woodbridge?”

“No, I need you to drive me somewhere closer. So on with it, already. ”

“Wait, what?”

Tom strapped into the passenger seat. “All will be revealed. Drive, boo.”

He was uncharacteristically silent as she drove, until he finally said, “Stop the car.”

Their destination was Elevation.

“What the hell is going on?” She whirled on her best friend.

“Liam has something to say to you. He also owes you a bite of your chocolate cake since you won the competition. So why don’t you kill two birds and get out of the van, Aubs? I’ll park it around back.”

“But your aunt?—”

“I already made her cake. So, go.” He gently pushed her arm.

Aubrey stumbled onto the street. Tom opened the side door and thrust the cake box into her hands.

“Make good choices, I love you!”

She stood there, stunned, before turning toward Elevation, where she found one of the large garage doors thrown open. Liam weaved his way through the tables, pacing. Instead of being packed to bursting during the dinner rush, the restaurant was empty.

Feeling like she’d stumbled onto the set of some prank show, she knew she wouldn’t get answers standing on the street. She exhaled and stepped inside.

“Liam?”

He turned to face her, his eyes bright. “Aubs. Hey.”

Her heart tumbled up and over like a roller coaster. “What’s going on?”

He took the cake box from her. There was silence between them until he blew out a large breath.

“I’ll get straight to it. Elevation is closing.”

She exhaled a long breath. Tears burned at the corners of her eyes. She’d been so sure of everything—now that he was leaving, that certainty had evaporated. “Wow, Jason does move fast.”

His expression narrowed. “DC’s out. Jason is a great guy and wonderful at what he does. That said, he’s more interested in marketing hot chef than Elevation. I don’t blame him for it, but it’s not the direction I wanted to take. We ended our tentative agreement amicably.”

None of this made sense. “I’m confused. Why are you closing?”

He gestured for her to follow him to the communal table on one side of the restaurant.

A copy of Kevin’s plans from before the competition ended was laid out on the battered tabletop. Changes were roughly sketched on top in blue ink.

“We’re going to use the original plans to re-do Elevation to make it a more workable space.

” He tapped on the kitchen area. “Laying out the kitchen differently will help a lot. We’re flipping the layout.

We’re also removing the private event room since it’s wasted when we don’t have a party.

” He jabbed the plans. “And we’re adding a station for a pastry chef if you have any suggestions for a new hire. ”

“I do,” she said before catching herself. “I’m still not tracking what you’re saying. The space still isn’t big enough to meet the demand. Unless your numbers have fallen since you ditched hot chef and took up the boot camp look.”

A smile hinted at his lips. “My numbers haven’t dropped. But you’re right, it’s an interim solution.” He pushed aside the weights holding down the plans, revealing another set behind them. He tapped the paper. “Elevation Express, 121 Tulip Turn.”

“Where that Thai takeout place close over the summer?”

“Yeah. It’s going to be my baby. Carry-out and delivery focused, seating for twenty, max. It’s going to be my test space for the main kitchen. Damon is taking over as Executive Chef at Elevation, while I move my focus to Express.”

Aubrey reviewed the plans, her heart rising like a cloud. “This is all good, but I thought you didn’t have the money?”

“I have a new investor. You may know her?” He turned toward her, all smiles. “She goes by the name of Mom.”

Aubrey’s mouth dropped open. “Really?”

He shrugged. “Ma always has an opinion, but now she has the money to go with it. She’s finally going to be getting back payments from the insurance company after my dad’s accident.”

Aubrey knew they’d been battling with the state for years, so this was good news. “So, you’re going to let her be part of the Elevation team?”

He rolled his eyes. “After much back and forth, she agreed to be a silent partner. Besides, Gary has offered me a favorable lease rate on the new space, and we’ve worked out a new lease agreement for the current space. He’s become somewhat of a mentor to me.”

She chuckled to herself. “So that’s what you guys were working on earlier.”

“Well, yeah. I’ve been planning this for days. I was going crazy without you. This was a way to occupy my thoughts. I wanted to surprise you. Did I?” His smile was bright.

“I don’t know how you figured this out so quickly.”

“What can I say? The thought of losing you provided ample ammunition to figure out my shit.”

She turned to the cake box. “You owe me a piece of cake.”

He wrung his hands over one another. “I’ll give it to you. But did it work? Are you surprised?”

“I would only be more surprised if the roof caved in right now.”

Their eyes met, and they laughed .

“Then I’ll have that cake while you process.” He walked into the kitchen and reappeared with a couple of plates and a cake server.

“I’m surprised you even have one of those.”

“For the private parties, duh,” he said, not unkindly.

