Page 34 of Bake You Mine
She forced herself to meet his eyes. “You know what I mean. Most women are probably thrilled if you deigned to belch in their presence.”
He didn’t laugh at her joke. “You’d never be thrilled to be around me. Is that what you’re saying?”
She tried to teach her daughter that lying should be avoided whenever possible. Unfortunately, Aubrey needed to be a hypocrite to win. She couldn’t look him in the eye and lie, so she pretended to tidy up the tabletop. “You got it.”
He said nothing for what felt like forever. “Good to know. I’ll see you in the space this afternoon, four sharp, if that time works?”
“It does, but thanks for asking.”
By the time she’d turned around, he’d left.
ten
Liam spentmost of the lunch service in a funk. It wasn’t because Elevation was packed on a Saturday. No, he could run a busy service blindfolded, even in a cramped kitchen.
His foul mood was the result of realizing that Aubrey had practically come out and said she found him as appealing as garbage water.
Which, not to be a dick or anything, was a unique experience for him. But not exactly surprising when it came to Aubrey. He’d thought that maybe things had changed between them.
Guess not.
As he puttered about, working on readying for the dinner service in that odd time between lunch and dinner, someone cleared their throat to get his attention.
He peered over the counter to find Daphne. “Hey, little lady, what are you doing here?”
“I’m bored. Tom wanted me to bring you this,” she said, handing over a plastic shopping bag. “Then he said I should ask you if you needed any help.”
The little girl resembled Aubrey, with the same long, darkhair and determined smile. Her eyes were brown, unlike Aubrey’s denim-blue eyes. She must have gotten them from her father, along with her height. The kid was the same height as her mother and was in the eighth grade.
“Were you getting under Tom’s feet?”
She shrugged. “We were supposed to go home after lunch. Mom forgot about a wedding cake consultation. Tom said he ran out of work for little fingers. So he suggested I come to see you.”
For half a second, he wondered if Aubrey was trying for subterfuge. He knew her well enough now to know she’d never involve her kid in anything shady.
“I’m sure we could scrounge up some work for you. Then, after that, how about you help me with a surprise for your mom?”
Daphne brought her hands to her face. “What kind of a surprise?”
“We’ll talk about that later. How good are you at refilling salt and pepper shakers?”
She refilled all the shakers and tidied up the tables so swiftly that he reconsidered child labor laws. After that, he brought her into the kitchen to help with Aubrey’s surprise. Tom had provided the puff pastry and a basic recipe for making an apple galette, which he tucked into the top of the bag.
He wanted to show Aubrey he appreciated her work. Even though their relationship was purely professional, it needed to remain friendly.
Especially after he won, he could be too cocky for his own good, but he still didn’t see how he wouldn’t win in the end.
Sure, maybe he’d downplayed the artistry that went into what Aubrey did. But he had to win. And if he didn’t…well, it could be time for this bird to fly. A friend of a friend was opening a restaurant in Boston next year, and an old colleague was working with a celebrity chef’s newest project in New York. He had more options—especially if he decided to work for someone else again. Owning Elevation was equally rewarding and exhausting. Getting the thing he’d always wanted wasn’t some perfect happy ending.
But then, if he left the business behind, he’d also be turning his back on his best friend, employees, and family. He’d only go if he were truly out of options. And he wasn’t there yet, as restless as he may be.
The oven timer dinged, and he reached for a mitt to pull out the galette.
“That smells almost as good as my mom’s.” Daphne stood on her tiptoes. She brought her hand toward her nose, wafting the scent in closer.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He checked the time on his smartwatch. “Speaking of your mom, it’s almost time for our meeting.”
Daphne reached for the still-cooling galette. Liam stopped her. “Damon will bring it over, okay?”
