Page 59 of Bake You Mine
“But seriously, I may not be a dad, but you are a mom.”
She turned to him. “Sure am. This is only our first official date. There’s no need to take things super seriously.”
“You’re right; enough talking about it; how’s planning for the food truck challenge going?”
She tugged up her shirt and tucked her legs under her. “I think we have a menu sorted. We’re testing it out on our employees beforehand.”
“Hmm, that’s a good idea. I’ll have to steal it.”
She snapped her fingers. “There I go again, giving you trade secrets. You really should be working for the CIA.”
“I’ve missed my calling. Seriously, good luck. We’ll both need it, right?”
Time slipped by easily as they fell into conversation. He had a hard time keeping his hands to himself, having her so close. Good thing she didn’t seem to mind.
She pulled out her phone and glanced at the time. She usually didn’t mind keeping such early hours. But she wasn’t ready to leave just yet.
“We should probably get going,” Aubrey said.
“Wait, it hasn’t been that long, has it?”
She chuckled. “So what you’re saying is you lose track of time when we’re together?”
He flipped his phone over. It’d been nearly two hours since they’d arrived.
“I’m not ready to leave. It feels like we just got here. But I know that’s a sacrifice I must make when we hang out.” He draped the back of his hand against his forehead.
“You already have me out past my bedtime.” She wagged a finger at him.
They finished their beers and settled the tab with Steve after giving him comments about their experience.
She looped an arm through his as they stepped onto an empty Tulip Turn.
They didn’t talk much until they reached Aubrey’s van.
“Text me when you get home, okay?”
She stood on her tiptoes to give him a goodnight kiss. “Will do.” She held his gaze, her hands coming to his biceps. “I’m looking forward to this second challenge being over, Liam. More than you know.”
When he tried to pull away, she kept a hand on the back of his neck, holding him in place as she deepened the kiss.
Hotdamn,she sure kept him on his toes.
She broke the kiss and hopped into her van. “Don’t stay up too long thinking about me.”
He let out a dirty laugh. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you liked teasing me.”
The van’s engine roared to life. “Maybe I do. See you later, Liam.”
He stood on the corner, watching her until her headlights vanished around the corner.
seventeen
Liam couldn’t shakehis nerves. It was finally the day of the second challenge. He was only one point behind Aubrey, but that gap would be harder to make up if he lost this challenge.
If hedidwin, he’d get to set the stage for sex. It would be great either way, but he liked the idea of “winning” Aubrey—as a consenting prize, of course.
Days had flown by since their date. They hadn’t seen much of each other because they’d both been slammed with work and preparations. This challenge was so different from the first—they only collaborated on the prices they’d charge for each item. There’d been some back and forth, but nothing like there’d been for the first challenge.
