Page 53 of On the Rocks

But the phrasing of the message brought me up short.“…Once you’re done with Elixir.”Part of me couldn’t imagine my time with Elixir coming to an end. I still wondered if Aiden might consider keeping me around post-launch. There was always more to do: follow up on the line, flavor tweaking, post-release social media coverage. Aiden had told me I was part of the team, and if that was true, maybe there was a reality where I kept working for Elixir.

But was I sure that was what I wanted? The job had been amazing so far, and the development with Aiden was…honestly, amazing also. But it was also scary. Things had gone so badly between us before, and I still didn’t know why. Was I really willing to take another chance on him? On the other hand, was I willing to let a chance like this go, when I had chemistry with him that made my heart race? Every time I let my thoughts drift back to that kiss in the doorway, my cheeks heated, and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what it meant.

I’d been dreaming and drooling over the man for weeks, but I hadn’t actually thought something might happen between us. I massaged the space between my eyes. None of that had anything to do with my job or my career, though. And I didn’t know what the best choice was, professionally. Turning down this opportunity would close doors I’d been working my tail off to open, but leaving Elixir—a place where I’d found my footing,where I’d become part of a team, where I’d expanded my Masked Mixer platform—before I needed to, might also be the wrong decision. I was happy here, and I didn’t like the idea of rushing to jump ship, especially if Aiden might be considering a contract extension.

I started typing.

I really appreciate the opportunity, but I’ve got a couple things on the go right now.

That wasn’t a lie. I was currently juggling Elixir Free, my social media, and now this reunion.

Thanks for reaching out, but I’m not in the market for a new partnership at this time.

I sent the reply.

“Can you do braids?”

I jumped at the voice, turning around to find Dominic’s daughter, Hailey, hovering at my shoulder, wearing a pink unicorn shirt and light-up sneakers. “Oh, Hailey, hi.” She’d scared the crap out of me. “Come to work with your daddy again?”

“Ms. Linny has the ’fluenza,” she said, wrinkling her nose.

“Gosh, Ms. Linny is going through it,” I said. “Must be all those little germs running around.”

Hailey nodded gravely, not really understanding, making me chuckle. I looked around the cafeteria for Dominic, spotting him by the entrance, caught in conversation with a pair of suits. He gave me an apologetic little wave.

Hailey nudged me, offering up two pink hair elastics. “Will you fix my hair? Daddy’s not good at braids.”

“Oh, honey…” I couldn’t say I was particularly good at braids, either, or doing little girls’ hair. It had been a long while since I’d been a little girl myself, and I’d never had any sisters to practice on. I usually just wore my hair down and ran a curling iron through it. When I was working in the lab, I pulled it into a ponytail to keep loose hairs from getting everywhere, but that was as complicated as it got. “I’m not sure I’m the best person for the job.”

Hailey tilted her head, her little lips puckering. “But Uncle Aiden says you’re good at everything.”

My furious blush returned. “Did he now?”

“Yep!” Hailey said.

My stomach fluttered. What else had Aiden been saying about me? I patted the seat next to me, and Hailey scrambled into it while I tucked my phone away. “So what are we thinking?” I asked. “One braid or two?”

“Two,” Hailey said. “I have two elastics.”

“You definitely do. I guess two only makes sense.”

“Yep!” she said again, kicking her feet.

I combed my fingers through her hair gently, separating it into two halves. This wasn’t going to be perfect, but I was hoping Hailey wasn’t picky enough to care. “So, do you see Uncle Aiden a lot?”

“Hmm…yeah sometimes,” she said. “Here at Daddy’s work. At Nana Dee’s house. Sometimes we go to the park.”

“Wow,” I said, weaving three pieces of silky hair back and forth. “That’s fun.”

“Uh-huh. And we went to Uncle Trent’s birthday party, and we had cake.”

“No way!” I said. “Cake? What kind?”

“A red one.”

“Red velvet?”

“Yep.”

---