Page 1 of While We Waited

Chapter 1

Nova – a woman who hates to be told no – especially by a grumpy resort owner

Nova

IenterFive Fathoms Brewing– the brewery I own with the four best friends in the world – and smile at Chloe.

“Good morning, Chloe. It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? The sunrise was magnificent.”

She grunts. “Sunrise? Who gets up early enough to watch the sun rise?”

Speaking of how early it is. “What are you doing here already?”

Chloe is one of the co-owners of the brewery. She’s the hospitality manager for the bar and restaurant.She usually doesn’t arrive at work until it’s time to open the restaurant for lunch.

She motions to the broom. “What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Having a mental breakdown since you don’t clean.”

“I clean.”

I giggle. “Do you not remember the time you rang me for help because suds were coming out of your dishwasher?”

She rolls her eyes. “That happened years ago.”

“What about last month when you spilled purple laundry detergent all over your white kitchen counter and wanted to know how to dye the entire counter purple to match?”

“Purple kitchen counters are cool.”

The door bangs open and two more co-owners of the brewery, Sophia and Maya, enter. “Good morning.”

“Where’s the coffee?” Sophia grumbles.

Chloe points to the bar. “There’s a full pot.”

Sophia stumbles to the bar and pours herself a cup. She downs half of it before sighing. Her brow wrinkles. “What is Chloe doing here?”

“Ahem.” Chloe clears her throat. “I work here, remember?”

“But usually you don’t arrive before eleven,” Sophia points out.

Maya claps her hands. “Maybe it’s because she got up early with her husband.”

Chloe glares at Maya. “Lucas is my fake husband.”

Chloe married the sexy cop next door to help him keep custody of his daughter. We’re all hoping Lucas can’t resist our beautiful friend. She deserves a sexy husband who can’t keep his hands off of her after the way her own mother treated her.

Maya winks. “Sure, he is.”

“Whatever.” Chloe whirls around and stomps toward the hallway. “I’ve got inventory to do.”

“And I’ve got beer to sell,” I say as I make my way up the stairs to where our offices are.

I’m the sales manager forFive Fathoms Brewing.It’s an easy job since our beer is fantastic thanks to the fifth owner, Paisley. She’s always experimenting with flavors that sound as if they shouldn’t go together but end up tasting awesome combined.

Sophia, Maya, and I get settled at our desks in our shared office.

“How was your evening?” Maya asks Sophia while she waits for her computer to wake up. “You seem tired. Too much fun with Flynn?” She waggles her eyebrows.

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