Page 96 of Bad Luck Club

Even if it meant missing out on a weekend he’d been looking forward to.

Blue had told him that she understood his need to leave early. She’d offered to go with him, but he’d insisted she stay in his room, which he’d reserved through Monday, and have fun with everyone else. Besides, she had her own meetings to take, and if the possibility of a couple of showings made her more open to the idea of moving to New York, all the better.

The trip was planned to a T. They were supposed to land shortly after noon, which would give Lee plenty of time to make his three o’clock interview. But some things couldn’t be planned. Like plane delays.

“Can’t you just reschedule the interview?” Blue asked as he paced next to the gate Thursday morning. Their flight to New York was officially two hours delayed.

“I suppose,” he said, his anxiety rising. “But my return flight tomorrow is at eleven. It would have to be an early-morning meeting.” He ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I can try to get my flight tomorrow bumped to later in the day.” He sucked in a breath. “Yeah, I’ll give them a call.”

Blue smiled up at him with so much affection it stole his breath, but then she turned to walk away. Even though he knew she was just giving him space to make the call, panic seized his chest.

“Wait,” he said, feeling like he was about to lose everything, which was crazy. If he got this job, it would be a fresh start. A new beginning. He had misgivings about leaving the brewery, sure, but that was only because he didn’t want to walk away from his siblings. They’d all had a sit-down before Adalia left, and they’d told him they would understand. Adalia had threatened to maim him if he stole Blue from her, but he was about seventy-five percent sure it had been a joke. It had to be. Because he was counting on Blue’s promise to consider going with him.

She turned back to him with worry in her eyes. “Are you okay?”

No, he was far from okay, but he didn’t understand where these feelings were coming from or what they meant. All he knew was that somehow Blue had become his lifeline. He engulfed her in a hug, pulling her to his chest and resting his cheek on the top of her head.

She hugged him back, filling him with reassurance. He’d never known that another person could make him feel this way, and he was becoming addicted to it. To her.

But addiction was a bad thing, right?

“You okay?” she asked again.

“I am now,” he said with a soft smile she couldn’t see, but Georgie noticed from across the gate, giving him a smile of her own.

Lee dropped his hold and gave Blue a soft kiss. “Thanks. I really needed that.”

“I’ll give you some privacy to make your call. I’m going to ask Dottie if she wants to go to a yarn shop with me on Saturday. It has four floors, Lee.” And she headed off to join Dottie, who was standing by the window, watching the plane while she rubbed a crystal between her thumb and forefinger.

Lee placed the call but was told Mr. Rousseau was unavailable the next day. It was today or not for another few weeks, his assistant said, but he should know that there were two otherverystrong candidates.

Blue must have told Georgie what was going on, because she walked over as soon as Lee hung up.

“They won’t reschedule?” she asked softly.

“You heard, huh? No.” He ran his hand over his head, his anxiety rising. “It’s this afternoon or not at all.”

“That seems like a shitty way to handle this,” she said. “You can’t help it if your flight is delayed due to mechanical issues.”

“It’s business,” he barked, sounding more like their father than he’d intended. “Shit, Georgie. Sorry. I…just…”

She placed a hand on his arm. “Lee. Take a deep breath. If you don’t get this job, it’s not the end of the world.”

But in some ways it was. “This is my last hope of getting back into commercial real estate, Georgie. If I don’t get this job…”

Studying his face, she said, “Does it make you happy? Selling commercial real estate, I mean. Living in New York?”

He shook his head in confusion. “What does happy have to do with it?”

“Oh, Lee,” she said, giving him a sad smile. “What does happynothave to do with it? You were miserable working for Dad.”

Maybe so, but he’d had money and power and respect, and now he had none of those things. Sure, he liked selling beer more than he’d expected, but what would all of his old friends and colleagues think of him? He’d lose face if they knew. They all thought he was a failure, and the news of his “demotion” would confirm it. To him too. He’d always seen selling beer as a temporary fix until he could get a real job.

“We both know working for Dad was a nightmare and a mistake,” he said. “But he was one big fish. There are others. Besides, selling commercial real estate is what I know. And I’m good at it.”

“Well,” she said, tugging on the collar of his button-down casual shirt. “You’re pretty darn good at selling beer too.”

He grimaced.