Page 83 of Bake You Mine
“What about you? You’ve let on that you miss the city life, too.”
He pushed the charcuterie board toward her and began working on the wine bottle cork. “I do. Life is just more exciting in the city, you know? But if I leave, I’ll have to keep that stupid hot chef persona to stand out.”
She plucked a grape and tossed it into her mouth. “Well, it’s looking like you’ve got this thing in the bag, so I’m assuming you’ll stay after?”
He cut her a glance. “What do you mean? We’re dead even point-wise, and we haven’t completed the third challenge yet.”
“Me and live TV don’t have the best track record.” She let out a nervous laugh. “I may have been inwardly spiraling since the challenge was announced.”
“Shit, I’m sorry, Aubs.” The cork sprang free. “Care to share?”
“It was like twenty years ago, but they made me something of a meme when I was in high school. I had a mishap with a chopstick.”
He raised an eyebrow. “What kind of mishap?”
She tapped her eye. “I got startled, and a chopstick bouncedoff the plate and jabbed me in the eye. It was a right comedy of errors. Captured on live TV, of course.”
“Why didn’t you mention this before?”
“Honestly, I tried to put it out of my mind. I’m grateful I went to high school before social media took over, and the incident didn’t spread further than my school.” She handed him her glass. “I should be fine, but I’m honestly just eager to get it over with.”
“Which means, knowing you, you’re working on your Plan B.” He poured the wine.
She swirled it around in her glass and took a sniff. “Funny you mention it, Tom and I were just discussing that today.”
“Do tell.”
She took a sip. “We’ll close in January to reorganize and deep clean the space. From there, I don’t know. We can’t afford to move, even if it were an option. So, we’d probably resign the lease and hope by the time it renewed again, more development has come to the city.”
Liam nodded. “I could only move if Devour footed the bill. And honestly, renovation would be a bit much without the cash prize. I couldn’t afford to close for as long as it would take to do the work, and still pay my staff.”
A stab of worry hit her in the side of her chest. “It’s a compelling offer, that’s for sure. I think you could do big things in DC.”
He hitched up his knee and rested his elbow there. “I could, but I’m not sold on the idea, either. It would be a huge change. It’s also not entirely up to me. Damon and my brother are partners in the business. And I’d be losing a measure of control being under someone else’s umbrella. There are pros and cons. I wouldn’t be able to retire hot chef anytime soon.”
“So you’re considering it?”
He reached for a slice of salami and rolled it up. “It’s not an accurate representation of who I am.”
She touched the side of his face. “It shows who you are on the outside. Nothing more.”
He gazed up at her. “You know that, but people make assumptions.”
“Like you did, huh?”
She gave him a push. “You’re never going to let that go, are you?”
He grabbed her by the waist, surprising her as he hefted her into his lap. “No, I don’t think I will. Although I wish you had said something earlier. We wasted a lot of time.”
She considered reminding him it wasn’t like their crush was a two-way street all these years, but what was the point of that?
She draped an arm around his shoulders and lowered her mouth to his. “We’ll make up for it now.”
They slid back against the tree as they kissed. His hands came to her hips before one slid up to her waist, fingers tantalizing at the waistband of her leggings.
The elastic halted his progress, but not for long. She hitched up her hips and tugged the leggings down and over her ass. Her exposed skin broke out in gooseflesh.
Liam’s laugh was low and dirty. “Tell me what you want, then.”