Once the cake had been served, she sat at the table while Liam returned to the kitchen to grab them glasses of water. She stress ate a few bites before he joined her. He took care to scrape off some of the icing.

“Hey, you’re scraping off my grandmother’s Italian buttercream.”

“Cake is bad enough; icing is the worst.” Before she could complain, he said, “A bet is a bet.” He scooped a big bite into his mouth, wincing.

Only the street sounds carried in as he chewed.

“Well?”

He set down his fork. “Well, it’s a cake. It’s a nice cake, I guess. Dark and rich, not super sweet. I still don’t like chocolate.”

“Damn, you’re not cured after all.” She shoved a bite into her mouth.

“Aubs.” He placed his hand over hers, causing her to choke a little.

He pushed the water glass across the table to her. “Are you okay?”

She waved him off after a slight pound of her chest. “I’m okay, honestly. If anything, I’m a little mad you beat me to the punch.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I was starting to plan out some romantic gesture. I missed you so much, and I realized I was caught up on the wrong things?—”

“Wait, what were you planning? You’ve got me curious. ”

“The plans hadn’t gotten much farther than a couple of Internet searches and drawing your name over and over in my sketchbook, surrounded by little hearts. I also finished that sketch I drew of you. I’ll have to hang it in Petit Chou when it reopens.”

“Sounds like things were back to where they were before the competition, huh?”

“Yeah, except I know how annoying you are now.”

He hooked his foot around her chair and dragged her closer. “I think this space was good for both of us.”

“I think so. I know my anxiety can be a lot—and I’m sure you’ve caught on by now that I overcompensate with humor—but I’ve had an appointment with my therapist, and I’ll be meeting with her regularly again. I’ve also added a new anxiety medicine to my regimen.”

He dropped his forehead against hers. “You’re not running into battle solo anymore, Aubs. You’ve got me. But you can’t lock me out. Not if we’re doing this. We’re a team.”

“I know that now, I promise.”

He cupped her cheek. “I don’t know about you, but I can’t stand another minute away from you.”

She looped an arm around his shoulder. “So, what does this mean?”

“I’m staying now, Aubs. Not just for you, but you played a huge part in this decision. I want us to stay, working side by side, growing our careers right here. I know you and Daphne come as a package deal. I’m happy to be in her life to whatever level you and Chris allow me to be.”

“She’s got her shit together more than I do. She’ll be fine.” She paused. “But I appreciate your consideration for her feelings.”

“We both know why you got scared, Aubs. This thing between us…it’s real.” He reached forward and grabbed her hand. He gave it a tight squeeze.

“I know that now,” she said softly. “I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

Aubrey’s breath returned to her for the first time since the competition had ended. She closed her eyes and slid her head onto his shoulder.

“I do have one condition if we’re going to do this, though.”

She exhaled. Whatever he wanted, she’d comply. She could hardly believe this was happening.

“You need to change your emoji for me on your phone. I think I’ve been promoted from poop emoji to at least the little chef.”

Laughter burst out of her. “Is that all? Of course. You can pick your emoji.” She pushed her phone across the table toward him.

He held a hand to his chest. “Thank you. It was wearing on my mind.”

God, he was such a smart ass. But he was hers. And she’d never let him go. “I’m glad I could bring you peace.”

They stayed in a little bubble of just the two of them until Liam cupped her face in his hand.

“So, what do you say, Aubs? Me, you, world domination?” He murmured the words against her head.

“Maybe not world domination. Let’s start with Port Fortune, then the DMV.” She tightened her grip.

“If we’re starting something big, we must stand up for it.” He stood, and she followed him to her feet.

“And shake hands, maybe? Like we did when this all started?” She extended her hand.

He reached for it, not for a handshake, but to pull her into his arms. Aubrey let out a yelp as she braced herself against his broad chest .

“Looks like we’re both victors here, huh, Aubs?”

“So, how about those spoils?” Aubrey fisted his sweater as she leaned up to give him a tiptoe kiss. She sighed against him as he deepened the kiss, his arms looping around her to hold her tight. He tasted like chocolate, for probably the first and last time ever.

Someone passed outside, letting out a yell. They found a group of people pointing. “Get it, hot chef!”

Liam snorted. “I guess it’s gonna take more than a few days for people to stop calling me that, huh?”

“Be patient, it’ll pass like everything else.”

“How about we go for a ride? I may or may not have gotten your name stenciled on the side of your helmet.”

She laughed. “How could I say no?”

He brought both arms around her shoulders. “I love you, now and forever. I mean it.”

Aubrey realized they’d both won. This stupid contest had allowed her business to grow, but she now had Liam’s heart to hold.

“Love you back, I mean it.”