When We Touch (The Heartbreak Brothers 5)

She shook her head. “I gotta babysit for Logan and Courtney this afternoon.” And she’d already delivered Van’s carrot cake on her way over here for crisis talks with Mia. Just another busy family Saturday.

“Okay, sis.” He kissed the top of her head. “You sure you don’t want me to have a chat with this guy?”

“I’m sure. Anyway, he’ll be on a plane to Tokyo in approximately…” she glanced at her watch, “two hours. So there goes your opportunity to ruin my life.”

“I wouldn’t bank on it,” Mia muttered. “Cam has a lot of frequent flyer miles.”

He laughed and headed back out of the door, shouting to Josh for the ball.

Becca let out a sigh, resting her chin in her hands. “Sometimes I hate having big brothers.”

Chapter Three

Becca arrived at work on Monday morning all bright and breezy. She’d even made an apple and pecan cake to cheer everybody’s day up. And then she’d spotted her new boss walking across the still room floor and she’d smiled and waved at him.

And he’d ignored her. Completely

Giving him the benefit of the doubt – because maybe he was short sighted or something – she’d walked out from behind the spirit still and tried again, calling out his name.

“Hi! It’s Becca. We met on Friday.” She’d twisted her lips into what she hoped was an awkward-yet-endearing grimace. “Have you managed to get over the jet lag yet?”

And he’d given her a nod. A nod! Then he’d stalked across the still room to the far door that led to the offices, leaving her standing there, her nose wrinkled up, her lips all mashed together, and a hopeful puppy-dog look in her eyes.

Yup. He hated her. Okay, so maybe hate was a strong word. He obviously disliked her, despite Nathan’s attempts to smooth things over. Even worse, she’d watched one by one as each distiller, then each head of department was called in to see him in his office.

But her name hadn’t been called at all.

“He’s going to fire me,” she whispered to Mia as they stood in the staff kitchen that afternoon, sipping their coffee and eating the cake she’d made. All the women working at GSC were part of a coffee club, and Becca had negotiated a discount from a local café that delivered twice a day.

“You’re not going to get fired,” Mia said, shaking her head at Becca’s dramatics. “He’ll call you in at some point. If not today then tomorrow. He’s busy, that’s all. And as you said, he’s jet lagged. That explains him not noticing you this morning. He seemed all right when I met with him. Less overtly enthusiastic than Nathan, but he knows his stuff. He asked some really pertinent questions. So stop panicking that he hates you.”

“I practically jumped in front of him and waved my arms. And all I got was a nod. That wasn’t jet lag, it was scorn.”

“Maybe he takes a while to warm up to people. We’re so used to Nathan, and Daniel’s bound to be different. Give him a few days.”

Becca picked up another piece of cake, then put it back down again. She was jittery enough, she didn’t need any more sugar. “Was he cold with you?”

Mia wrinkled her nose, as though she was trying to think. “I don’t know. He’s professional. And there was no real small talk. But he smiled and shook my hand when I introduced myself.”

“He actually smiled?” Becca asked. “Because I was starting to wonder if it was a physical impossibility.”

Mia laughed. “You’re being paranoid. He’s fine. A change from Nathan, but fine. Now go back to work and stop eating cake before you get a sugar high.”

“Too late.” Becca picked up the chunk she’d abandoned and stuffed it into her mouth, crumbs sticking to her lipstick. “The only way to deal with my paranoia is to eat my feelings.”

When they’d finished their break, Mia walked back to her office in the administration corridor, and Becca turned right to head back to the distillery rooms.

“Becca?” a low voice called out. She looked up, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

“Hi, Joe.”

He was one of GSC’s three engineers. If something went wrong with a still or a mash tun, he was always the guy she called.

“I just had a piece of your cake. It was delicious.” He grinned at her. “I was wondering, would you take a commission? It’s my wife’s sixtieth birthday next month, and I’d love to surprise her with a cake. I’d pay, of course.”

“You don’t have to pay me. I’d love to make her a cake. Did you say she was sixty?” She smiled at him. “What are you, her boy toy?”

Joe gave a low chuckle. “This is why I like you. Even though you came to my sixtieth birthday party last year and know full well I’m older than her.”