Page 8 of Crazy Little Thing Called Love

Ace pinched the bridge of his nose. A move he constantly did in Del’s presence. At one point in his life, Del took pleasure in annoying his older brother, but not today. Today he wanted the tight-ass to listen to his logic and see what a good idea this was, how he could contribute to the family.

“Come on, Ace. It’s a good idea.”

“Where the hell would we even put a restaurant? We don’t have room for a kitchen back here, plus there’s separate licensing and food safety requirements. We’d have to hire a whole new staff.” Ace shook his head. “This is a serious business move.”

“I know, and I am serious about it.” So serious he’d secretly been taking online classes in business management for the past two years. This past fall he’d graduated with his BA from Metro.

“Starting up a whole new business isn’t like tending the bar, Del. This is hard work. I’m sorry, the answer is no.”

With that, his brother turned back to the still, dismissing him. Del wanted to rage, scream, throw his brother in the proofing tank and leave him there for a week, but he didn’t do any of those things. He grabbed a bottle of gin from the shelf and stormed back to the tasting room.

Kelley gave him a cautious glance when he slammed the gin on the bar. “Hey, man, you okay?”

Unclenching his jaw, Del tried for a friendly smile. “Yeah. I’m good.”

“Sure you are.” The woman gave a soft chuckle. “And I’m crushing on Matt Damon.”

Since Kelley loved the ladies, he knew he wasn’t fooling anyone with his false cheer. His night had gone from bad to shit-storm. First Cassie basically told him to take a hike when all he’d been doing was protecting her honor, and next, his brother shot down his perfect business plan just because it seemed a little risky. Life was full of risks. If you didn’t take a few now and then, what the hell was the point of living?

He could bitch and moan all he wanted about the unfairness of it all, but truth be told when he dug down deep it wasn’t about all that. Honestly, what pissed him off was that no one in his life saw him as a man of substance. He was just Del, the goof-off who tended bar.

Not anymore. He’d show his brothers. He’d show everyone. This time, he wasn’t going to give up. His days of slacking off were far behind him. A strong sense of purpose pounded deep in his chest. Yeah, he’d make this restaurant happen, because the new Del was a man who got things done.

Time for a new plan. Time to show everyone he was serious and he deserved some respect for once.

CHAPTER 3

This is a disaster.

Cassie sat across from her fourth date in as many days. On Thursday she met with Jim, the thirty-five-year-old car salesman. Thirty-five her ass. If the guy had been under fifty she’d lick the urinal in the men’s bathroom at the bus stop. Age hadn’t been the only thing ol’ Jim had fibbed about. Throughout the night she’d discovered his entire profile was one big lie to lure women.

Strike one.

Friday she’d been hopeful when her date with Kevin had been going well. He seemed nice, interesting, honest. Over a few drinks, they’d chatted about their jobs, hobbies, and families. Everything seemed to be clicking into place. The guy had been pretty cute. They even agreed on politics. Definite husband material. Unfortunately, he also owned three cats that he loved so much he carried around pictures in his wallet. Cute, but she had severe allergies to felines.

Strike two.

Last night had been the disaster that was Bryce the Blowhard. Seriously, the guy had Grade A Tool written all over him. She noticed it the minute they sat down and his stupid mouth refused to close for twenty minutes. Ooooh, he was a doctor saving lives every damn day. The guy was a podiatrist. How much foot cancer did the world have? She would guess she uttered no more than five sentences the whole night.

Strike three.

Which brought her to tonight. Here she was again, waiting on date four and hoping she hadn’t struck out. How had she let Charlie set her up with multiple dating sites? Oh right, she was desperate. Darn Gran, the silly old bat. Cassie loved her, but what the hell?

It still boggled her mind that her grandmother put such an archaic addendum in her will. Gran had been a little old fashioned in her thinking, but this? It wasn’t 1950. Women could own land, open credit cards in their name, and live in fricking houses all by themselves without needing a husband.

“’Nother hot date?”

A very dirty martini slid into view. Cassie lifted her gaze to see Del smiling down at her, his short, light brown hair mussed as if he couldn’t be bothered to run a brush through it after a long night of…whatever it was he did. She didn’t want to think about it too hard. Dark stubble lined his jaw, just long enough to be classified as sexy, not scraggly. Light blue eyes sparkled with amusement. Laughing at her? Probably.

Jackass.

“Go away, Del.”

“Uh-uh, you forgot something.” He nodded to the drink.

Knowing her date would arrive any moment, she rushed through the stupid phrase she had to repeat every time he brought her a drink. Only a week to go paying up the stupid bet. Seven days never seemed so far away. She could just go elsewhere for her dates, but she liked being somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. Most of the guys she’d been meeting were coming over from bigger cities like Denver.

The corner of Del’s lips curved into a smug grin. “I do love hearing you call me a god.”

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