Chapter 32
Lewis
“By the Storm Lord’s spear, I think I’m going to be sick,” Perla whispered as the first cars came down the driveway and pulled up in front of the brewery.
We’d put up branded signs to indicate their parking spots for the next couple of days.
I reached out, palmed my colleague’s shoulder, and gave her a little squeeze. “You’ll be fine, I promise. And I’m here, okay? I won’t leave you hanging.”
“Thanks, Lew.”
Once all 12 participants had arrived, they formed a half circle around us.
They were a mixed bunch. A Fox hybrid influencer whose phone seemed to be a part of him the way he constantly had it in his hand and an attractive human woman with long red hair stood out to me because of how perfect their colours harmonised.
“Hey, big man!” Maddie’s best friend Hazel walked past the Fox man and two humans.
“Hazel. Good to see you.” I leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. “I was so excited when Mads told me you’d be joining us.”
“I can’t wait to photograph my favourite model again.” She winked and nudged my hand with her elbow. I adored Hazel and couldn’t wait to introduce her to Noah. Maybe I could get her to take a picture of the two of us.
Perla welcomed the participants, and we took them upstairs to one of the large rooms above the gym. Maddie and Ollie had set up a few tables and chairs and a whiteboard for us. So fancy.
Once everyone had taken a seat I gave them a short history of brewing at Lone Fox Distillery, followed by an overview of the main ingredients.
Having been trained in Bavaria had made me into a purist, and I got a little carried away describing the range of tastes you could achieve with only water, malt, hops, and yeast.
“You see, Lewis feels very strongly about beer. You’re in the right place,” Perla interrupted me after twenty minutes, and we all snorted.
Clara and Ariah brought up snacks for us, and once everyone had eaten, we went to the brewery.
We walked them through the equipment we used, and moved to the large table we’d set up for a guided tasting.
I’d been a bit reluctant about the course, and had told Perla she needed to jump in to save me. But I absolutely loved the way their faces lit up every time they tried a new sample.
Even Hazel, who was here to document the course with her camera, was all in.
“And this is how not just the raw ingredients, but also how we use them, shapes the flavour of our beer,” I ended my monologue. “And before I ramble on some more, how about we head to the restaurant to get some food into you, not just beer.”
Everyone cheered, and Knox, a teacher from Kincardie who introduced himself as a friend of our distiller Chris, struck up a conversation with me as we left the brewery.
I barely listened to what he said when we entered the restaurant a few minutes later, and my eyes fell on a familiar mop of soft brown curls bent over a laptop at a table by the window.
Asher Foxwood, our social media celebrity, whistled through his teeth when Noah looked up at our approach. “Is that Noah Bright? I didn’t know you had a celebrity at Lone Fox.”
Foxwood flinched when my head snapped around.
“I knew you looked familiar, man,” he chuckled but pretended to zip his mouth shut when I growled under my breath. “Don’t worry. I won’t say a word. Be right back, I’ll just introduce myself.”
He sauntered across the restaurant, and I ushered the other participants to the long table Clara and Ariah had prepared for us.
Foxwood joined our table after a couple of minutes of talking to Noah.
My puppy looked up at the Fox hybrid but only, I realised, to capture my gaze and eyefuck me.
Soon, Puppy. Just let me get through the next two days.
We’d agreed it would be better for him to stay away until my head was free again, but I already didn’t like our arrangement.
We only had a month left.
I texted him under the table and watched as he flinched and pulled his phone out of his cardigan.
Lewis: Can I see you tonight?
Lewis: I already miss you
My heart did a little flip-flop in my chest when he smiled at the screen.
Noah: I miss you, too
Noah: I’ll wait in your apartment
Noah: you know with how often I stay over, I should just bring Mr Pickles and my stuff here and move in
Lewis: You can move in tomorrow if you want.
Noah’s shoulders shook and he bit his lip.
Noah: I’ll ask Mr Pickles what he thinks
He sent a kissy face emoji but didn’t bring it up again when I slipped into bed and curled my body around him. My fur was still a little damp from the shower. I didn’t even make it until he gave me a goodnight kiss, but fell asleep almost the moment my head hit the pillow.
“Good morning, Puppy,” I woke him with a soft kiss on his neck. “I got to go and meet my course but I didn’t want to go without ….” My lips found his neck. “Louise is coming over today. I forgot to tell you. She called Maddie yesterday.”
“Proud of you.” Noah sighed and snuggled into my chest. “You’ve got this. Go get ‘em, tiger.”
I kissed the back of his neck again.
“It’s going to go late tonight, but I’ll see you at the market tomorrow, right?”
He turned on his back, cupped my nape, and kissed me. “Can’t wait.”
“Stay as long as you like. There’s coffee in the pot.”
“Thank you, baby.”
After a quick breakfast in the restaurant, Perla, the participants, and I got to work. Day two of our course was dedicated to the brewing process. I walked them through, explaining every step from mashing, to boiling and fermenting.
Everyone beamed by the time we left the brewery after our hands-on session with a small batch that I’d used to illustrate yeast selection and fermentation basics.
My favourite part of the day was the “Q on the contrary, he always recharged my battery.
“And you want to let him go back to Bali?” My reflection scowled back at me.
Of course I’d thought about asking him to stay, but did I really want to stand between him and his dream life?
I trudged downstairs and wove through the stalls in the courtyard, leaving tracks in the freshly fallen snow. In half an hour, people would bustle around and make their last minute preparations for the Christmas market.
Perla waited for me in the restaurant. She looks as tired as I feel.
“Are you good?” I asked her.
“Yeah, I’m just a bit exhausted. But it’s going well so far, isn’t it?”
“Oh yeah, absolutely.” I squeezed her to my side. “We’ve got this, okay?” I muttered.
After breakfast we hung around the restaurant and Perla talked about conditioning, carbonation, and packaging. She then excused herself to prepare everything for the final session in the brewery, while I addressed common mistakes and troubleshooting.
“Okay, I’ll need to sleep for 24 hours straight,” Perla muttered through her smile as we waved the last participants out of the brewery. “What about you?”
I just want to spend a day in bed with Noah.
“I’m meeting Noah, and we’ll have a cider to celebrate the end of the course. I missed him,” I muttered.
You last saw him 32 hours ago. Get a grip.
Not that I’d been counting ….
We had timed the end of the first beer brewing course with our Christmas market on purpose. We wanted them to stick around, take some more pictures for their social media accounts, and enjoy the atmosphere at LFD for a bit longer.
Maddie and the others had outdone themselves.
The courtyard had been blocked off, and they had strung fairy lights all over the place.
Together with at least two hundred lanterns, they shed their cosy light over the stalls.
Gentle snowflakes sailed down from the dark skies, covering everything in a dusting of white.
It looked like a scene out of a fairytale.
Then my own fairytale prince sidled through the first visitors and staff. A wide smile spread over his face when he met my eyes.