Page 2 of Better Luck Next Time

Nice better not be in anydescription of Adalia Elizabeth Buchanan. Feisty. Loud. Even obnoxious, butnevernice. Her mother had been nice, and all it had gotten her was an overbearing, cheating husband, who treated his children like fleas on a dog.

Except that wasn’t entirely true. Adalia had come close to being nice with the last man in her life, and it had cost her more than she was willing to contemplate.

She shook away the bitter memories, searching for Jack in the crowd. She watched him for a moment, impressed by how well he fit in with the staff, something she wouldn’t have expected since most of them hadn’t been privy to the awkward video chats. But he’d introduced himself to everyone before they opened their doors, and she had to admit he’d done well. He apologized for showing up a few months late—which had gotten a few chuckles, mostly because he’d delivered the line in a self-deprecating tone—and said the kinds of things people wanted to hear in a tone that implied he meant them (open door policy, no issue too big or small, yada yada). She’d listened more closely when the speech turned personal. Apparently, he’d gotten his start as a busboy when he was fifteen, then worked his way up the ladder at a few restaurants before taking over as manager of a bar. He’d delivered every line with an air of humility that had softened Adalia toward him—just a little—and instantly won over the staff.

She was a little jealous that he seemed more inclined to talk to them than he was to her. Then again, she hadn’t made it easy.

“At least Jack is here,” Georgie said. “Lee couldn’t be bothered.”

It was true, their full-blooded brother had sent his sisters a group text, not a congratulations but a warning.

Dad and Victoria are keeping an eye on your relaunch. Don’t screw it up, or I’ll never hear the end of it.

Rude, to be sure, but then Lee had been rude to Adalia ever since she’d up and moved to Asheville. Although Lee had given Georgie his approval to rehab and run the brewery, he’d appeared to immediately regret it. Whether it was because he really wanted nothing to do with their inheritance or because their father wouldn’t let him hear the end of it (Dear Old Dad was clearly super bitter to have been skipped over in Grandpa Beau’s will), Adalia couldn’t be sure, but she suspected it was a combination. She’d initially planned on taking a hands-off approach too, but then she’d gotten into trouble and abruptly moved to Asheville. Lee had seen it as a personal betrayal. Especially since he didn’t know the real reason she had moved. They’d gotten closer recently, and she hated to lose that, but she’d hate it even more if she had to see the look of disappointment in his eyes. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him what had happened.

She glanced back at Georgie, who was biting her lip, and decided there was one thing she could do. Her sister was on the ledge of anxiety, and she knew there was only one person who could talk her down. River was moving around the room, talking to the customers. At least half of them already knew him from when he was the brewmaster at Big Catch Brewing, the brewery he’d started with his friend Finn. The customers were greeting him with big smiles and offering congratulations on a successful reopening. Adalia knew they were also (rightfully) praising his beers. Georgie needed to be in the middle of that. Not stuck on the periphery like a wallflower.

Before she could drag her sister over there, Dottie wove her way through the crowd and stopped in front of them. “Addy, I need you to come talk to a young man about the T-shirts you designed with Hops and Jezebel.”

Adalia shot a glance at her still-anxious sister. “I’d be happy to, Dottie, but I need to take care of my sister first. I’ll be right there.”

Without waiting for either of them to respond, she wrapped an arm around Georgie’s back and started pulling her across the tasting room.

“What are you doing?” Georgie asked, trying to resist without creating a scene.

“River,” Adalia called out as she tilted to the side to get a look at him in the midst of the crowd.

He turned to face her with a question in his eyes.

She dragged her sister around a couple and practically thrust her at him.

“I’m done babysitting her. It’s your turn.”

Georgie gasped in horror, but Adalia threw her arms around her sister and whispered in her ear, “You’ve done an amazing thing here, Georgie. Nowpleaselet yourself enjoy it.”

Georgie gave her a surprised look, but Adalia winked, then turned to River and said in a deep voice, “Young man, I expect you to make sure my sister has a good time tonight, or there will be hell to pay.”

River grinned, probably in part because she’d needled him plenty of times about the fact that she was older than him by a few weeks, especially since Georgie was three years older than both of them.

Her work done, she set out in search of Dottie, only to plow into the broad chest of a very handsome man, or so she thought for the split second before she recognized him as Finn Hamilton. His hair was longer, the curl more apparent, and his blue-green eyes were the sort that kept a person guessing: blue with one outfit, green with another. Still, his looks didn’t matter. She and Finn had gotten off on the wrong foot when they’d met, and even though they’d seen each other a couple of times since, they were still apparently on the wrong foot. Literally. He’d been holding a glass of beer, and it sloshed over his hand and onto her shoes.

“Oh, Adalia,” Finn said, grabbing her arm with his free hand. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s a crowded room. Bound to happen.” Sure enough, one of the tasting room employees was Johnny-on-the-spot with a rag to help clean up the spill. She stepped to the side, pulling Finn with her.

He let her go abruptly as though realizing he was still holding on.

“I saw the article,” she blurted out.

He made a face she couldn’t interpret. “Which one?”

Fortunehad written a piece about him and his sale of Big Catch to Bev Corp, a national distributor. They’d praised the move and called him a “self-made man,” but a good portion of the citizens of Asheville were pissed at Finn for selling out to Bev Corp (River included, though they’d mostly made up), andThe Asheville Gazettehad countered the article with a piece of their own, alleging that Finn’s parents—who were mega wealthy—had made a substantial donation to the Duke business school right before Finn had been accepted. So his reputation was deep in the crapper. In fact, Adalia was surprised to see he’d come out and risk a public tarring and feathering. Even more so because he’d clearly come alone.

“Both.” She flashed him a smile. “Plus all of the comments. They really paint a picture.”

His eyes darkened.

Oh crap. She’d only meant to tease him—wasn’t laughing about something the best way to blunt the sting?—but obviously he’d taken it the wrong way. She of all people understood what it was like to be judged based on the success of your parents. She’d lived not only in her father’s shadow, but that of her two older siblings. The expectations could be so smothering. So limiting. The one thing she’d always been able to count on was the look of disapproval in her father’s eyes, because she would always be a disappointment to him. Was Finn’s family supporting him, or had they tossed him to the wolves?

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