Page 1 of Bake You Mine
one
The bastard wasafter her eggplants.
Aubrey forced her way through the Monday morning farmer’s market crowd until she was shoulder to shoulder with Liam. More like shoulder to elbow, but whatever.
“Hey, lay off my eggplants.”
Liam turned, his fingertips pressed into the vegetable’s tender flesh, and her brain took a flying leap. He probably had a fantastic eggplant of his own, and not the kind priced at four dollars a pound.
Oh, God. He was staring at her like her filthy thoughts were on a billboard above her head.Thiswas why she usually avoided speaking to him.
“For tonight’s special, I was thinking a modern spin on eggplant parmigiana.” He blinked at her. “What does a pastry chef need with vegetables?”
There was the #hotchef bravado.
“You’re making assumptions,” she mumbled.
Elevation Eatery, Liam’s restaurant, was located two doors down from Aubrey’s patisserie, Petit Chou. Until recently, a series of quickly failing businesses occupied the awkwardlyshaped space between them. Since the last tenant vacated, Aubrey and Liam had expressed interest in expanding their businesses into the space.
Farmer Moe cleared his throat. “Aubrey called ahead to reserve the eggplants. You’re out of luck.”
Liam shot a glare at Moe before turning his attention to her. “You still didn’t answer my question. What do you need with eggplants?”
Moe began bagging up the contested vegetables and a few pears she’d reserved for tartlets.
“We have lunch specials at Petit Chou every day. Today’s is an eggplant and onion puff pastry tart.”
A low, grumbly noise emanated from the back of his throat while he considered this. Aubrey’s mind nosedived further into the gutter. “Too bad the smell of sugar gives me cavities,” Liam said.
As if he had a single cavity, given his perfect white teeth. Not that she’d say that, because it would imply she’d been paying attention. The last thing she needed was for Liam to catch on to her crush.
“I can’t trust anyone who doesn’t like sweets.”
A smile took over his full lips. “I’m far from the only one. There are four of us in town. Maybe five.”
Liam could be charming when she (rarely) summoned the courage to talk to him. She had to leave before she revealed she was no more immune to his charms than anyone else.
“That’ll be twenty-five even for everything, Aubrey.”
She reached into her jacket pocket, pulled out a few crumpled bills, and passed them to Moe. He passed her the bag.
People swarmed around them. It was a beautiful mid-September morning, and half the city was crowded into the market.
She still had two more stalls to hit, so she took her bag and turned away. Liam failed to take the hint and followed her.
His presence overwhelmed her central nervous system. She paused in front of a bulletin board advertising upcoming city events. Her gaze settled on a poster for next month’s Port Fortune Night Out. The words melted together as she tried to center herself.
“Rumor has it Gary’s had a meeting with the historical society, and they’re going to allow the expansion.” Liam’s voice carried over her shoulder.
Most of the buildings on Sweet Briar Street were designated as historic, making this an exciting advancement.
She exhaled a shaky sigh. She turned to find a beautiful display of jams from one of her favorite sellers. Visions of thick vanilla brioche toast served with tiny jam pots came to mind. Liam may be a delectable (if infuriating) distraction, but nothing could match her passion for her work.
“I’ve heard similar things. Nothing’s been decided yet.”
He swooped in front of her, blocking her path with one heavily tattooed arm. “This is serious. I hope you won’t hold a grudge when he eventually decides to let Elevation have the expansion. It’s the obvious choice. It’s not like you couldn’t eventually find another spot for your froufrou pastries.” He smiled as if to soften the blow.
She dropped her sunglasses onto her face, although Liam did an excellent job blocking the late September sun. “Are you done?”
