Page 47 of Bake You Mine
She whipped around. Liam stood in the doorway, a six-foot-something dreamboat, with his fresh chef’s whites and hiswild, dark hair slicked back and out of his face. The three-year-long spell hadn’t been broken by getting to know him more. If anything, she teetered dangerously toward falling for Liam, which should terrify her. But she didn’t allow those thoughts to linger.
“What are you doing?—”
Before she could finish her sentence, he’d tugged on her wrist and pulled her into an embrace. She let out an involuntary giggle because how was this real life?
“I’ve gotta kiss you again, or I swear I’m going to burn off my eyebrows from the distraction of having you so close.” His arm looped around her neck before he dropped a hand to rub the small of her back. “Is that okay?”
She relaxed in his arms. “You’re saying I shouldn’t kiss you so I can win? I mean, because I want to win.”
God, what was she doing? Yet her body did its own thing again, her hands falling on his chest, disregarding every rational thought.
He tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. “Only if you’re cruel.” He leaned in closer, his warm breath on her neck making her pulse stutter. “I don’t think you are.”
“Luckily for you, I’m not.” She wrapped her arms around him.
His expression softened. “I’m tired of discussing why we shouldn’t do this. Instead, let’s focus on why we should.”
She found herself momentarily lost in those dark-brown eyes. After pining for him for so long, she longed for this.
She stood on her tiptoes and brought her mouth against his. He tugged her closer, not allowing any space between them as they kissed. He looped an arm around her waist, lifting her off her feet.
An alarm trilled from his phone, and he returned her to solid ground. “Time to return to the battlefield.”
He rushed out. A burst of laughter emerged from her before she sliced a hand through the air. It was time to put her game face on.
“What kind of fuckery is this?” Damon peered out from the kitchen into the dining room, where Gary’s guests had begun to assemble. Half the thirty-odd people mingling about wore elaborate hats and masks, shielding part if not all their faces.
Liam had seen some crazy shit in his years of working in restaurants, but nothing like this.
“It’s the Crazy Eights Club,” Tom said. “I should have known he would invite them.”
Everyone turned to face him.
“You say that as simply as if you’re reporting the weather. What the hell is the Crazy Eights Club?” Liam asked.
“It’s an elite club out of DC,” Tom said. “You must know Gary or another founding member to be considered for membership. They do crazy shit for fun. Kind of like making two chefs run around for their entertainment.”
“Then he wasn’t lying about our guests being influential,” Liam glanced at Aubrey, who shared his dubious expression.
“You’d have thought he’d invite some of the members of the chamber of commerce,” Damon said.
“This is his contest, remember?” Liam said. “Ben’s the only outsider they let in, and they made him leave before all this weirdness started.”
“Enough talk, let’s start getting the food out.” Aubrey placed the last roll in the basket, pausing to turn them over so they all looked perfect. Liam took the salad course.
“So, you’re saying this already weird situation is about to get weirder?” Liam asked.
“You should know Gary enough to know the answer to that question.” Tom waggled his fingers.
They didn’t have much time to remark on the strangeness of the situation as they cranked out course after course. Judging by the clean plates returning to the kitchen, the food had gone over well.
Once the guests were onto the final course, Liam and Aubrey stood back and watched the diners tuck into the cheeses he’d picked as the soufflés began to emerge from the kitchen. It was just the two of them now, with Damon and Tom having left.
“What do you think?” Liam gestured at the table.
“Their masks make it kind of hard to tell what they’re thinking.”
Liam thought the same, and it made him nervous. He hoped they were taking their role in this contest as seriously as they should.
