Page 33 of Bake You Mine
Her laugh tumbled out. “Aww, you’re getting that raise you requested, Leroy.”
His response was a half-hearted roll of the eyes. “That’s not why I said that, and you know it. You’re the best.” He tapped Daphne on the head. “Come on, little bug, help me stock the front case.”
Her little girl, bread stacked in her arms so high she could hardly see in front of her, followed Leroy.
Before the doors closed, Liam entered the kitchen with an empty plate in hand. “A little sweeter than the first. I still liked it. It was creamy, with an interesting texture.”
His presence in the kitchen momentarily took her back.
He coughed, clearly uncomfortable that she hadn’t replied. “By like, I mean love. What’s next?”
Samantha and Ella burst through the back door. They stopped their rapid-fire Spanish conversation and stared at Liam.
“What are you doing here, hot chef?” Ella asked.
“He and Aubrey are in that competition,” Samantha answered.
Both girls puckered their lips, and Samantha fluffed her dark locks. They were both beautiful girly girls, totally Liam’s type. Probably. Not that they would come within a hundred feet of him if they knew about Aubrey’s feelings for him. But they didn’t, so she couldn’t blame them for having a go.
He kept his gaze on Aubrey. “What’s my final course?”
Samantha and Ella exchanged a glance before heading out to the front of the store to prepare for opening.
“I’m going to give that to you later. You said you wanted to finalize the menu for Monday’s dinner, right?”
She’d see him tonight and again on Sunday and Monday. Hopefully, the second challenge wouldn’t require so much face-to-face, because she didn’t know how she’d handle it. She’d need to read Sun Tzu’sThe Art of Warto have any chance of success.
He cocked an eyebrow. “A surprise? I may have to bring one of my own, then.”
“Oh, you’re gonna try to one-up me again, huh?” She pulled down baker’s twine from a roll above the table and wrapped up the box for Liam’s crew.
“This isn’t the One Up Olympics. But hey, I wanted to apologize for what I said before, about not taking your work seriously. Just because I don’t care for sweets, I discounted you. I was wrong, and I apologize for that.”
She exhaled. Where the fuck was this coming from? Blood rushed through her ears.
She had no idea how to respond to that statement, so she handed over the box. “For your guys.” She paused a beat. “And thanks.”
As their fingers touched, her body pulsed with desire. Keeping a straight face was an Oscar-worthy feat.
“Aw, thanks. I’m gonna hate it when I win and you go back to disliking me from a distance. You didn’t give me a straight answer when I asked why you did that, by the way.”
“Ah, there’s that bravado,” Aubrey said.
Liam’s gaze stayed on her. Clearly, he was expecting her to say more. But that wasn’t going to happen. Because that would be awkward, she could barely take a compliment from the man without going into borderline cardiac arrest; how could she manage anything resembling romance?
“You said yourself I’m good at what I do. I also don’t rely on my face to get butts into seats.”
Oh, there was that anger settling in over those handsome features. His eyes were a storm cloud, and his lips curled into a scowl. “Did you already forget your compliments about my food?”
She chuckled. “I give as good as I get, Liam. Don’t you know shit-talking is part of our profession? Don’t get your boxers in a twist.”
His expression softened. “Oh.”
“You’re not used to women talking back to you, huh?”
“I have two sisters and an Italian mother. Of course, I’m used to it.” He flicked his head to get his hair out of his eyes. And for half a second, her guard dropped, and she wondered what it would be like to push his hair free of his face. To hold his gaze before kissing him.
The call was coming from inside the house.She had to get a hold of her crush-addled brain before she did something stupid.
