Teo slowly lowered his glass, frowning at the foamy orangeliquid.
“Is it that bad?” She tapped the side of his cup with her fingernail as she walked by to put the laundry soap back in the floor-to-ceilingcabinet.
“It’s fine. I’m just nothungry.”
Cedar clutched her hands to her chest. “Are youfeelingokay?”
He cocked his head,confused.
“Teo, if you’re not hungry, I’m very concerned,” sheteased.
He smiled. “I’mfine.”
“Are you worried about your lunch meeting with Elijah?” Cedar asked. Teo had mentioned they were going over investment opportunities. Elijah liked to support local businesses and putting Teo’s star power behind projects in the community helped them succeed. She thought it was great that he wanted to help people start their own businesses. If it wasn’t a huge conflict of interest, she’d ask him to fund her start-ups. Asking for money was another professional boundary she didn’t want to cross—amongothers…
“Why don’t you come?” Teoasked.
“Me?” Cedar paused, her hand on the cabinetdoor.
“Sure. You’re smart, and I’d love to have an unbiased opinion at thetable.”
“What aboutSnuggles?”
Teo lifted an eyebrow. “I know I said I was okay with nicknames, but can you at least make them soundmanly?”
Cedar rolled her eyes and laughed. She’d tried several different nicknames for Akoni, but Snuggles seemed to fit best. “Men!”
“That’s better.” Teo smiled without showing his teeth. His dimples still made an appearance, and Cedar’s heart skipped a beat. “We’ll bring him withus.”
Cedar lowered her chin and leveled him with a look. “So I can spend the whole time trying to keep his fingers out of myfood?”
“We’ll cancel the fancy restaurant and go some place that has high chairs.” Teo scrubbed his hands through hishair.
Cedar told herself that her heart thrummed out of excitement to be in on a meeting with the man who was not only Teo’s agent but his financial advisor. The knowledge she could gain just by listening to the two of them was huge, because one day she would pitch ideas to people exactly like them, and knowing what the other guy was thinking would give her an edge. That had to be the reason her pulse raced. Otherwise, she was much too excited to go out with herboss.
Teo bumped her with his elbow. “You want this, don’tyou?”
“Does it show?” She circled her finger around herface.
Teo nodded. “I’ll make thecall.”
Cedar glanced down at her turquoise leggings and lace top. “I’m not really dressed for a businessmeeting.”
“You look perfect to me.” Teo’s ears colored and his dimples appeared, only this time he wore a bashfullook.
Cedar’s breath caught and she became acutely aware of how little space was between them. Teo’s cologne teased her senses, and his eyes took on an intimate warmth that made her insides all gooey. “Thank you,” she whispered, unable to draw a deep enough breath to speakup.
Teo leaned away, like he was trying to leave but his feet weren’t listening. She couldn’t deny the heavy level of awareness between her body and his. “I’ll meet you at the SUV,” hesaid.
“’Kay.” She ducked behind her hair as Teo slipped away. She didn’t breathe until the sound of his footsteps faded. Then she gulped for air, only to find his masculine scent was everywhere, teasing her with his manliness. Surely Teo didn’t feel the same way for her that she felt for him. He didn’t go all weak-kneed and doe-eyed when she walked into the room. Sure, he paid attention to her, but that was because he was a nice guy. One of the goodones.
Wellcrap.
She pressed her palm to her forehead as if she were checking for a fever. A fever would be one explanation for her inability to remain focused on something other than a hot man who was a great father, provider, and friend. Yes, they were friends. It wasn’t a surprise. They spent a portion of every day together. They liked the same movies—action flicks with a romance thrown in—and spandex, if possible. Okay, that last one was her requirement not Teo’s. Tight, superhero uniforms just made moviesbetter.
They enjoyed being active—playing in the ball pit, hitting the park, going for a hike. They’d done all three withAkoni.
And now Teo was inviting her into another area of his life—an area that had nothing to do with Akoni. The idea was thrilling and… scary. There should be a term for that. She wracked her brain looking for a word to describe the sensation of sitting in the front seat of a roller coaster and staring down at the tracks just as they make a verticaldrop.
