Simmer

Step 2: Gather Ingredients

It occurred to Lilah far too late that when she and the competitive stranger agreed to meet outside Marisol's cafe, they didn't discuss exactly when they were to meet there. That was definitely a flaw on his part, the arrogant prick, but she was equally at fault– she had been so focused on compiling courses for her menu in her head as she'd left that she'd almost walked into oncoming traffic.

It was because of this bumbling mistake that Lilah found herself scrambling through street traffic, a notebook-laden crossbody bag draped heavily over her one shoulder that thumped against her leg with every other step, the next day. Her competition didn't strike her as the early morning type, so she was bargaining that her decision to wait until afternoon to come wasn't a poor one. She figured she would come prepared with sheets of paper and recipes galore to sift through as she waited for him; she would bribe Rocco into letting her sit inside the cafe where it was quiet to work, and she'd be able to knock out her entire menu plan while she waited. It was a perfect plan.

Except the cafe was completely closed up with no sign of Rocco anywhere when she arrived at the front door.

"Come on," she whined, tugging pointlessly on the handle. The door wobbled with the action but didn't budge. She sighed. "Plan B, then, I guess."

There was an outdoor market on the corner of the next street over, and although she wouldn't be able to keep a solid eye out for her competitor from that distance, it was better than nothing. She trudged over and quickly claimed the first available umbrella-covered table she could find along the outskirts, taking a seat in the chair that left her facing the cafe as much as possible. As she shuffled through her papers, pulling some out of her bag, she kept lifting her gaze to survey the area for signs of the cupcake-wearing baker, hoping he'd wear something else outrageous to make noticing him all the easier.

An hour and four full tentative dishes later, there was still no sign of him. Lilah gritted her teeth– if this turns out to be a waste of my time–

Another hour went by, then a third. Getting hungry, Lilah left her post long enough to snag some food from one of the market's stands, then plopped back down in her seat to eat. By the time she polished off the last of her meal, her hunger had subsided, but not her anger. She was done waiting now.

"I swear," Lilah muttered as she hiked her bag over her shoulder and abandoned her table, "this prick has no idea what he's gotten himself into-"

As soon as it was safe to do so, she crossed the street and huffed her way right up to the cafe, where she dug out a scrapped menu listing and a marker. She flipped the paper over, exposing the unused side, then began scribbling out a line of angry insults to leave her competitor.

"You forgot charming."

She didn't think it was possible, but Lilah clenched her tightened jaw even tighter at the sound of Bobby McKenzie's casual drawl at her back. Seething quietly, she turned on her heel and came face-to-face with his cocky grin. The ugly note in her hand crumpled as she balled up her fist.

"Don't." Impulsively, Lilah shoved the page into the baker's chest and was momentarily surprised by how firm it was before her rage consumed her once more. "Do you know how long I've been waiting here?"

"No, I don't."

The hint of amusement in his voice made her eyes twitch. "Four hours. I've been sitting here for four hours."

"Why?"

"Why?" She scoffed. "Because we didn't set a time to meet, and I was not about to lose my claim to this before we'd even started."

At that, he had the decency to grimace sheepishly. "That was a mistake by us both."

Lilah huffed a little, trying to compose herself. She felt sticky, sweaty, from being outside all day, and she knew her hair, which was always hard to tame this time of year, was beginning to strike back. Even wearing more ridiculous food-themed clothing,– a teal, donut-covered shirt this time– her competitor looked far more put together than she felt, and she hated that he had even that little leg up over her. "We didn't think about it being totally closed today either."