Page 35 of Bake You Mine
Damon pulled out one earbud as he prepped for dinner. His response was a thumbs-up.
She followed him into the alley. “You know, my mom’s single. And ready to mingle.”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Are you telling me that for a reason, kiddo?”
She grinned. “I mean, you’re hot chef. She’s pretty. I’m not dumb. You two have some zing when you talk.”
Even middle schoolers knew about that stupid hashtag! He was half tempted to ask if her mom had mentioned him, but he thought better of it, especially after his last conversation with Aubrey. That’d certainly been zingless, to use Daphne’s expression.
Liam attempted neutrality. “I don’t know about that.”
The back door was wide open. Since he was a few minutes early for their meeting, he was surprised to hear voices carrying out into the alley.
“I just want to take her out for ice cream. What’s the big deal, Aubrey?” The unfamiliar voice belonged to a young woman.
Liam peered around the corner, feeling like a proper snoop. He found a blonde in her twenties standing before Aubrey with her arms crossed.
“Thedealis that you showed up here expecting us to drop everything because you decided you wanted to play stepmom for an hour or two.”
The other woman had to be Daphne’s stepmother.
Daphne now leaned through the doorway, a hand placed to her ear.
“Kiddo, maybe you should wait for me at Elevation,” he whispered.
“No way.” She turned around. “I hardly ever get to see her claws come out.”
Liam glanced at Daphne, and they both stifled a laugh.
“That’s a shitty thing to say,” the blonde whined. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you didn’t want us to have a relationship with her.”
From where he stood, he could only see Aubrey’s back. His eyes had a mind of their own, and they skirted down to take in her backside before he mentally cursed himself.
“Of course, I do. But I’m a parent every day, not just for the fun stuff like ice cream and trips to the nail salon. Or worse, play-acting mommy on social media.”
Liam couldn’t help it; he muttered, “Oh snap,” under his breath.
When a chastising male voice joined the conversation,enough was enough. It was gross to eavesdrop on a personal matter, especially with Aubrey’s kid.
He gave Daphne a pat on the shoulder. “Go inside before we’re found out. I’ll follow in a minute.”
She gave him a subtle eye roll but didn’t object. “Mom? Are you in here?”
The conversation halted when she skipped in.
“Hey, kiddo. I wanted to take you for ice cream. Your mom said no,” the other woman said, pulling a pout that would rival any of his nieces or nephews.
The big guy—Aubrey’s ex, he assumed—was built like a brick shit house and had a mug that wasn’t half bad to boot. Liam had seen him before—they belonged to the same gym.
His eyes widened when the ex mumbled, “Stop whining,” under his breath. Perhaps trouble brewed in paradise.
“I don’t want ice cream anyway.” Daphne looped her arms around her mother’s waist.
The younger woman narrowed her eyes. She reminded Liam a little of Dani. A spoiled Daddy’s girl, Dani tended to flip her shit when she heard the word no.
Liam cleared his throat and finally stepped inside. “Hey, Aubrey, should I come back? It’s time for our meeting.”
She whipped around, the hard lines of her face softening. “No, you’re right on time. Sorry, you two, now you’ll learn you can’t just drop in on us. Next time, call.”
