Ryan Thompson flashed a charming smile as he approached the counter, oblivious to Emma's glare.
"Good afternoon, beautiful bakery... and beautiful baker," he said, eyes locking onto Emma's.
Emma's hands remained planted firmly on the glass case, her expression icy.
"What can I get for you, Mr. Thompson?" she asked sweetly, venom dripping beneath the tone.
Ryan chuckled, unaware of her sarcasm. "Just a coffee, black. And actually, I'm here to discuss...
your bakery's recent feature in my blog."
Emma's eyes narrowed. "You mean the scathing review that destroyed my reputation?"
Ryan's grin faltered for a moment before he regained composure.
"Well, I prefer 'honest culinary critique.' Your lemon bars did need work."
Emma's face burned with anger. "My lemon bars are famous in this town!
What qualifies you to judge them?"
Ryan leaned in, voice low and amused.
"Three years of culinary school, food critic experience, and 500k blog followers –
that qualifies me. Besides… I think your anger is almost as delicious as your anger issues would make a great blog post."
Emma's hands clenched into fists. This man was infuriating.
Just then, her phone buzzed - Sophie texting again:
"Girl, confront him or ignore?