24. Chapter 24
twenty-four
M ax avoided Willow for three entire days following their awkward morning-after talk. He would have liked to pretend that it hadn’t been torturous, but who was he kidding? Whenever he’d see her walk through the dining room, or talk to Luis in the kitchen, or hear her laugh from the brewery, his heart would race, and he’d have to go into an internal battle to stop himself from going to her, throwing her over his shoulder, and dragging her home with him.
Or better yet, laying her back down on their desk.
Now, after all that work to keep her out of sight and out of mind, he was making his way to her brewery to find out what the hell was taking her so long.
It was influencer night, their last trial run before the grand opening, and all the food and beer bloggers and Instagrammers and TikTokers were outside with their selfie sticks waiting to be let in.
And where was Willow? Nowhere in sight.
He swung open the door and found her sitting at a table with her eyes closed and her hands out, holding a shiny grey rock in each palm as Jer danced around her with weird, jerky movements.
He let loose an annoyed grunt. “What the hell are you two doing?”
Willow’s eyes flew open. As soon as they found his, a brilliant smile broke out on her face, making his heart lodge in his throat.
“Jer’s grounding me with these,” she said, holding his eyes for a long moment before clearing her throat and turning to Jer. “What are they called again?”
“Hematite crystals,” Jer said, waving his hands around her face. “They reduce nervous energy.”
A pounding headache began forming behind his eyes, and he rubbed at his temples.
“You’re up next, big guy,” Jer said with a snap of his fingers that he turned into a finger gun.
Annnd the headache reached its full intensity. He needed to find a painkiller.
“Absolutely not,” Max said, blinking down at his watch. They didn’t have time for all this crap .
“The influencers are here. I’m telling the host to open the doors.”
Willow hopped up, handed the stones to Jer, and joined Max as he turned back to the dining room. She was wearing a short green dress, and her hair was long and loose in pretty waves that went down her back. He tried not to crane his neck too obviously as she fell in step with him, but he’d clearly failed when she turned and caught him checking her out.
“What?” she said.
Max let his eyes drop along her body and back up. “You look pretty in green.”
Willow’s eyes went wide, and she gave the little smile she made whenever she got a compliment. Her soft pink lips stretched a little but didn’t part, giving an overall look of discomfort.
“Jer says this is my power colour.”
“Jer is really something,” Max said, pushing open the door and nodding to the host.
She rolled her eyes. “He’s great. You don’t give him enough credit.”
He glanced at her as the host opened the door. “Don’t worry. I won’t be a dick to Jer-bear after you go back home.”
He watched for a moment as the influencers came through the door, showing their invitations to the host and being led to the centre of the room to meet Luis. A moment passed before he realized Willow had fallen silent beside him. When he chanced a look at her, she was staring expressionless at the crowd.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she said, shaking it off. “What’s the plan here?”
Luis will guide the influencers through the menus, then Jer will take them to the brewery to explain the beers and give samples, and finally, they will all be seated while the waitstaff distributes the food, and they select their favourite beer.
Willow nodded. “Good.”
“It will be,” he said. “It’ll build some buzz for the grand opening, and we’ll get an idea of which dishes and beers we can expect to be the crowd pleasers.”
Luis led the influencers to the kitchen, where he passionately discussed local ingredients of the highest quality, and then to the brewery to introduce them all to Jer. Max held his breath, watching, but he relaxed as the crowd started eating out of Jer’s hand. Apparently, his over-the-top, ridiculous personality was a hit with the influencer crowd.
He must have been vibrating at the right frequency or whatever.
The influencers cleared out of the brewery, and the host led them to the main dining room. As soon as they were gone, Willow elbowed Max in the ribs with a big grin.
“I told you Jer was the guy. They loved him.”
Max raised his eyebrows. “Maybe the shiny rocks actually did something?”
Willow laughed. “You’re so closed minded.”
“And you’re a better brewer than you are a hirer.”
Willow laughed while mocking offence. “I think I’m pretty good at both.”
Max smiled, his shoulders relaxing as he stared at her. “I heard a guy with a beer blog call Fuzzy Milkshake ‘inspired’ before telling his followers to get down here opening day for a pint.”
She turned to him with her jaw down. “Really?”
Max nodded, taken aback by her surprise. “I can’t believe how much you doubt yourself. You’re exceptionally good at this. It’s unthinkable that you even considered not pursuing it.”
She did her uncomfortable little smile again before her gaze dropped to her feet.
“You know,” he said, trying to keep his tone even so it wouldn’t betray how much he felt at that moment. “It says a lot about your ex, and your old boss, and your shitty-ass friends, that you’re not used to hearing compliments. ”
Her smile dropped into a frown. She opened her mouth to say something, then closed it, then opened it, and closed it again.
He rolled his eyes. “What?”
Another moment of hemming and hawing went by before she finally spoke.
“Thank you for saying nice things to me, even if you deliver them in your grumpy Max way.”
He looked away from her pretty eyes with a shrug. “Would it make you feel better if I smile the next time I criticize the assholes you surround yourself with?”
She laughed. “I think that’ll have a more serial killer effect than a good friend effect.”
“Good friend?” he said with a laugh. “We’re not friends, remember?”
She smiled. “Good pain in the ass?”
His eyelids dropped closed as the weight settled back on his chest. He was about to ask her what the hell they were doing when a blond woman walked back into the brewery. She was pretty, tall, wearing a tight dress, and had those overly filled lips that made her look as if she’d been in a boxing match with Mike Tyson.
“Hi,” she said, marching toward him. “I’m Paige.”
“Max. ”
He shook her hand, expecting her to say hi to Willow, but she acted as if there were only the two of them in the room.
“Are you the owner?” she asked.
He glanced to the side at Willow but saw only her back as she retreated past the taps and into the back of the brewery. He frowned at her, mostly because he wanted to be close to her, but also because he needed saving from this woman.
“I’m one of them,” he said, loud enough for Willow to hear.
She ignored him.
“I just wanted to say that this place is amazing, and I’d love to stick around for a while after everyone leaves. Maybe you can give me a private tour?”
“No.”
He said it so fast he knew it came across asshole-ish, but there was only one person on earth he wanted to stick around with after everyone left. And she was entirely too far away from him at that moment.
Her eyebrows shot up. “Oh,” she said.
“Sorry,” he said, wondering whether he’d been way too rude. “I’m too busy.”
There.
That was as nice as it was going to get .
“Well, I don’t mind waiting,” she said with a smile, batting her caterpillar eyelashes. “I have a hotel room here in town.”
Max glared at her. “No.”
She flinched back, apparently in shock for a moment, then rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she said, then walked away.
Finally.
He waited for her to leave, then followed Willow’s steps to the brewery and found her sitting at a table, looking through her notebook.
“Why did you do that?”
She looked up. “Do what?”
“Leave me alone with that woman?”
Willow laughed. “You really don’t like people, do you?”
“Only a very select few.”
Her smile retreated. “She was pretty. And interested in you. Why didn’t you say yes?”
He closed the distance between them. “Because I know what I want,” he said, brushing a lock of her hair off her face, tucking it behind her ear.
She melted into his hand, and all the feelings he had for her came loose.
“Come home with me.”
She smiled, her eyes soft until she saw the seriousness in his expression. “Like, now? ”
Max nodded. “Yeah. Luis and Jer can lock up.”
A moment of hesitation passed where she seemed at war with herself. Eventually, she stood, closed the distance between them, and pressed her body against his with a deep sigh.
“Okay.”