Page 19 of Bake You Mine
Her father stood at the foot of the stairs, and given the stern expression he wore, he already knew. He treasured each glowing Petit Chou review like a gold star on a test paper. “I guess you’ve seen them.”
“Yep, and I’m going to confront the source.”
Her father removed his readers and rubbed the skin between his eyes. “I don’t know that it’s Liam’s fault. I can’t see him playing dirty like this.”
“Eating in his restaurant a few times does not qualify you as a judge of the man’s character,” Aubrey yelled over her shoulder.
Even if her father was right, she was mad at Liam and herself. She’d started to rein in her feelings yesterday. It was time to rip off the bandage for good. This stupid crush was officially dead in the water.
Her father sighed and waved his hand at her. “Go talk to him. I’ll let Tom know you’re running late if it can’t be resolved in time, and I’ll take Daphne to school.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
Aubrey swiped her keys from the counter and drove off to give hot chef a large piece of her mind.
six
Liam woke to a bang,followed by a thump. He angled onto his side and found Teddy, the usual suspect for this kind of wake-up call, curled beside him in bed. There was a second bang. He was awake enough now to guess the commotion was coming from the front door. Teddy arched his back and hopped off to investigate.
Liam followed, tugging on a shirt and shorts. He swung it open and blinked. He wouldn’t have been more surprised to find Aubrey on the other side than he would be to wake up duct taped to the ceiling.
She stood there—a petite tornado of rage, her hair wild and loose around her shoulders. Dark, snug yoga pants clung to her lower half, and she was drowning in a ratty two-sizes-too-big T-shirt advertising a decades-old fun run. It slipped forward some, revealing the beautiful column of her neck, and down to her collarbone and cleavage.
“Hey, asshole, I’m talking to you!” At the snap of Aubrey’s fingers, he came to attention.
“How did you get in here?” He gestured her inside, knowingif this carried on for much longer, he’d have pissed off neighbors to deal with, too.
“The door was propped open with a rock.”
His door swung shut behind him. “Okay, that answers one question. I have another. It’s not even six a.m., an hour I consider ungodly in the best circumstances. So, are you gonna tell me why you’re here, or what?”
She dropped her phone onto his kitchen counter. “Care to explain the twelve negative reviews Petit Chou acquired overnight? Or the hundred-plus troll comments I have across my social media platforms?”
Liam pulled her phone toward him and began scrolling. With what felt like a punch to the stomach, he realized what must have happened.
In his last post, he’d been more direct than usual. He’d talked about wanting to stay in town and the lack of viable commercial real estate. He’d stated his truth—put it out there for the world to know. The last line was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek.I’ll win by any means necessary!He’d thought the winking emoji had made the joke evident, but clearly not.
He recognized one of the names on the reviews as Dani’s. How had he forgotten what a drama llama that woman was?
One stupid post had resulted in a perfect storm of bullshit, with Aubrey at the center.
“Well? Is this your way of getting around the rules to win, making a digital smash-grab for the prize? Because I don’t give up that easily.”
After skimming one too many nasty comments, he pushed her phone away. He grinned, seeing her on the floor with Teddy, the old man had made himself comfortable on her lap. “What do you think? We’re hardly best friends, but I hope you’d know I have more integrity than that.”
She pulled a face and tugged up her T-shirt. Liam clicked histongue against his teeth. Shame. The view had been stellar, with the fabric dropping low enough to show the dark lace encasing her breasts. He made a fist. This wasn’t the time or place, especially as she’d accused him of something awful.
She managed a half-hearted shrug. “Fair enough. But how the hell would you feel in my shoes?”
“I didn’t sic anyone on you, Aubrey. I promise. It’s not my style, whether you know that or not—ask anyone. I want to win, but I’ll do it fairly. I wasn’t serious when I asked you to give up the competition. Sure, a little part of me hoped you’d take pity on me.” He tilted his head toward her and gazed at her through his lashes.
She let out a short laugh. “You’re trying now, even if you’re not aware of it.”
He laughed and flicked his hair out of his eyes. “That time, I was. Sorry.”
She exhaled. “Maybe part of me did take pity on you, especially when your lines draw out in front of my shop. Gary and the chamber of commerce want us to play this game, and let’s be real, he’s a madcap ball of fun most of the time, but he’s serious about this competition.”
“Yeah, that’s true,” Liam conceded.
