Page 24 of Bake You Mine
He chuckled. “If you must know, I bought it the last time I was in DC. It was delivered last week. I haven’t had a bike since I moved back from San Francisco.” He locked up his helmet and tucked the keys into his jacket pocket. “Are those all your questions, Ms. Dennison?”
Howdid he manage to make her name sound sexy?
“Sorry, my curiosity got the better of me.”
He gestured for her to head up the stairs. “Are you into bikes?”
Navigating the stairs took all of her attention. She was terrified of tripping in her too-high heels—Daphne wouldn’t let her leave without them.
When she stumbled, his hand came to her wrist to catch her before she tumbled forward. “You all right?” He angled his body in front of her.
To what, catch her if she fell?
She was certainly not all right, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself any more than she already had. “I’m okay. Thanks for the catch.” She moved on to the next step. His hand stayed on her arm until she was out of reach. “To answer your question, I do like bikes. Chris had one. When we lived in Paris, it’s how we got around the city until our kid came along.”
“Hmm, so you like your boys a little bad around the edges?”
She was spared from answering by Gary swinging open his grand front door. “There are the guests of honor. Come on in. Ben wants to get some photos before everyone gets too tipsy.”
Ben stood behind Gary, appearing about as thrilled as he would be having his eyes pecked out by seagulls.
Soon enough, they were encircled by Mayor Albright, city council members, and the chamber of commerce, which, funnily enough, had almost a complete membership crossover with the city council.
Liam inclined his head toward her. “You okay?”
“I don’t know what to do with my hands.” She threw them up in frustration.
“Here. Stand like this.” He stuck his foot forward and put a hand on his hip. “It’ll help you stand out in the crowd.” He gestured to the people milling around them. Her eyes must’ve shown her panic because he added, “Or you can just stand behind me.”
“Everyone, take one step closer,” Ben said.
There was grumbling and movement, but everyone did as asked. Aubrey ended up sandwiched between Liam and the mayor.
She took the pose advice, even though she felt foolish doing it. Liam stood with his hand on his hip, effortlessly cool as always.
Once the photos were over, she found herself drawn into a conversation with the mayor.
“You know, we’re putting a lot of eggs into this contest basket. Tourist numbers have dropped off in recent years. We hope this will bring more investment and tourist dollars to the city. Maybe then commercial real estate won’t be in such short supply.”
She sipped her cocktail. “I thought Gary had a riverside development in the works that you were holding the permits on?”
Mayor Albright stared down at Aubrey over the top of his glasses. “Is that what he’s saying?”
Shit, she hadn’t meant to step into it. Luckily, the mayor got carried away by his wife, so she found herself standing on the outskirts of the party.
Not exactly an unfamiliar place for her. Moving around so much as a kid, she’d never developed that core group of friends. Any friends she did make, she’d lose when her family inevitably moved. She’d graduated from a high school she’d attended for six months. Who wanted new friends when they’d all known each other their whole lives?
It’s no wonder she was the type to develop silly crushes at thirty-six years old.
“You okay?” Liam approached from her left side.
She hefted her purse onto her shoulder. “Feeling a little bit like a wallflower, but nothing new there.”
“You know, I think you’re kind of like an onion.” He leaned forward to snatch a plate full of tiny sandwiches. He handed one to her.
“In that I smell bad and make people cry?” She shoved the sandwich in her mouth.
“No, in that there are a lot of layers to you. You’ve always kept your walls up around me.”
