2. Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Adalie
I t’s still surreal to me that I am in charge of fifteen people setting up chairs and easels around the ballroom or getting ready to serve food and drinks for the seventh ever Date Night at Blue Vista. I finally found a way to combine my love of painting with my career as an event venue owner.
Well, part owner.
Date Nights had been my idea and watching this one come together—at maximum capacity after only running for a few weeks—my heart is filled with excitement. We’d kept the max capacity low at thirty people, since I’m the only teacher and my friends don’t want me to be overwhelmed. Spencer, Derek, and Vic will be here tonight to help with guests, and we have a full staff, but I’m in charge, and there’s only one of me if people need help with their paintings.
“Hey,” Derek says as he comes over to me. He’s dressed casually today with his jeans and t-shirt and a backward ball cap covering his dark curly hair. “I wanted to confirm you have the stations set up close to the front for our VIPs.”
“Yes.” I point out the three easels right beside where I’ll be hosting the class. “The Sinclairs are there. The daughter is closest to me, in case she needs my help. And I figured it’ll be easier for the wait staff to find them if they’re not mixed in with the others. You said the two men are brothers?”
“Yeah. Nate and Taylor. The girl is Nate’s daughter, Dani.”
I repeat the names to myself, memorizing them, then nod. “Got it. Anything else I should know?”
“Not that I can think of. I’ll bring them up and introduce you when they get here.”
“Perfect.”
Derek grins. “You nervous?”
I straighten to my full height—which, next to Derek, is pretty pathetic—and square my shoulders. “I’ve hosted paint night three times before. It’s easy now.”
Lis, the head chef at Blue Vista, has hosted the other date nights and done a cooking class. But where Lis is used to leading people—she leads a whole kitchen every night—I’m not so good at being at the front of the room and Derek knows it.
“Sure it is. You let me, Vic, or Spencer know if you need anything. And Denise is around here somewhere.”
Denise is our new assistant. We’d hired her at the start of the year since we have more events than ever and are officially considering locations for a second venue in our effort to expand the business. She’s been a huge help getting the events up and running so quickly.
“Are you worried about the Sinclairs not signing the contract with us?” I ask before Derek can head back to his duties for the evening.
He shrugs. “Hops Scotch will be a good match. I’ve got one other brewery who’s already signed with us. But I wanted two. If Hops Scotch decides not to partner, I can find another. It’s not like Vancouver doesn’t have a hundred.”
“But you want this one.”
“I do. They started their brewery right around the time when the laws changed, allowing tap rooms. They’ve stayed relevant all these years, pushing their business to grow. It’s the kind of people we like to partner with.”
I smile. “I’ll make it happen for you.”
He gives me a hug. “You’re awesome, Adalie. I’ll see you in a bit.”
I’m feeling good when he walks away. A feeling that comes crashing down when my phone rings and my sister’s name lights up my screen. I move to the far end of the ballroom before I take a breath and answer.
“Hey Calista. What’s up?” I say.
“I was wondering what’s going on at Blue Vista tonight? Didn’t you say there was some party?”
“Yes. I’m hosting a paint night.”
“Oh. That sounds boring.”
I clench my teeth, but don’t say anything about her opinion. “That’s fine. It’s sold out, anyway.”
“Sold out?”
Her tone tells me her interest has piqued. I shake my hand out when I notice my nails digging into my palm.
“Yes. So are the cooking night next week and the paint night the week after that.”
“Hm. Can you get me into one of these events, do you think?”
I close my eyes and take a breath. She only wants to come because she can’t. “No, Calista. Like I’ve said before, Vic doesn’t let me give event tickets if it’s already sold out.” This is a lie. A lie Vic came up with so I don’t have to be the bad guy to my sister, which makes it easier for me since she’s always asking for free tickets to our events. “We’re at capacity. If you want to come to one of these, I can get you a ticket to one that still has space. But they’re filling fast and we’re only running them until the middle of next month because wedding season is starting.”
She huffs and I know she’s pouting. As the baby in the family, Calista always gets what she wants. She flutters those eyelashes and pouts and everyone falls over backward to do her bidding. I find it hard to say no to her, but Vic said I can use her as an excuse that she’s the bitchy one and not me.
“Fine,” she huffs now. “I guess you don’t want to go out with me tonight.”
“I’m working, so no. But maybe we can go out on Tuesday? Get a drink or something?”
As much as my sister is a brat sometimes, I still love her. And Tuesday is my birthday, so it would be nice to see her.
“Yeah. I’m free on Tuesday. Let’s go somewhere fun.”
“Sure. Maybe—”
“Oh, Addie, I gotta go. Penny is here. I’ll talk to you soon.”
She hangs up before I can say another word, so I end the call and turn back to the ballroom, trying to push my sister from my mind. Denise finds me a little while later to tell me the guests are arriving.
“Perfect. Have the Sinclairs shown up?”
“I’m not sure. I can ask Derek if you want.”
“No need. He said he’d introduce them.”
