Chapter Nine
Poppy smiled at his modified toast. She loved the changes she saw in him. He wasn’t as tough. No, that wasn’t right. He was still strong and masculine with a hard shell, but she could sense a softer, gentler side to him now. It looked good on him.
Despite his reputation, she’d liked him before, at least until prom, but he was even more enticing now. Deeper, more thoughtful, kinder. Darius Badeaux had matured into someone special. She was enjoying their time together, both while baking, and while relaxing like they were now.
“You’re all right, Darius.” He still had a bit of an edge, a roguish look in his eyes from time to time. When it came, like it was right now, she wondered what was going on behind those sexy brown eyes. “You’re different. In a good way.” Heat rushed to her face. Why had she gone and said that? Couldn’t she keep her thoughts to herself? She glugged a mouthful of steaming hot cocoa, trying to drown the words that kept flying out of her mouth.
“Thank you. I had to leave home to learn that I wasn’t as big a deal as I thought I was.”
“My grandmother always told me you weren’t as tough as you pretended to be. She said you were hurting behind all that bravado.” She dropped her mug onto the table, a dribble of cocoa sloshed over the edge. “Sorry. You probably don’t want to hear that we talked about you behind your back.”
“Small towns and gossip go hand in hand.” A weak smile curved his mouth upward.
“But not until after…” She interrupted herself. She wasn’t going to tell him about hiding in the back of the bakery and peeking out to watch him.
Poppy twisted a white linen napkin in her hands, trying to gather her thoughts rather than letting them race wildly. “She said I should cut you some slack. That it wasn’t any easier being a teenage boy than being a teenage girl.”
“I don’t know what it’s like to be a teenage girl, but being a boy with a reputation wasn’t always easy.” He looked around the restaurant, seeming to avoid her eyes. “One of the reasons I asked you out was because I knew you’d understand the trouble of being misunderstood. But also, to avoid tryingnotto have sex with the easy girls who kept pushing themselves at me. I liked them fine, but they only wanted a piece of me because of my reputation, not because of who I was. But mostly, I asked you to the prom because I liked you.”
She blinked at him. His confession was a mouthful and a lot to take in all at once. “Thank you. It’s nice to hear that it wasn’t just a joke, that I wasn’t just a joke.”
“No way. One thing you never were to me, was a joke. I always envied you because you were yourself, without apology; even when I could see that it hurt you. I saw your strength but never realized that you weren’t who you wanted to be. I’m glad you’ve found yourself.”
“Yeah, me too.” It seemed that Darius had found himself as well. Interesting that they’d both found their way to cooking, and in their home town at that. The depth of their conversation was making her uncomfortable. She wanted to move beyond the past and into the present. To the place where they were friends.
“We’re friends now, right?” she asked, feeling silly.
“What?” His eyes widened and then narrowed. “Of course, we are. Don’t you think we are?”
“I do, I just wasn’t sure that you did.” Jeepers, could this conversation get any more ridiculous and stilted. “I’m pleased to call you my friend and partner.”Whoa, wait. “My gingerbread partner,” she added hastily.
He tilted his head and studied her. She could almost hear the questions running around in his head. He straightened up and smiled. “Poppy Holiday, I think we can be more than gingerbread partners and friends.”
Her mouth dropped open and she snapped it shut with a click of her teeth. What was he implying? A surge of pleasure washed over her and she bit back a smile.
“You’re a special woman. A woman I’d like to get to know better,” he said, sincerity ringing in his voice and reflected in his earnest expression.
Larry chose that exact moment to slide salads in front of them, breaking the mood.
“Looks lovely,” she said with a smile. “The extra cheese looks perfect. Thank you, Larry.” She dove in, feigning complete focus on the salad. Darius wanted to get to know her better. The question was, what did she want?
She was of two minds. Clearly this was a devil on each shoulder moment. One whispered for her to follow his lead and see where their relationship might go. The other shouted for her to walk away. To keep her distance. It felt like there was no winning this debate. Either way, she wasn’t going to let anything happen between them – good or bad, while they were practicing.
“I’m sorry,” he said. He reached across the table to touch her hand. Heat warped up her arm even though she jerked away. “I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I misspoke.”
She dropped her fork and leaned back.Crap. Now what?She had no idea what to say.
“Wait. I didn’t misspeak. Well, I did. Sort of.” He sucked in a deep breath and forced it out audibly. “Let me try again. I like you Poppy. I’ve liked you since sixth grade, but I like you more as an adult. You’ve graciously let me replace your assistant in the competition. Outside of that, I want to spend more time with you, getting to know you. I’m not going to push you, but once this work partnership is over, I’d like to take you on a date. A proper one. Pick you up, take you to dinner and a movie. Or dancing. Whatever you’d like.” He scraped his fingers through his hair and sighed again.
His blurted words and obvious nervousness set her at ease.
“Relax, Darius. I appreciate your candor.” She saw the hope that sprang to his eyes. It showed in the lifting of their corners as his smile tilted upward, the deepening of his laugh lines and the glow that lit his eyes from inside. “Let’s get through this contest and see what happens.
“I’d like that, very much.” His smile broadened.
Yeah, me too, her heart whispered.
