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Daniel huffed.
“And I have no problems with telling you that you’ll continue making mistakes if you don’t go over there and tell her you’re sorry.” He nodded toward the booth where Megan and Gabby were happily handing out small dixie cups filled with what he could only assume were coffee and tea samples.
“I’m not apologizing for anything. I didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You called her psychotic.”
He flinched. Okay, he’d done that. But besides using that unfortunate word, he hadn’t done anything that deserved an apology.
Bo pushed him gently. “Go on. Talk to her. Maybe you two could make nice and work out something that benefits both of you. Heaven knows there are several ranches around here. I’d be an idiot if I chose to maintain a rivalry with them.”
That was probably the best point his brother had made so far. If all the ranches around here could be profitable, then why couldn’t a coffee shop and a bookstore with a café do the same?
Because ranches had a wide berth. The people who did business with them came from several hundred miles away sometimes.
No one was going to travel that distance to get a cup of good coffee or a book. Daniel’s customer pool was so much smaller than Bo’s would ever be.
Suddenly, Daniel began wishing he’d been the first born. Bo didn’t have to make a choice. He didn’t have to find something that would provide for his family because it was given to him on a silver platter. He knew from the moment he could walk where his life would go.
Daniel had known the same.
Only he’d found that he wasn’t going to be a rancher and it would be up to him to find something different. That was where he and his brother weren’t on level playing fields. Bo had it easy and Daniel was left drowning without a life vest.
Bo gave him another shove, reminding him that he was still standing in the middle of the park staring at Megan’s table.
Megan, with her pretty eyes, and her heart-shaped face. He actually liked the way her glasses sat perched on her nose despite not really liking them on anyone else he’d met. And the way her nose turned up ever so slightly at the end was…
Daniel shook his head sharply.
What had gotten into him? This was the competition, for heaven’s sake. He wasn’t supposed to find her attractive or allow himself to get soft toward her. She would forever be the enemy unless he could put a stop to her.
Megan’s eyes locked with his.
Shoot! She’d caught him staring. But rather than smile smugly at him, she didn’t react at all. They just stared at each other—each with a battle of wills that was evenly matched. It wasn’t until a customer broke her focus that she shifted her attention away from him.
Daniel didn’t know what came over him, but he started wandering toward her table. Once the customer was gone, Megan cut another glance in his direction, but this time looked away just as quickly. She wasn’t happy.
Well, good. Now she knew what it felt like. He wasn’t sure where Gabby went off to, but Megan was alone, and now would be the perfect opportunity to make it known where he stood.
He wasn’t going anywhere.
When he stopped at her table, she didn’t acknowledge him. Nor did she do anything when he cleared his throat. Finally, he gestured toward a little cupcake liner with what looked like cherry pie. “I’ll try some of that and some of your favorite coffee.”
Her eyes darted up to meet his, narrowing as they did. Ever since her arrival, she’d been uptight. He could see it in the way she carried herself. Her shoulders never slouched and her choice in clothing made her look like she belonged in a business magazine rather than in a small mountain town filled with ranches and cowboys.
Daniel shoved aside all his fury and flashed her a smile to disarm her. He might like horses better than people, but he actually did like most people—just not Megan. “May I try a piece of pie and some coffee, please?”
She grabbed both items and shoved them toward him. “I don’t know what you think you’re going to do. You can’t get under my skin.”
“I’m not trying to get under your skin.” The more she spoke to him, the more he realized something. She was just as protective of her place as he was of his. Well, at least they had that in common. He took a bite of the pie sample and the flavor burst in his mouth like the Fourth of July. He nearly choked on it from the surprise. “Are you going to sell this in your café?”
Her lips curled into a snarl. “Just because you gagged on it isn’t going to make me second guess whether I sell it. It’s my grandmother’s recipe and I know it’s good. You’re going to have to try harder than that to sabotage me.”
“I wasn’t trying—” he cut himself off. A sigh burst from his lips. “Look, I get that I’ve been going at this all wrong. I’m sorry, okay?”
“Sure doesn’t sound like it.”
“Well, I am. Normally I would have been the ringleader for something like this.” He motioned around them at the event. “I would have brought the coffee, I would have handed out flyers at my shop, I would have been your biggest cheerleader.”
