Page 14 of A Sweet Mess

Great. Now he’s laughing at me.“I’ve never been on TV. I don’t even watch TV. I wouldn’t know what to do or say. I’m going to make a fool of myself.” Aubrey clamped a hand over her mouth and breathed noisily through her nose.

“No, you won’t. If it makes you feel any better, it’ll be filmed on a closed set, so you won’t have a live audience.” A corner of his mouth quirked upward. It wasn’t a full-blown smile, but it was enough to make his dimple wink at her. That dimple was the root cause of her predicament.Darth Dimple. Dimple of Doom. Count Dimpula. Oh, shit. He’s still talking.“—and the writers and directors are there to make sure everything goes smoothly. Besides, Aria would never let her guest chef look foolish on her show.”

“Aria? As in Aria Santini?”

Aria was America’s favorite celebrity chef, known for her simple, delicious Italian dishes that viewers could actually make at home. Aubrey owned every one of her cookbooks and had even watched a few of her YouTube videos. She was stunning—a tall, statuesque brunette with warm, brown eyes—and an amateur mezzo-soprano on the side. Almost too perfect to be real.

“Yes, that Aria. She’s an amazing chef and a cooking show veteran. You’ll be in good hands.”

“And she’s your friend?” Aubrey couldn’t believe it. Aria seemed so sweet and Landon was so… not.

“Hard to believe, isn’t it?” Landon arched a sardonic brow as though he’d read her thought bubble. “We’ve been friends for close to a decade.”

Plenty of time for him to have tainted her. He’d probably turned Aria into a diva from hell to complement his arrogant bastard image. And he wanted Aubrey to be on her show? She didn’t want anything to do with Landon Kim or his BFF. But he was offering his help, and she had a chance to save Comfort Zone.

Is my pride worth more than my dreams?

The blood had drained out of Aubrey’s face when Landon brought up Aria. When his friend had explained the plan, she’d instructed him to mention it was her show. She’d hinted it would be a big selling point. He’d given her grief for her narcissism, but he’d secretly agreed with her. Most young chefs would kill for an opportunity to work with Aria Santini. But he also understood how intimidating it could be.

“The exposure you get on TV will be worth a hundred restaurant reviews. And you’ll be well compensated. You could continue with the move and have the new location renovated while you’re filming in the Central Coast.”

Suddenly, he was desperate for Aubrey to accept his offer. He could help her, and it would fix the whole mess and maybe erase the haunted expression from her face.

“How do you know about the move?” She studied him with narrowed eyes.

“I always do thorough research before I make any business offers. It’s the smart thing to do,” he said, carefully leaving Lily out of it. He wouldn’t have known about the expansion if it hadn’t been for her, but he didn’t want Aubrey to get upset with her well-meaning employee for oversharing.

Aubrey mumbled something unintelligible, and then her gaze snapped to his face. “Wait. You said I could do the renovation while I’m filming in the Central Coast? Exactly where and how long are we talking about?”

“Bosque Verde, California. At least three weeks.”

“Bosque Verde is fine, I guess. It’s only three hours from here. But three weeks? That’s too long to be away from my shop.”

“Yes, being closed for three weeks is scary for a small business, but not if you think about the big picture here. You could save Comfort Zone withjust three weeksof your time. You’d be investing a few weeks away to establish a secure future.” Landon had never worked so hard to convince someone to work with him. People generally came to him with offers, from which he picked and chose. “Aubrey, will you guest star on Aria’s show?”

“Yes.” Her answer was barely above a whisper. She didn’t like asking for help, and she hadn’t asked for his help, but here she was accepting it with grace. “Only because it’ll give me a fighting chance to save Comfort Zone. Your proposal might take care of my problems for now, but there’s no guarantee that starring in Aria’s show will magically fix everything.”

“It’ll give you more than a fighting chance, Aubrey.” Relief coursed through him, surprising him with its force. He had achance to put things right for Aubrey, and he would succeed. “Aria’s star power and your sunny personality will convince my readers that my review is flawed. And once the viewers try your recipes, they’ll be your fans for life. Besides, fixing your current problems is the biggest hurdle. Ultimately, your talent and hard work will ‘fix everything.’”

“My sunny personality? You gotta be kidding me. It’s more like a thunderstorm when you’re involved.” Her short dark hair drew his eyes to her delicate features. She was still breathtaking, but the bruised shadows beneath her wide brown eyes and the pallor of her skin bore testament to the havoc he’d wrought on her life. “I hope you know what you’re talking about. My future depends on it.”

“I don’t walk away from my mistakes. I’ll set things right.”

“You own up to your mistakes. Just not publicly.” Aubrey’s brows furrowed in thought, and then a ghost of a smile touched her lips. “But I do appreciate you coming here today. You didn’t turn your back on my predicament. At least, not fortoolong. You might not be acompletebastard after all.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” He grinned, her almost-friendly tone putting him at ease.

“Maybe you’re right.” She surveyed her nails as though considering where he belonged on the bastard scale. “Are you planning to apologize for accusing me of selling my body to get ahead in the world?”

Landon cringed as her acerbic words bit into him. That had not been his intent. He knew in his gut they had met by chance and neither of them had a clue about the other’s profession. But he needed to be certain she hadn’t slept with him to bolster her business, knowing who he was. He couldn’t entwine their lives further until she denied it with her own lips.

“Well?” Aubrey sat, tapping her foot with increasing speed.

“I was an idiot to believe for even a second that you’d faked your… enthusiasm.”

“Yes, you were.” She blushed a fiery red, but her expression remained placid. “Inever doubted yours. Although you sounded so pained when you said I was killing you. I actually worried for a second.”

Landon choked on air and coughed until his eyes bulged.

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