Page 51 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)

Spring

“That’ll do it.”

Liam taped up one side of a decorative ribbon in front of the entrance to Elevation Express.

Gary taped up the other side and placed a sign advertising the grand opening on the door.

Damon was busy doing final checks in the kitchen.

Liam swiped a hand over his eyes and wondered if somebody had been cutting onions.

This wasn’t the dream he’d set out with, but somehow, it was even better.

Gary slapped a hand on Liam’s back. “You should be very proud of this place, Liam.”

“I couldn’t have done it without your guidance. You helped me more than you’ll ever know.”

Gary’s eyes crinkled around the edges as he reached for Liam’s hand to shake it. “Thank you, Liam.”

A large pickup window sat at the front of the store.

Tables and chairs were squeezed in, along with a communal counter and stools stretching along the back wall.

The small kitchen was already busy preparing for their first-ever lunch service, giving the restaurant an alluring aroma of crab cake ravioli.

This would be his place to experiment, teach, and grow his business. With this space and the newly renovated dining space at Elevation, Liam was right where he wanted to be.

“By the way, here’s the real reason why I dropped by.” Gary handed over a small bag. “My guy is the best in the area. You were right to go to him.”

With shaking hands, Liam took the bag. “Thanks again for everything, Gary.”

Liam’s mother poked her head in. “Are we a go, William?”

Liam swallowed down his nerves. “We are.”

She let out a delighted squeal and ran off.

If all went well, more than one life-changing event would occur today.

“Did you see it?” Dorthea effortlessly moved through Petit Chou’s packed dining room.

It was Memorial Day weekend, and Port Fortune was bursting with tourists taking in the beautiful weather.

Even though the dining room had been open for nearly six months, Aubrey still puffed up with pride at the tables packed with customers.

The space was a dream come true, with floral pastel wallpaper, a collection of knick-knacks, framed photos, and art prints on the walls. Including some of her original art. Like that sketch she’d made of Liam during the final days of the competition. How much had changed since then.

She turned to find Liam’s mother holding today’s copy of The Port Fortune Pinnacle, with a headline proclaiming her and Liam:

THE KING AND QUEEN OF PORT FORTUNE’S RESTAURANT SCENE .

Beneath the headline was a photo of Liam and Aubrey in the empty Elevation Express space.

They sat side by side in seats at the counter that wrapped around the kitchen, her feet dangling freely while his were planted firmly on the ground.

They grinned at each other like they were in on a joke nobody else knew.

Inset amongst the text was the photo that started it all, taken last year before the competition began. How much had changed since then.

“Of course, I have. I think Dad’s already framed his copy.”

“I’ll have to have him frame mine, too,” she said.

Tom appeared. “Hey, aren’t they having the opening day ribbon ceremony for Elevation Express? You should get over there.”

“Oh yes, that’s why I came! I got distracted by the newspaper article,” Dorthea said. She’d stopped being Mrs. Linley sometime after the renovations at Elevation began.

“You sure you’ll be okay?” Aubrey asked.

“This place won’t fall apart without you, you know. Go,” Tom said.

Aubrey followed Dorthea out of Petit Chou’s back door onto Tulip Turn. Along the way, they talked about summer plans. Mrs. Linley and her fiancé, Mr. O’Malley, had rented two houses in the Outer Banks for the first annual Linley–O’Malley get-together.

Even though Aubrey wasn’t a Linley, she was treated as one. Mr. O’Malley had recently started giving her the family discount, which she appreciated, as his slab bacon had become a staple of Petit Chou’s breakfast menu.

As they approached Express, Dorthea caught Aubrey’s arm. “Liam wanted to talk to you first,” she said, gesturing for Aubrey to go around ahead of her.

He probably had a case of opening-day jitters. She was happy to give him another pep talk.

She’d given him one before they’d left for work. On the nights Chris had Daphne, they stayed at Liam’s place downtown; the rest of the time, they lived at the house by the river.

Aubrey looked around at the bright, open space as she stepped inside Express.

It was Liam’s dream, realized. He exited the kitchen with Daphne and her father trailing behind him.

Dorthea walked over to the pocket doors at the front of Elevation Express and pushed them open, letting the late May breeze blow through the empty restaurant.

