"It's enormous, Cadence," Mirabel says excitedly. "We'll be able to seat more. We're going to hire more staff. Nova is going to reopen bigger and better than ever."
If the restaurant needs a spokesperson, my vote goes to Mirabel. She's pumped. I guess the job in Brooklyn has fallen right off her radar.
"Do you want to tell Cadence or can I do the honors?" Hunter turns his attention to Tyler.
In that moment my gaze drifts to Tyler's face. He's staring at me. I can tell that he hasn’t slept. He looks exactly the way I feel, worn out and exhausted.
"We want to do an announcement about the new location on the morning show." Tyler curves his finger over his left brow.
Hunter's face lights up as he steps forward. His blue eyes are a striking contrast to his short black hair. "We're going to do that here next week after our designer has finished the renderings. I'd like both you and Maribel to be on the show with Tyler when we unveil the restaurant's new location and design plan."
My eyes flash to the wide grin on Maribel's face. It's obvious that she knows about this and that she's completely on board.
"You three have become the unofficial faces of Nova," Hunter continues, "and we've already spoken to one of the producers. She'd like to see you appear together to talk about the impact of the fire and the rebuilding process."
There are a million things I'd rather do than appear on national television again with Chef Monroe. "I watched when Maribel and Tyler were on. I thought they were good together. I'm not sure I need to be here."
Tyler sighs so audibly that I turn to look at him.
"I'm asking you to do this as a favor, Cadence." Hunter brushes his hand across my shoulder. "I understand if you'd rather not, but it would mean a lot to me if you'd share the spotlight with Tyler and Maribel."
"All right," I say even though I'm not sure why I agree to it. "I can do that. Let me know when to be here and I will."
***
"Do you want to get a drink somewhere, Cadence?" Mirabel asks as we exit the building and step onto the busy sidewalk after saying goodbye to Hunter. "There's a cute place just a block over. They make a wicked mojito."
As much as I want to join her for a cocktail, I can't bring myself to do it. I hate saying no. I know she's just trying to make an effort to spend time with me, and with Tyler, for that matter. I'm not in the mood and I don't have the emotional energy to paste a smile on my face and fake it for the next hour.
"I have plans," I half-lie. Binging on ice cream and watching Sophia sew a new dress qualify as plans in my book. Granted, Sophia won't be home from work for at least another two hours but the ice cream, rum raisin to be exact, is patiently waiting for me in my freezer.
Tyler's gaze glides over my face. "I'd like to discuss something with you before you leave, Cadence. It won't take more than a few minutes."
"Does that mean you're not coming for a drink either, Tyler?" Mariel whines. "I thought we could toast to new Nova."
"Not today, Maribel." His voice is etched with frustration. "I have to take care of some things. I want this place up and running as quickly as possible."
"I can help," she says with exuberance. "Give me a list of things to do and I'll get it done quicker than you can say, 'I'll have a mojito with you, Maribel.' "
I manage a smile.
"I'll treat you to lunch one day next week," Tyler offers as a concession. "You pick the place. I'll pick up the tab."
She chuckles. "You drive a hard bargain but it's a deal, Chef. Lunch next week it is."
CHAPTER 9
I reluctantly step back into the empty building at Tyler's urging. This wouldn't be my first choice for a place to talk about what happened between us, but it's better than nothing. The sooner we come to an agreement about how we'll work together, the better. All I'm looking for is mutual understanding so when Nova reopens there's no residual tension gnawing at us. If that's not possible, I'm going to quit and start looking for a new job.
He turns to look at me. "I'm such an idiot. I can't believe I fucked up this badly."
I try to stifle an unwanted, yet uncontrollable, smile.
"What the fuck is wrong with me?"
I shrug, knowing it's a rhetorical question. If he actually wanted me to answer it, I would. I'd tell him that he's insanely jealous and territorial. I'd tell him that he let my past with Brendon forge a wedge between us.
"The fire messed me up." He exhales harshly. "I'm still numb. I keep expecting to wake up from this nightmare, but it's real."
"It is real." I stare up at him. "I know that it's been incredibly hard."
He studies my face. "I can't close my eyes without seeing the flames."