18. Lex
Chapter eighteen
“I left some chow mein in the fridge for you for dinner,” I say as I walk into the lounge room.
Claire is folded up on the couch next to my brother.
Tonight we’re signing the contracts with the investor for Legacy Malt.
Then the real work begins when we can start building the new distillery and transform the shed my brother currently works out of into a tasting lounge.
“Woah, mama!” Claire bobs her eyebrows at me.
“Nice one, Guppy. You clean up like a city girl.” Dylan grins.
His messy blond locks are pushed back in an attempt to look tidy.
His cream linen shirt is rolled up at the sleeves, showing the trident tattoo on his forearm that matches the one on the back of my shoulder.
The trident is the same symbol we used on the Legacy Malt logo. Three tines, one each for us and Dad.
“I’m sure that’s a compliment to you, but it may also be why you’re still single,” I sass at my brother, but he just shrugs and keeps grinning.
“Should we go?” he asks.
“Yep, I’m ready.”
Claire shifts her attention between both of us with a smile like a proud mama. “Where is this fancy meeting happening?”
“At High Rollers,” my brother says.
I didn’t get many details about tonight, apart from Dylan telling me a day and time to be ready and that it was a semi- formal affair. The investor we’re signing with is also working with the new bar that will be the first venue to sell Legacy Malt outside of Jedidiah’s Tavern.
“At the casino?” I ask. I had just assumed it would be at their offices with a glass of champagne.
“Yeah.”
“At my place of work?”
“Well, not in Hallucinogens. It’s at the empty theatre just next door. But it’s still High Rollers’ property,” says Dylan.
A lightbulb goes off at the mention of the old theatre. “Oh, that must be the project Mr Huxley had me look into. He wanted to see how the casino’s liquor licence extended there.”
Dylan nods. “Yeah, that’s where the whiskey lounge will be. If it does well, they’ll build one at every High Roller Casino around Australia.”
“Well, hot damn, big brother,” Claire says, raising her hand for a high five. “Look at you go.”
Dylan chuckles and slaps Claire’s hand. “Thanks. I was quite proud of myself for securing that connection, too.”
Even though I’ve worked on our business and marketing plans, Dylan still has more knowledge on the product itself, so he’s done most of the networking when it came to looking into new suppliers for our whiskey.
He knows the ins and outs of running the tavern and the distillery, I just do the paperwork.
After tonight, though, that’ll start to change.
Things I’ve been waiting for will be put in motion, which will see me moving back to my hometown after ten years away.
I’m excited to get back to small-town life and be with my brother every day.
A part of me is hesitant to leave Claire, though.
To leave Heart City. It was a life I never chose for myself, but it has somehow become everything I didn’t know I needed.
** *
Twenty-five minutes later, Dylan and I pull into the almost empty lot next to the casino. There’s a path connecting the parking lot to the casino, lined with a wall of ivy and twinkle lights. A huge neon High Rollers Casino sign is almost floating against the shrubbery, enticing people to follow.
When Dylan told me an investor wanted to work with Legacy Malt, it was the exact kind of distraction I needed from Caleb.
I started looking into contractors who could do the distillery’s expansion, trading licences, staff requirements, branding.
We have a small logo made up, but because we only sell in our tavern at the moment, we haven’t invested in big-time marketing.
Dylan said our investors have their own marketing team who can help with that.
I’m hoping to work with them closely so I can learn everything I can as well.
Sinking my teeth into the endless research now that this is reality rather than a pipedream has been just the excitement I needed to get my mind back on track.
When I finally make it to my bed each night, with the crash and pull of the waves out my window and my thoughts free of tasks, that’s the only time thoughts of Caleb still creep in.
Thankfully, my mind is so exhausted, he doesn’t keep me up all night, but he’s still there, haunting me.
The balmy October air is welcome as it swirls around us. I put my hand on the door handle, ready to step out, but Dylan’s gentle grip on my elbow stops me.
“I just want to say something before we go in there.” He looks up at the theatre, then back at me. “Thank you for all the ways you’ve supported me with keeping the tavern afloat and starting the distillery. Making all this possible.”
