Page 73 of Bake You Mine
“Kiwi.”
The door rattled open, and they stepped inside. “Steve, my man, you can’t use emojis for passwords.”
“Why not? Port Fortune is too small for this place to be uber exclusive.”
Liam laughed. “Fair point. Remember that place in New York we went to that moved around every week, and you had to figure where it’d be based on the clues they’d upload online?”
Steve threw his head back in laughter. “Oh man, those were the days. Hey, I’m glad you’re here, Liam. I have a friend of mine I want you to meet.”
After he and Sasha settled at the bar, a man approached from one of the booths. Liam turned, his mouth gaping at the sight of Jason Morse, co-owner of Devour, one of the top restaurant groups in the DC area.
He was the kind of guy with the power to make those pie-in-the-sky dreams a reality. His most recent project was a ten-million-dollar food market in Georgetown. He was always after innovative talent in the DC area and beyond.
Liam whirled around on his stool. “How do you know Jason Morse?”
“We went to culinary school together. A chef in his former life, which makes him better than a lot of these douchebag businessmen.” Steve waved to Jason. “Hey, Jase, meet the hot chef himself, Liam Linley.”
Jason eased his large frame onto the stool next to Liam’s. “Nice to finally meet the social media phenom in person.” He reached out a hand, and Liam shook it.
Liam inwardly cringed. Although he couldn’t deny that the dumb hashtag had brought him to the attention of someone like Jason Morse, it wasn’t all bad.
“I’m in town to check out Steve’s new place,” Jason said. “I’ve heard you might need a place of your own. I read about thecompetition inThe Port Fortune Pinnacle. Gotta keep up with all the local restaurant scene news.”
“He stays one step ahead of his enemies that way,” Steve joked.
Jason’s gaze slipped past Liam to Sasha. Liam bristled, knowing his opinion of Jason would drop one hundred points if he creeped on his little sister, especially given the golden band on his ring finger. He was used to guys drooling all over her. Luckily, he had nothing to worry about.
“Brother and sister, I’m guessing? Man, the resemblance is staggering.”
“You’re perceptive,” Liam observed, before introducing Sasha to Jason.
“Have to be in this business. That means I know talent when I see it.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sterling silver business card holder. He slipped a card across the bar top. “Give me a call once your competition is over, Liam. I’d love to talk.”
Jason shook his hand once more before making his way toward the door. Liam took the card and held it up to the light. It was gold-engraved on heavyweight paper. Jason Morse didn’t skimp on a first impression.
“I told you Jason’s the real deal,” Steve said. “He wants me to move to DC, but no way, man. My big city days are over.”
Sasha rubbed her hands together. “What about you, big brother? This could be a plan B.”
Liam couldn’t deny it; he was flattered to garner interest from someone like Jason Morse. And yeah, his brain was halfway out the door already, crafting dreams he’d never have considered five minutes ago. He tapped the card on his palm. He’d have to wait and see where life led him.
twenty-one
“Mom,I know you’re not gonna ask if I’m okay again. Because I’m fine.” Daphne unrolled her napkin, sending cutlery clattering onto one of Elevation’s battered wooden tabletops.
Aubrey had tried to keep her temper under control when she’d picked up Daphne from Chris’s house for dinner and a trip to a haunted house. She found Chris and Kayla were in the middle of a shouting match. Her kid observed the scene from the stairs.
Aubrey went into black-out mode, commanding them to keep their relationship drama away from her kid.
The timing couldn’t be worse, especially since Aubrey’s mood was sour after her latest practice run for the third challenge had gone poorly, bringing up those anxious thoughts about failing on live TV. She’d decided on a variety of Halloween-themed macarons. The showstopper element was that these weren’t ordinary macarons. She’d gone with orange, white, and green dough, which she’d shape into pumpkins, ghosts, and Frankenstein’s monster. Each would be decorated with delicate iced details. She hadn’t settled on the flavors yet.
Sure, maybe she was playing it a little bit safe.Still, her time trial had gone over by a full minute. They each had only a minute for their presentations, which would be shown in parts.
On live television. In the ninth-largest television market in the country. Totallyno big deal.
Her mind went into chaos as she wondered if she was a fool for going through this competition.
“I can’t help but worry about you, little bug.” She leaned over to squeeze Daphne’s hand.
