Page 5 of Bake You Mine
It was a short drive from the school to the house Aubrey shared with her father. Nestled on a hill overlooking the Rappahannock River, the old house was one of the prettiest in Port Fortune. A grand Colonial with canary-yellow siding and jet-black shutters that set it apart from the neighboring houses. It’d been in her father’s family for generations, but had sat empty for years while they’d moved around during her father’s career in the Marines. Since he retired, he’d affectionately nicknamed it the money pit. After the divorce, she and Daphne moved in.
She put the van into park in the circular drive and took the empty cake box from Daphne. Her father stepped out onto the expansive wooden porch. Springing out of the van, Daphne ran right for him and tackle-hugged him. Being a retired Marine Officer, he’d worked a lot during Aubrey’s childhood, so he loved having them living with him now. Without his help, she’d never have been able to open Petit Chou.
She exited the van to hand off Daphne’s book bag and the cake box to her father.
“You’re not staying? I made tea and scones.”
She tried to hide her smirk when she imagined her stern father puttering around the kitchen in a flowered apron with flour smeared on his cheek. He’d mellowed since retiring and the death of her mother.
“I have to get back for a meeting with Gary.”
“What is that wild man up to now? Do you think he’s decided what to do about the space?”
“Either that, or he’s found a new way to torture us. I get that it’s a big ask—taking two spaces and making them one. But if he wasn’t interested, he never should’ve entertained it when I brought up the idea.”
That was another recent point of contention between Aubrey and Liam. According to Gary, they’d both presented identical ideas to him within days of each other. After all, it was a unique proposition for one of his tenants to tear down a wall and combine two spaces. Although in his usual fashion, he “couldn’t remember” who’d come to him first. Liam swore it had to be him, but of course, he did.
She’d allowed herself to dream about what she could do with that space. As it was, they had to perform a sort of ballet to work around each other in the small kitchen space.
How could she take on more contracts when her space was already bursting at the seams? She loved the idea of hiring a chef and running a full breakfast or lunch service, too. Those dreams were beyond reach right now, but moving wasn’t viable, either. Not when the patisserie’s future felt as delicate as a gossamer string. She’d been in business for nearly four years, starting out of her kitchen and selling at the farmer’s market. She’d hit so many milestones since opening her doors. But the anxious fretting had yet to end.
She’d worked herself into a bit of a tizzy by the time she got downtown.
She parked her van in the alley behind Petit Chou. A box propped open the door to the space. Pushing her way inside, she found Liam and Gary in quiet conversation.
“The previous tenants did a nice job decorating. Shame their fusion cuisine was a bit too avant-garde to last for long,” Gary said. “Port Fortune may be a city, but it takes the trends a while to trickle down.”
The space was white and modern. It would match Petit Chou’s white-pink-gray aesthetic well. Unfortunately, it would also work with Elevation Eatery’s white-woodsy-modern look.
Aubrey cleared her throat.
Both men turned in unison. Gary broke into an easy smile. Liam’s gaze was more scrutinizing. He was scrumptious in his chef’s whites and a baggy pair of kitchen pants, although he probably looked positively delightful in a potato sack, too.
She exhaled and tried to keep her hopes level and her foolish heart firmly in her chest.
Every time Aubrey moved, her lopsided bun bobbled atop her head. It reminded Liam of one of those terrible aspic puddings he had to make during his time in London while under the tutelage of a pompous celebrity chef.
Aubrey changed out of her chef’s pinks and into a Washington Commanders hoodie and a pair of leggings. The hoodie was oversized, except that it stretched tight across her generous assets.
Liam cleared his throat. “Now that she’s here, can we get this over with? I have a dinner service to prepare for.”
“I have a few cakes to finish decorating before customer pickup,” Aubrey added in a clipped tone.
“Yes, yes, we’re all busy.” Gary clapped his hands together. “We had a city chamber of commerce meeting this morning. It was quite a boring affair, to be honest. Until the last five minutes.”
“Gary, for the love of God, please get to the point,” Liam groused.
Gary clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Fine. Tourism was the topic of the day. How to raise our profile as a regional destination. This could result in bringing in more tourist dollars into the city, along with investment for development.”
Aubrey palmed her face but said nothing as Gary continued.
“Long story short, we had an idea for a competition of sorts. Well, by we, I meanme, but I’m nothing if not generous.”
“Why do I feel we’re about to play a central part in Gary’s latest nightmare scheme?” Liam muttered. “Promise me there won’t be animals involved this time?”
“Well, aren’t you the pessimist? Besides, that was only the one time, with the snakes,” Gary said. “Anyhow, I was watching one of those food channel programs?—”
“You’re bringing Gordon Ramsay in to yell at us?” Aubrey cut in.