“Dylan, you’ve done all this.”
“No, both of our names are on this. You didn’t have to agree with me starting Legacy Malt and trying to build it into something.
You did all the business research, you got a degree that would help us understand how to grow.
I know I do the more hands-on stuff, but it’s been you and me from the start.
It always will be. But this is where it all changes, Guppy.
I can feel it.” When he smiles at me, soft and earnest, I see so much of Dad.
I will the prickling in my eyes to stop, looking up and rolling my lips. Taking a deep breath, I nod. “Yeah. It’s a new beginning.”
We step out of the car just before the sun disappears completely from the sky.
I loop my arm through the crook of Dylan’s elbow, feeling the last warmth of daylight lingering on my back.
I can’t help but think that in this moment, Dad’s here with us too, pushing us along and telling us this is the step forward we’re meant to take.
I’m feeling somewhat like myself again, but I’m certain one-night stands are not for me.
I can’t handle the intimate connection paired with the emotional detachment.
Life is going to be even more chaotic now that the distillery has moved to the next stage.
I have no time for entanglements. Like Dylan said, this is where it all changes.
I take a fortifying breath, letting a grin stretch on my face as we walk through the glass doors. Dylan looks nervous, so I squeeze his arm where I’m holding it.
“You okay?” I whisper.
“Of course.” If he didn’t scrunch his nose when he said it, I might have believed him.
He’s definitely nervous. I reach down, holding his hand with my free one, so I’m wrapped around him like a vine.
I can feel his chest inflate, taking a deep, calming breath the second I offer him that little bit of reassurance, showing him that he’s not alone in this.
The lighting is dim in the vast space, and a dozen or so people gather in the centre.
I spot James Huxley, dressed head to toe in his typical wardrobe of black on black, a glass of dark liquid halfway to his mouth, stuttering on its journey when he notices my entrance.
My steps falter when I notice Hazel and Henrietta Heart, the dynamic duo in the business world and basically Heart City royalty .
I’ve gotten familiar with their pictures after my deep dive on Caleb.
Henrietta wears a navy blue sheath dress, her silver and white streaked bob is shaped around her face in a way that looks so effortless and at the same time, so intimidating.
Hazel is the more approachable of the billionaire sisters.
From what I’ve read, Henrietta does the inside work for their mining company, and Hazel is the outside face; she leads all their humanitarian and community engagement endeavours.
Hazel’s lilac pantsuit is paired with gold heels, and her rose gold curls are softly pinned at her nape.
She’s a picture of feminine grace, and she’s standing proudly next to a hulking tattooed man I also recognise. Caleb’s brother.
My heart pounds in an erratic rhythm as I search the crowd, realising there are way too many Hearts here to be a coincidence.
My eyes almost miss him. For a fraction of a second, they skip over him.
A crimson velvet vest is fitted to his muscular body, a black silk tie tucked in.
He’s so good-looking. Seeing him now, I’m hit with the feeling of missing him.
In the time that’s passed since the nightclub, since we said our goodbyes, I’ve distracted myself, tried to put him out of my head, but I can’t deny that I missed him.
My knees nearly buckle at the tightening of my chest when a body moves, bringing into view a stunning blonde hanging off Caleb’s arm. Tight golden ringlets shape her ethereal face, a beaming smile is directed right up at Caleb, shattering my heart to smithereens when he returns it.
Shit. Telling yourself to get over someone, to move on, is one thing. You can believe it all you want, but there’s nothing like the feeling of your heart clenching in your chest when you see the person you want moving on right before your eyes to humble you .
I squeeze my brother’s arm where it’s held in my vice grip. “Dyl,” I whisper as he continues to lead us into the room. “Who’s the company investing in the distillery?”
My heart’s once thundering beat slows and turns sluggish as realisation seeps in, as if time just stopped, trying to halt the words I know are about to leave my brother’s mouth.
Just as we reach the group, the circle opens to let us in.
Caleb’s eyes find mine, bulging as they roll over me, and the world stops completely when Dylan confirms, “Heart Assets.”