Just then, my gaze snags on a man walking up the stairs alone. Something about him makes it impossible for me to look away, and I’m not sure what it is. He’s wearing dark jeans and boots, with a dark blue shirt under his worn leather jacket. His golden-brown hair is slicked back and his beard is neatly trimmed. He’s so tall and has such broad shoulders that, even from this distance, I know I’d feel minuscule next to him.
He doesn’t glance at me as he walks directly to the front three easels I set up for the Sinclairs.
“Who is that?” I ask Denise.
“No idea,” she says.
“Those easels are reserved.”
She gives me a grin. “Well, go tell him, boss.”
I swallow. I want to tell her to go talk to him, but she’s right. I’m the boss. It’s my job to make sure he’s in the right place. He’s intimidating, though. I smooth my hands down the front of my dress and straighten my shoulders, walking over to him with a smile.
“Hello,” I say when I reach him. He’s taller than I thought. He could pick me up and carry me out of here to wherever he wanted.
Where did that thought come from? I’m not even attracted to guys like him. I’m into nerds, not giants.
Especially not giants who don’t even respond to a polite greeting.
I take in another breath and give him my most pleasant smile. “Are you here for the paint night?”
He blinks slowly and his expression tells me he thinks my question is stupid. Of course, he doesn’t know how many people wander into the building when events are going on.
He still says nothing.
“These easels are reserved,” I try next.
He turns his stormy grey eyes to the sign that clearly says reserved, then back to me. “I can see that,” he says.
So he can speak. Good to know.
I clench my teeth for a brief second before I relax and hold out my hand. “I’m Adalie,” I say. “The host for the evening.”
He stares for a long moment, and I wonder if he’s going to ignore me until finally he takes my hand in his much larger one, completely engulfing my palm. His hand is warm around mine and sparks shoot along my skin at the contact.
“Nate,” he says.
My eyes shoot up to him and I catch my breath.
“Nate Sinclair?”
He nods once.
“Ah, perfect. You’re in the right place. I apologize for thinking you weren’t. Derek said he’d bring you up and introduce you. Is the rest of your party here?”
I glance around the ballroom, but I don’t see a little girl. When I turn back to Nate, I suddenly realize our hands are still clasped and I stop myself from jerking mine away. I disengage slowly, because Derek wants this man to sign a contract with us, and I can’t let him know how much he’s affecting me.
“They’ll be up soon,” Nate finally says. “Dani wanted a tour of the kitchens and Taylor went to talk some business.”
“They’re in good hands then,” I tell him with a smile, searching for one of the wait staff and waving them over. “Would you like something to drink?”
“What do you have?”
The staff member arrives and gives him a small card with our limited menu.
“Derek mentioned you’d eat before you arrive. There are sundaes, if you want one. And there’s a special virgin drink on the menu for your daughter tonight. But of course you can order whatever.”
I bite my lip to stop my rambling, but this man has me on edge. His size and silence are unnerving. The way his grey eyes seem to see right through my manufactured confidence.
He returns the card to the waiter. “I’ll have the amber.”
Once the waiter has gone off to get the beer, I stand there awkwardly for another moment before clasping my hands together in front of me. “Well. I’ll let you get settled. I’ll come back when Dani gets here.”
“Why?” he asks, stopping me from making my retreat.
I turn back to him, my head tilted. “To help her get her easel set up. She’s shorter than most of our guests, I would assume. Since she’s ten?”
“How do you know all this?”
“We make it a point to know who our guests are, especially our VIPs.” I offer him another smile that he doesn’t return. “Customer service is a high priority for us at Blue Vista.”
He grunts and says nothing.
I bite my lip again, the silence stretching between us. Then I say, “I hope you have a good evening.”
He lets me go this time when I turn away to check on a few other guests, ensuring they get their easels set up properly. I notice when Dani and Taylor arrive. I can see the resemblance between Nate and his brother, though his brother is clean shaved and has much shorter hair. What’s even more interesting, though, is the way Nate’s granite exterior softens when his daughter runs up to him with a huge grin on her face.
“They have sundaes for us!” she exclaims. “And Lis said I could choose whatever toppings I want, but it would be up to you how many I choose.”
“Three is enough, pipsqueak.”
I watch as he smiles at the little girl and his lips look so soft that I find myself wondering what it would feel like for that beard to brush against my cheek while his lips meet mine.
I’m startled from my thoughts when someone nudges my shoulder, making me jump.
“Whatcha looking at?” Lis says with a sly grin, her arms folded over her chest in her favourite red chef’s jacket.
I look from her, back to the man, then back to my friend, totally giving myself away. “Nothing. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sure you don’t.” She turns toward the three people. “Is it the dad or the brother?”
I swallow hard and fluff my curly red hair, trying to compose myself. “Neither. Don’t you have work to do?”
She laughs. “Yep. See you later, Adalie.”
She heads to one side of the ballroom, where our sundae bar is set up. Meanwhile, I take control of my thoughts. I cannot be thinking this way about someone who is currently a guest and potentially a contractor. I smooth my dress down again, straightening my shoulders, and make my way back to the Sinclairs, reminding myself that I am a professional and I can get through this night easily.