Tequila Rose (Tequila Rose 1)

It’s eating up a good chunk of the money I set aside for this part of our business. I love the brewery, but it better pay me back. Between the steel countertop and the gray slab of marble with the waterfall edge, there’s no doubt we’d save money on the steel that Griffin keeps going on about.

“You like the steel look or you like the price tag?” I call out to where he’s seated in the booth and that gets his attention.

“If I say both, will you know I’m lying?” he asks and a huff of a laugh leaves me.

The steel may be economical, but the vision in my head, the shared dream of this bar … it calls for a pricier aesthetic.

Exhaling and heading to the cooler, I decide we can look at the numbers again. We can push the online retail and the partnerships we have lined up. A little more time may not be so bad. It’ll be better than opening a subpar bar.

With a beer in hand, the water beads dripping down to my wrist, I sit across from Griffin. I don’t expect him to stop working when I ask him a question; he never stops working if that laptop is open.

“Who the hell is Robert Barnes?” My swig is short because of the look Griffin gives me. It’s a cautious gaze behind his glasses.

“The guy we have a meeting with?”

“The guy who happens to be Magnolia’s ex,” I say, my response immediate and firm.

“That girl’s gotten to you,” is all he says and then he’s back at it.

A moment passes and then another as I read through our texts.

She likes kissing me too. Just reading that sends a warmth through me. “Yeah, she’s gotten to me,” I admit to him and take another swig. This new batch is going to be a bestseller. Smooth with a hint of citrus. Not too bad on the calories. We created the batch for our female clientele and I would bet good money that this is the one the taste testers pick.

My mind isn’t even on Magnolia anymore. I’m too consumed with all of the dollar signs and work I see when I take in each space of what will be our bar. Until Griffin asks, “I thought you didn’t want to know?”

“What do you mean?” I don’t like the way he asked that question and I’m sure he can tell that from my tone and the pinched expression marring my face.

“You said you didn’t want to know the gossip and rumors and all that?” Even though his statement is somewhat accusatory, it’s still voiced as a question.

The glass bottom of the brown bottle in my hand thuds on the plywood tabletop. “What do you know that I don’t?” There’s a stillness around us and I don’t like it. “You said he’s an ex, still harboring feelings. You said there was drama—”

“And you said you didn’t care,” Griffin butts in, closing the laptop and leaving the booth in favor of the cooler closer to the bar. “Which is good.” His last statement catches me off guard. I even flinch, which only makes him continue.

“You talked about her nonstop years ago.”

“I was just asking if you saw her after I left.”

“Yeah, I remember. Your big dumb puppy dog pout wasn’t fooling anyone.” His sigh is full of frustration. “She’s the one you wanted a chance with and now you’re here; she’s here. It’s one hell of a coincidence.”

“What is your point?”

“That you should go for her and give it your best shot. You’re holding back and it’s pissing me off.”

“Well damn,” I comment, genuinely shocked.

“I’m sorry, but I think she’d be good for you and I think you need to … I don’t know, bro. I don’t know what you need but I’m pretty sure it involves her.”

“So why are you yelling at me for thinking about her?

“Because you don’t want to know the details. The details matter.”

My gaze follows him. “What if I change my mind? What if I want to know everything there is to know about her?” Adrenaline kicks in, forcing my pulse to race a little harder. I know Magnolia, although she’s still Rose in my mind, is hiding something. She barely talks about herself when we’re together, I have to pry every little detail out of her in between our heated kisses …

“You know anything about her daughter?” I ask him. I haven’t met her and I don’t know how to even go about bringing it up. “I’ve never dated someone with a kid. If I send Magnolia flowers, should I send a small bouquet for her kid too?” I was thinking about doing just that. And then I thought it might cross a line since she hasn’t brought up meeting her. I don’t want to ignore her, though. That seems … dickish.