Page 75 of Bake You Mine
“Our Aubrey tends to be full of good ideas,” her father said.
“She is.” Liam grinned at her. “And oh, before I forget, Mom wants to do dinner at her place the night of the last challenge. It’s the only night everyone can get together until Thanksgiving.”
Add another thing to an already super stressful day. Although it wasn’t like the Linleys were strangers.
“Yeah, sure, why not?”
“Where’s the bathroom?” Daphne asked.
“I’ll show you on my way back to the kitchen, kiddo,” Liam said.
Once Daphne left, her father leaned forward. “What in the ever-loving hell is going on, Aubrey?”
She gave her father a brief play-by-play of the day’s events. She’d nearly wrapped up the story when Daphne slunk into the booth next to them. Damn, that kid needed a bell around her neck; she could be quiet as a mouse when theadults were having a conversation they didn’t want her to overhear.
“You okay, little bug? Up for the haunted house?” Aubrey’s voice was falsely cheerful, and her kid picked up on it.
Daphne pouted. “We don’t have to go if you’re too tired, Mom. I’m okay, though.”
The last thing she wanted was to get the bejeezus scared out of her. But her kid needed a treat. “Oh, we’re going.”
After they ate, they waited for Liam to finish in the kitchen. They were testing out a couple of new sous chefs to fill in the gaps, which made Liam feel comfortable leaving.
Well, comfortable-ish, judging by his nervous expression.
“I’ll be ready to go in two minutes,” he called from the kitchen.
As Aubrey and her father were buttoning their coats, Daphne skipped to the hostess stand to talk to Sasha.
Aubrey’s father turned to Aubrey as he tucked his scarf into his jacket. “If it’s all right, I’ll skip the haunted house.”
“Why? I thought this would be a good opportunity for everyone to get to know each other better.”
Her father smiled. “I already know enough to say I like the guy. Besides, I would invite him for a beer to talk one-on-one.”
Things were progressing in a manner she never could have imagined. So why did she feel like panicking?
“You’re a million miles away.”
She snapped back into focus, taking in her father’s features to settle her nerves. “I’m fine, Dad. We shouldn’t be late, anyway. Daphne has school in the morning.”
“Good. And one thing before I go—did you call your therapist?”
Why was he bringing this up now?
“No, but I will, I promise. I’m not falling apart, even if that’show I appear on the outside.” He didn’t seem convinced, so she forced a smile. “I promise, Dad. I’ll move making that phone call up on my to-do list.”
He squeezed her hand. “Don’t let that beautiful brain get ahead of you again. Try to live in the moment, okay?”
Before Aubrey could respond, he ducked out onto Sweet Briar.
“Hey, where’s your dad going?”
Liam had changed from his chef’s whites and wore jeans, a leather jacket, and a gray T-shirt. He was so hot—more than that, both cool and young as hell. She frowned down at herself, her muffin top escaping from her jeans, her quilted jacket dowdy.
She had thick skin that rivaled a crocodile’s, so why did this negative line of thinking get to her? She was trying to hurt her feelings.
“He chickened out. He said he’s going to take you out for a beer at a later date if that’s okay.”