“Oh, good, I was worried you guys would miss getting here for the grand opening,” Aubrey said.

Her father had an odd expression, like he was trying hard not to laugh or cry. Her stomach dropped.

“Did something happen?”

Liam’s siblings ducked in behind her dad, standing up on their tiptoes.

Liam let out a large breath. “Aubs, I want to ask you something.” He screwed up that beautiful face for a second before adding, “Actually, I want to ask both you and Daphne something.”

Daphne’s eyes went wide as dinner plates as she scurried over. Liam turned to Aubrey’s father, who produced two small boxes.

There was no way this was about to happen. Everyone was here for the ribbon-cutting ceremony. She brought a shaking hand to her face. Liam looked from her to the boxes and laughed nervously before running his fingers through his now (thankfully) longish, crazy dark hair.

“Aubrey, I love you. And I want to marry you?—”

“Oh my God.” She was in a daze, none of this feeling real, although he’d dropped a hint or two about how he saw their future, so it wasn’t a total shock.

Neither of them felt like waiting around for some made-up moment to transition to the next phase of their lives. Still, how had he gotten this past her?

Her gaze carried past Liam to his mother and her father, both teary-eyed.

He continued talking. “I knew if I asked you to be my wife, I had to ask Daphne if I could be her bonus dad.”

Her little girl let out a delighted squeal as Liam opened a small box. A charm bracelet was nestled inside, with Daphne’s name in the center, encased by Liam’s, Aubrey’s, and Christopher’s names, a nice touch. Chris and Liam would never be besties, but they got along well enough for Daphne’s sake.

Liam was still learning the parenting ropes. He and Daphne now had a special routine. Liam took her to rugby practice once a week and then cooked her dinner at Elevation.

“Of course, you can be my bonus dad! You already are! Although I guess this means I won’t marry Brody, after all.”

Everyone laughed, and Aubrey reached out to hug her daughter.

Ben appeared and moved in for a photo as Daphne leaped into Liam’s arms. Dorthea began to cry in earnest, clearly thrilled that her bonus granddaughter was going to be officially hers. Liam placed the bracelet on Daphne’s wrist, and she galloped over to her grandparents.

Liam dropped to one knee. “I wasn’t counting on a crowd, only our family and Ben to document this for us.”

“Would you look at that? He’s smiling. Almost. Kind of,” Aubrey said .

Liam pointed to the gathering crowd outside, leaning toward the front doors. “I’ll keep it short and sweet. I love you, Aubrey. There’s no better day than opening my newest restaurant to ask the woman I love to be my wife.”

A universal aww was carried out through the crowd. A few women would surely be heartbroken that the former hot chef was officially off the market.

She and Liam complemented each other. Like a fine wine and a steak. Or chocolate and cherries?—

“Aubs, are you going to leave me hanging here?”

Aubrey dabbed at her eyes. “Of course, I’ll marry you, Liam.”

She gaped at the ring as he plucked it from the box. It wasn’t fussy—after all, this was her second marriage, and she worked with her hands for a living—but she loved it; a rose gold band with an antique diamond in the center.

“Tom may or may not have helped me pick it out,” Liam said.

Tom and Damon, along with assorted Elevation and Petit Chou staff, watched on with heartfelt expressions.

Before she could worry too much about what was going on at Petit Chou, she turned to Liam.

“I love you, Liam. I mean it, now and forever.”

He slid the ring on her finger, and she embraced him. She’d always have to stand on her tiptoes to kiss him, but it was a burden she didn’t mind carrying.

The crowd erupted into applause. Ben snapped a shot of them.

Aubrey could already see a headline in tomorrow’s paper as a follow-up to today’s:

PORT FORTUNE RESTAURANT KING AND QUEEN ENGAGED!

As they broke their embrace, Gary ducked in under the ceremonial ribbon. “I’m so happy my madcap little competition brought you two together. So let me be the first to congratulate you both.”

After shaking Liam’s hand, Gary produced a pair of ceremonial scissors. “How about we open this place up for business, huh?”

Liam, Aubrey, and Daphne placed their hands over the scissors as they cut through the ribbon, declaring Elevation Express officially open.

At the crowd’s request, they shared another kiss.

THE END