Especially when Liam came tearing out of the front door of the bakery, looking really confused. Until he saw me… and the truck. Then his confusion lifted.
I cranked the keys, turning the engine off, and cautiously stepped out of the truck toward him, my smile more like a grimace as I approached. “What do you think?”
“Fleetwood Mack?” he asked, looking stunned.
“Best breakup song there is.”
Slowly, he walked over to the truck, peeking in the driver’s side before crossing around to the window where we would serve. He covered his mouth with his hand, then rushed toward the back, throwing the truck open and climbing up into the “kitchen”—if you could call it that.
I had ordered the bare basics in there. A sink to wash our hands. A refrigerator, an electric burner, fryer, microwave, and the biggest necessity—a coffee pot.
“Well?” I asked. My voice sounded small, and I hated how much I was seeking his approval. But we were partners here, and he and I were in this together. His approval didn’t just mean something to my heart. It meant everything to the business. After buying the truck and the appliances, the permit fees, and the first payment to Riley for her work fixing up the truck, my bank account was down to the double digits. I wasn’t even sure I had enough cash to make it until Wednesday. Lucky for me, my sister was helping me out by paying some of the mortgage while she crashed in my house with me.
The shock on his face twitched, lifting his brows. Then, his mouth curved into a smile. “Holy shit,” he said, swiping his hand through his hair and spinning to face me. “You did it.” His grin widened as he looked at me. “You did this all yourself?”
I shrugged. “I had some help from my mom and dad and sister. We all installed the appliances over the weekend. Who knew my dad was so handy!”
Liam laughed and spun around, looking more closely at the space. “Where’d you find these?” he asked, examining the food-truck-sized appliances.
“A guy down in Concord was selling his old equipment. I got a good deal on them because they were pretty dirty and kind of old. But nothing a little Windex and elbow grease couldn’t take care of.”
“Chloe… this… this is…” He shook his head and paused, as though searching for the words. When his bright green eyes finally found mine, his lips curved into the softest grin. “This is incredible. I can’t believe you pulled it off.”
I grinned back as warmth spiraled out to my limbs from my core. “Well, not all of it,” I said. “I couldn’t get us much media coverage. We have a small article going in the local paper. Our Facebook and Instagram accounts are up and running, of course. And I have a lead on maybe getting interviewed on the local 5’clock news. But that’s it. No other bites.”
“Is that normal?”
I sighed. “Sort of. News likes to pick up a story when it takes off. If our food truck is a sudden success—like those Popeye’s chicken sandwiches, then they’d want to interview us. Or if we were doing some sort of event we were promoting, like donating the first week of proceeds to a charity…”
“Why don’t we do that?” Liam said, still grinning from ear to ear. “We could donate the proceeds of our first week toward your sister’s healthcare clinic.”
I loved that Liam’s brain—and heart—went directly to charity. “That would be nice…”
“But?”
“But I’ve really drained my bank account starting this up,” I admitted, feeling the blush rise to my cheeks.
“Why didn’t you tell me? I can help with that,” Liam said quietly.
I shrugged. “You have a lot on your plate. And I know you and Neil are struggling to pay off your mom’s bills—”
“We’re not struggling nearly as much now that Neil’s check from the reality show came in. Besides, we’re partners.”
It didn’t really feel like I had a partner this week, which was admittedly my own doing. Fear lurked in the back of my mind that Liam would walk away from the business. Leave me with a stupid food truck and no skills to cook or serve from it. “I didn’t want to burden you. Not when I had promised to make this as easy on you as I could.”
Liam closed the distance between us and put his arms around me, pulling me into a tight hug. It caught me so off-guard that I actually gasped into his shoulder as he said, “You did… and at your own expense. I shouldn’t have let you do all this work without me. That’s not what a good business partner does. I’m so sorry.”
I blinked in shock as he pulled back, pushing me to arm’s length, but keeping his hands gently on my shoulders. “Even still, you knocked this out of the park, Chloe. It’s perfect.”
My grin widened and my eyes flicked to where Liam’s tongue slid across his bottom lip.
The draw to lean in and kiss him was so strong, so potent. “Chloe?” Liam’s raspy voice saying my name did nothing to abate the pulse between my legs or the stare I had locked on his full, slick pout.
“Yeah?” I whispered, slowly dragging my gaze up to his.
“Knock, knock!” A loud bang came on the side of the truck, and I jumped, nearly falling into the refrigerator. “Chloe, are you in there?”
It was my sister. Shit. My sister. Who I had
