Page 7 of Bake You Mine (Port Fortune #1)
five
Before sunrise, Gary stood outside Petit Chou, his knuckles rattling the glass.
Aubrey wondered if he was a pre-coffee optical illusion. When he gestured for her to open the door, she turned the bolt and tugged it open.
“If you were planning an ambush, you know Liam doesn’t come into work until later, right?”
Not that she’d stalked him or anything. Learning your neighbor’s routine wasn’t tricky. Especially if you tended to stop breathing every time you caught sight of him, but whatever.
Gary stepped inside, and Aubrey shut the door behind him, making sure the closed sign still hung in place.
“I don’t need to speak with Liam. I’m stopping by to pick up a coffee on my way to work. I’m familiar with both of your establishments, but I should know more before this competition begins. So, consider this research.”
“Fine, I’ll grant you chief ringmaster privileges. We have a lot of orders to get out, and as you can see, we’re rather short on square footage.” She swept her arm around the small, narrow space. And money, too, but she knew Gary well enough to know he’d consider that comment gauche.
Gary cackled. “I rather like that title.”
“Let’s get you a top hat and a striped coat.”
“Adding it to the to-do list as we speak.” He tapped his fingers on one of the metal tabletops.
Tom walked in from the back, his arms full of the day’s bread. “Hey there, Gary.”
Gary gave Tom an appreciative glance. Although Tom had never told her as much, she wondered if the two were more familiar with each other than they let on. She wasn’t the only one with secrets, apparently.
“Hello, Tomás. Could you be a dear and wrap me up a baguette and one of those charming little jam pots?”
Tom mimed doffing a cap. “I’ll throw in a croissant or two for your assistants. How many do you have now?”
Gary’s laugh echoed throughout the empty dining room. “Three. They all have distinct purposes, I can assure you.”
“One’s gotta be in charge of this competition madness, right?” Aubrey said.
“As a matter of fact, yes. We’ve sorted out the details of the first challenge, and I’m thrilled! I look forward to sharing more with you both this afternoon. It will be a lot to handle in addition to your regular business. We’ll work around as best as we can.”
She stepped behind the counter to make Gary’s coffee. “Well, if you and the chamber of commerce are dead set on this idea, I guess I have no choice. You could give me the space and skip the dog and pony show.”
“My dear, I think you’re forgetting my fondness for frivolity. The show will put a spotlight on the competition and our fair city. I suppose you could drop out if you wanted to?— ”
“No, that’s not what I was saying. I just meant a competition is a lot to put on my already full plate.”
“I’m sure you’ll manage just fine. After all, even if you lose, this publicity can only mean good things for your business, right?”
“I suppose that’s true.”
She didn’t want to tell Gary that added popularity might become a potential disaster, especially since it didn’t always translate into profit.
Aubrey handed over his coffee, and Gary swooped to pick up his baguette and croissants.
“Three o’clock sharp in the vacant space. All will be revealed. Oh, and remember to be camera-ready; Ben from The Pinnacle will be there.”
Once the bells chimed behind Gary, Aubrey turned to Tom. “Why do I feel like I’m going to regret this?”
“Well, you can sit here and whine, or we can get to work, right?” Tom said.
She longed to tell Tom the reason for her whining, but that would involve admitting her crush, and she didn’t see the point, seeing as it would soon be a thing of the past. It had to be, because she was determined to win.
“Dude, seriously.”
Liam picked up Teddy and moved him from his face. Liam must have been dead to the world. Smothering was Teddy’s last-ditch effort to wake him. He blinked awake, shaking off the remnants of a dream.
A dream involving him, Aubrey, this bed, and half a bottle of tequila. His brain held the title of the biggest dick in Port Fortune.
Teddy careened his big head against Liam’s. He chuckled, any irritation for being ripped out of sleep forgotten. He patted the old cat with one hand and reached for his phone.
Teddy trotted after Liam to the kitchen.
While Teddy ate, Liam scanned through his notifications.
A direct message from Aubrey both surprised and disturbed him, considering the vision of slurping a tequila shot out of her navel was still fresh in his mind.
There had to be something deeper going on.
It hadn’t been that long since he’d gotten laid.
Even if she’d been the friendliest patissier in town, she wasn’t exactly his usual type.
He usually dated taller women, for one. He couldn’t remember the last petite woman he’d been with.
Other than that…well, maybe she wasn’t so far off the mark after all.
His mind was going its own way, and that was toward Aubrey.
