bakery AU where Person A falls in love with Person B solely by the taste of B's pumpkin pie recipe
"I think you should marry me," Paul said, biting into another piece of pumpkin pie.
"Excuse me?" Bella asked, more amused than anything. "Are you really proposing to me right now?"
"I mean," Paul swallowed the piece of pie before continuing, "I would marry you solely because of this pie, but you grew on me. Besides, you are beautiful."
Bella scoffed. Paul had been coming to her bakery religiously for the last months, and ever since he tasted his first slice of her pumpkin pie, he always ordered one. She admitted to herself he was cute, and maybe she had developed a tiny crush on him, but Bella knew it would never happen.
"Sorry, can't do it." Bella pushed herself off the counter, seeing customers entering the bakery. "I have some customers I need to attend to."
Leaving Paul to his thoughts, Bella went through her routine. She saw one of his friends, Jared, come sit next to him at the counter; these two had a weird friendship, but Bella thought it was sweet.
"No luck today, Romeo?" Jared asked, stealing a piece of Paul's pie.
"She'll never believe me," Paul murmured defeated, and Bella straightened up. "And stop trying to steal my pie, you know how much I like it."
"Yeah, and not just the pie," Jared replied, smirking at Paul, who glared at him.
Bella went to the kitchen, trying not to let Paul's words affect her. She knew he was a flirter—he had been flirting with her ever since he first started hanging around her bakery, but Bella always thought Paul was just being flirty…but she wasn't so sure now.
Trying not to dwell on all these thoughts, Bella decided to make another batch of pumpkin pies, since it seemed to be the biggest seller, ever since the start of fall. It took a little while, but when Bella finished, she smiled and went back to the front.
She was pleasantly surprised to find Paul still sitting where she left him the last time.
"Hey! You're still here." Bella smiled at Paul, who smiled back. "I thought you would have left by now."
"I could never leave without seeing your pretty face," Paul replied, smiling at her, before standing up. "Thanks for the pie, it was amazing as always. I'll see you the day after tomorrow."
"Not tomorrow?" Bella asked, trying not to show any emotion on her face.
"I have something tomorrow, and I doubt I'll be able to come here," Paul said, shrugging at her. Grabbing his coat, he turned to the door. "See you around, Bella."
Bella watched Paul walk towards the door, before something inside her snapped and prompted her to walk towards him.
"Hey, Paul! Wait," Bella called, walking near him and looking at his eyes. "Did you mean it? What you said early?"
Paul frowned, looking at her like she had lost her mind, but in a flash, his eyes were showing recognition and he blushed, looking down.
"I realised that asking you to marry me out of the blue was a little too forward, and it wasn't a wonder why you rejected that half-assed proposal," Paul said, looking at her eyes with a small smile. "But yeah…you made me notice you with you just because of your pumpkin pie."
Bella beamed at him—the pie was a recipe from Grandma Swan and she was very proud of it.
"A proposal seems too much right now, but what do you think about a date?" Paul asked, looking more like himself. "What do you say, Swan? You, me, a restaurant? And maybe, you can bake some pumpkin pie? It's good enough to make someone fall in love with you."
"Just say the date," Bella replied, biting her lip before standing on her toes and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I'll make sure to have a pie just for you."
Smiling like a loon, Bella turned around and walked back to the kitchen, missing the way Paul's face illuminated. She had a little celebratory dance by herself, before starting making the perfect pie for their date.
