Page 16 of Bake You Mine
A dream involving him, Aubrey, this bed, and half a bottle oftequila. 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 beenthatlong since he’d gotten laid. Even if she’d been the friendliest pâtissier 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 fromThe 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 mygod, 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.