He tried to shake off these newfound feelings as he tapped on her message.
Heads up: Gary will probably stop by later to torment you with non-information about the first challenge. PS - Don’t think posting pictures of your stupidly cute cat is going to earn you any brownie points in this war, dude!
The message was sent forty minutes ago. He set his phone aside and petted Teddy with both hands. It was nice of her to give him notice. So far, there’d been no trickery in their competitive states. Shit would get real at some point. After all, they were rivals for the same prize.
He chuckled and repeated the line in a movie trailer announcer voice before Teddy interrupted him, butting his head against Liam’s forearm .
“The girl thinks you’re cute, fluff butt. I wonder what she thinks about me?”
His phone dinged with another message, and he snagged it, thinking Aubrey had messaged again. He groaned when he found a message from Dani.
Are you dating that pastry chef from Petit Chou? Seriously, Liam? Then why were you texting me last night, looking to hook up?
What was this jealous song and dance about? They’d been broken up for over a year now, and the last time they’d hooked up, she’d told him he was good for two things: his tongue and his cock.
Instead of playing into one of Dani’s dramas, he replied to Aubrey and thanked her for letting him know. He promised to use Teddy for whatever it took to help him win. He hoped she saw it for the joke it was.
Any hopes this would be a typical day after yesterday’s craziness were officially dashed.
Liam was kept in suspense until after lunch service when Gary summoned them to the vacant space. Aubrey wore her hair loose around her shoulders, just like yesterday’s photo.
Today’s leggings were bright pink, dotted with giant, illustrated macarons of every color.
Probably due to the late-season warm weather, she’d ditched the chef’s pinks and wore a long gray racerback tank top.
Now, he saw fabric clinging to her upper and lower half, which he found more distracting than he should. How the hell was she single?
Not that it mattered. He could look all he wanted. Sure, she was nicer to him, but it wouldn’t last, especially after he won the first challenge .
Gary walked into the room and pulled on a party popper, making Aubrey jump a mile.
As confetti scattered on the floor, Gary clapped his hands together. “The competition is officially underway!”
Aubrey and Liam exchanged a worried glance.
Ben, the resident photographer from The Port Fortune Pinnacle , slipped in through the back door. Liam knew him well, as he was one of his rec league rugby teammates.
Gary tutted. “I thought I told you two to be camera-ready?”
“Sorry, I left my ball gown at the cleaners. I did brush my hair and put on some mascara,” Aubrey said.
Gary pursed his lips. “What’s your excuse, Liam?”
“When am I not camera-ready?” He turned toward Ben and posed.
“Oh my god , you are so full of yourself, it’s ridiculous.” Aubrey rolled her eyes.
“Nothing wrong with knowing the camera loves me.” He lowered his gaze to Aubrey, trying and failing not to stare straight down her top. “It loves you, too, after that photo you posted yesterday.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“Can you two pretend you like each other? I have a ribbon-cutting ceremony at a doggie daycare to get to after this, and the dogs will be easier to photograph.” Ben turned to Gary. “What time must I be at that stupid cocktail party on Thursday?”
Shit. Liam had forgotten all about it, and judging by her expression, Aubrey had, too.
“Who has a cocktail party on a Thursday night?” Liam asked.
“The sort who start their weekends on Friday, darling,” Gary said. “I’ll expect you both to be camera-ready then, too.”
“I can only stay an hour or so,” Liam said .
“Me, too.” Aubrey slipped on her chef’s pinks.
“That’ll suffice. Let’s get these photos over before Ben blows a gasket.”
Liam turned to find Ben had gone dead-eyed. It was his default expression.
“Your resting dick face has returned,” Liam said to him. “You’ll never have a girlfriend again if you keep it up.” Liam tapped Aubrey on the shoulder before Ben could volley an insult his way. “Let’s stand back-to-back. Standard competitor’s pose.”
She stayed speechless as she came behind him.
“Move down a little, Liam; otherwise, your head won’t fit in the photo since Aubrey’s so short.”
“I’m not short, he’s obnoxiously tall,” Aubrey muttered.
Liam stretched his legs until they were spread wide apart. He was now closer to Aubrey’s height.
“Smile, Aubrey. You remind me of a deer about to meet its fate in front of a ’96 Camry,” Gary said.
Liam chuckled as he’d thought the same thing. He shuffled toward her on the sides of his feet, with his legs still extended. “There’s nothing wrong with being silly sometimes.”