Anna came back with a large tray full of steaming dishes. Cedar tucked her anger away and put Akoni in his high chair. She didn’t want him grabbing one of the hot plates and gettingburned.
The table was quiet as everyone took their first few bites. Cedar’s chicken enchiladas were full of seasoned meat, chilies, beans, rice, andcheese.
“I have passed through the pearly gates and am eating in heaven.” Deja dropped her chin as shechewed.
Darrin began asking Elijah questions about being an agent, the ins and outs, and what cut he got of a player’s income. The last question had Elijah choking on his beeftaquitos.
Cedar enjoyed her food so much more when she tuned him out. Once Elijah stopped coughing, Cedar asked Deja questions about baby names, and they were off on a discussion topic that left the men on theirown.
Partway through their debate over girl names that sounded like boy names but were spelled differently, Cedar heard the words “cookiebar.”
Her head turned so fast the room blurred. “I’m sorry,” she interrupted Elijah. “Did you say cookiebar?”
Elijah wiped his chin with a napkin. The melted cheese was stringy and kept getting stuck in his beard. “That’s exactly the kind of reaction we’re hoping for.” He slapped Darrin on the shoulder. “This guy is a real go-getter. He’s already looking at opening his second business called the CookieBar.”
The room blurred again, only this time Cedar hadn’t moved a muscle. Her brain connected all the dots and drew very clear pictures—Darrin was an even worse ex-boyfriend than he had been a boyfriend. She could let one idea go. Call it a stupid tax for discussing her future with a nincompoop. But there was no way in this big old state of Texas she was going to let him get away with harvesting the best parts of her. A raging fury built inside, churning over and over itself until she was unable to silence the good sense that told her not to make a scene. “I have to hand it to you, Darrin—you’ve got more guts than I gave you creditfor.”
“Thanks.” He lifted his cup herdirection.
“Yep. It takes a lot of courage to sit at the same table with someone you stole business ideas from and then try to sell them right back.” Cedar couldn’t sit any longer. She pushed her chair back, the legs scraping against thefloor.
“Your ideas?” Elijah asked indisbelief.
She glanced around. A few people looked her way. She hated that they scowled at her as if she were the problem just because she was standing up and talking a little loudly while Darrin—the real culprit—blinked up at her from his seat. He froze, his cup hallway to his lips. He watched her for a moment before setting his cup down. “She’sright.”
The air squeezed out of her and Cedar sank back into her seat. “Did you just admit you stole myidea?”
Darrin wiped his lips before answering. “Cedar and I discussed many business ideas. We worked in the same groups and attended the same classes. She’s…” he took a deep breath and turned his eyes to meet her gaze. His look said he missed her. That he believed what he was saying. “…prettyamazing.”
Cedar pressed her palms into the top of thetable.
“I made a big mistake letting this one getaway.”
Teostiffened.
If Darrin noticed the hardening of Teo’s muscles, he didn’t react to it. “In a manner of speaking. I would love nothing more than the opportunity to work with you on the Cookie Bar, Cedar. We’re a great team, and we could take this to the franchise level in eighteen months; I’m sure ofit.”
Cedar stared at him. “Are you offering me a job?” Because that was a kick in the gut. Working for someone else to develophercompany would betorturous.
“No. I want us to be partners.” He tipped his head, implying there was more to this partnership than just abusiness.
Cedar groped for her glass of ice water.Partners? That was…insane and… flattering—in a weird way. Darrin had done all the work to get investors; thus proving that he could succeed and thrive in the business world. His charm had taken him further than Cedar’s dreams in the sky had taken her. But, if they worked together… She glanced at Teo. If they worked together, Teo needed to know everything. Otherwise, she’d feel like she was sneaking around behind hisback.
Facing Teo, she smoothed her top and spoke as evenly as she could. “Darrin and I used to date.” There. It was out there now like some ugly snail in the garden of conversation. “I told him I wanted to start companies—we even talked about doing it together before we brokeup.”
“Excuse me?” Teo got…bigger.
The place went quiet—so quiet the soft music coming through the speakers in the ceiling could be heard. Up until that point, Cedar had no idea music was even playing, because the din of conversation had been loud enough to drown itout.
Cedar put her hand on his arm, hoping to calm him down and avoid a scene. She wanted to tell him that she was over Darrin, that Teo was the only man for her—ever. But there was this draw to Darrin and his offer she couldn’t ignore. They had so much in common, including their career paths. Life would be so much easier if the guy she was with worked right alongside her. She and Teo had something special—something she’d never had before. They felt like a family. And, while that was nice and all, there were other parts of her than needed to be fed. Darrin may not be family material, but he made her feel important and smart—like she was capable of more than entertaining a one-year-old for the afternoon. Not that Teo made her feel stupid or treated her like she was incapable of a masterful thought—he just didn’t need that side of her. Confused and irritated at herself, Cedar pulled her handaway.
Elijah cleared his throat. “We should take this conversation somewhere moreprivate.”
Deja placed her hand over her belly, her nose wrinkling. “I know I was craving Mexican tonight, but I shouldn’t have had the fried peppers. Would anyone mind if we called it anight?”
Cedar’s heart sank. She’d caused everyone to feel uncomfortable, and now Deja was looking for a way out of the evening. She’d blown it bigtime.
Darrin pointed right at Deja’s face, his finger invading her personal bubble. “You and that baby are what’s most important.” He quickly got to his feet. “I’m going to wash my hands. I’ll meet you all up front to saygoodbye.”
