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So being the nosy man that I am, I walked around the back to see if the door was open, and it was propped all the way open. I could practically feel the heat pouring out of the kitchen as I watched her and Anne whisk around.
I stepped in against my better judgement, because I just had to talk to her. Even though the last time I’d done that, I’d just shoved my foot into my mouth like it was a habit.
“It’s not that bad! It’s only seven! There will be plenty of time, don’t worry,” Anne said in an attempt to calm Emma, who was very clearly stressed out. She was covered in flour and chocolate and what seemed like strawberries.
“How did I think fivehundredorders would be manageable? I can’t even do five!” She screeched and then turned around. That was when her eyes landed on me, and she screamed in surprise.
I held my hands up in surrender and grinned at her. I promised myself I wouldn’t say anything stupid. “Sorry, Em. I was just coming to check on you. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Wait, are you the owner of the cookie store next door?” My attention was diverted to a man in the corner of the room who was fiddling with a camera on a tripod. I didn’t even notice him before because I was so focused on Emma.
It was the guy that was here a few weeks ago. The one that Emma was really cozy with. Her boyfriend, I presumed.
“Yes, why?” I gave him a blank glare and my voice was monotone. Speaking to Emma’s boyfriend like that probably wasn’t the best way to make her not hate me, but I didn’t care at the moment, because I hatedhim.
“I just thought I recognized you.” He shrugged and went back to messing with the camera.
“Do you need something, Liam?” Emma asked, picking up a huge bag of flour. Emma was a tall woman, but she still seemed so small compared to me, and the bag probably weighed more than she did. I approached her and took the bag from her arms, and she didn’t protest.
“I was just coming to offer some help.” I took the bag over to the table she pointed at, and set it down. I actually wasn’t planning on offering help, but it seemed like she could use an extra pair of hands.
She gave me a suspicious look. “Why would I want your help?”
I just stared at her, unable to answer the question. She wouldn’t want my help, because I’ve done nothing but cause her grief and pain. Repeatedly. But I couldn’t keep myself away from her.
“Actually, that could be amazing, Emma. It’ll really show off your community mentality and probably get a lot of attention on socials.” The guy in the corner piped up, and I found myself hating him a little bit less.
“You think so?” She turned to him with scrunched eyebrows. She wasn’t buying it.
“Yeah! I think it’ll be great!” He grinned at me and I gave him a half smile.
Emma turned back to me. “I mean, I guess you can help. But just know if you steal any of my recipes, I will break into your house and steal all your phone chargers, pillow, and cooking utensils!”
I raised a brow. “That is oddly specific.”
“That’s because I’m not a real criminal, but I will make sure to make your life as difficult as possible.” She still had a frown on her face, but I was struggling not to grin at her. I had to admit that I would gladly let her steal all of those things from me, and probably laugh while she did because it was so adorably hilarious.
“Your recipes are safe. Just please, don’t take my pillows.”
She pointed a finger in my face and gave me a very serious look, which I, again, struggled not to smile at. “Just watch yourself.”
I held my hands up again to show my surrender, and she nodded.
“Okay, Anne is working on chocolate chip cookies, so why don’t you take the dough and shape them into dough balls using that scoop. I’ll make sure you’re doing it right. Then, put them in the oven forexactly—and I cannot emphasize that enough—exactlyeleven minutes. Got it?” She moved to the other side of the kitchen to work on something else.
“Eleven?” I asked, shocked. She was cooking them for a few minutes shorter than she used to. Then we used to.
“Yes, eleven. I don’t care what you do over at your store, I’ve perfected my chocolate chip cookies since you’ve last had them, so they’re different now.” She didn’t even look at me as she said it.
I just nodded and got to work once Anne passed me the mixing bowl full of cookie dough. With gloves on, I started using the cookie scoop to portion out all of the dough balls, and then I rolled them into perfect spheres before laying them on parchment-covered trays. Emma checked my work to make sure it was up to her standard, and once she silently approved, I put them in the oven and got started on the next tray. I used my watch to time them so I wouldn’t accidentally forget, and soon got into a rhythm of baking all the cookies. Once the finished ones were pulled out of the oven, Emma told me to use a large round cookie cutter to swirl around the cookies and ensure they were perfectly round. Then, I placed the trays on a tray rack for cooling.
After a few hours, I’d probably cooked four hundred chocolate chip cookies. Anne was still making dough, and I wondered just how many she had sold.
“I’m going to ask you a few questions for content. Is that okay?” The camera guy asked, a camera already in my face. I tried to prevent myself from full-on glaring at him, but it was hard. He was a good-looking, kind man, so it was no wonder Emma liked him. And if he was the one who got her all this business, I was sure I would never have a chance with Emma as long as he was around. I hurt her business, and he helped.
“Sure.”
“What’s your name?” He asked.
