Page 72 of Lucky Star

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Sarah

Cameron scanned the crowd for Drea and Alex. Taking my hand, he led me toward a massive fireplace made of river rock that took up the whole back wall of the restaurant. In front of a roaring fire sat our new friends, surrounded by several others who were draped over leather club chairs and a green velvet couch. Glasses and beer bottles covered every available surface.

“Cameron! Sarah!” Alex jumped up from her perch and ran over to give us each a big, welcoming hug. “So glad you guys could make it.” She squeezed my arm and turned to face her friends. “Everyone, this is Cameron and Sarah, the people I was telling you all about. Cameron and Sarah, this is everyone.” She swept her arm in a wide arc as some of the men waved lazily while others did that half stand, half lean shoulder bump thing guys sometimes did in lieu of a handshake.

Living in L.A., I was used to being surrounded by beautiful people. And yet, this group was collectively gorgeous in an entirely different way. Each of the guys had a sort of scruffy lumberjack-meets-surfer vibe going on that for any single girl would be pretty damn hot. And the women? Well, they all looked like the girl next door, if the girl in question was the most effortlessly attractive person you’d ever seen.

There must be something in the water here, I though, as I waved back.

“What’re you having?” one of the guys asked, hailing down a waitress.

I scanned the drinks on the tables. From the reviews I’d read, I knew the restaurant had a local IPA on tap, and since I loved hops, I asked for one of those.

“Scotch?” Cameron asked.

“They’ve got a couple of Canadian whiskies, but nothing special,” a guy in red-checked flannel responded. “But if you’re okay drinking beer, you should really follow your girl’s lead and get the IPA. It’s brewed locally.”

“Quit being modest Hal,” Drea said, then turned to face us. “What he so humbly failed to mention is he’s the brewer, and his IPA is a fucking badass, award winning beer.” She winked and blew him a kiss. “As are the smoked porter and the blonde.” Her smile could have lit up the room as she spoke.

Immediately I recognized the on her face. Drea was desperately in love with Hal. Strangely, in all the time we’d spent hanging out, she hadn’t mentioned him once. I’d have to ask her later what their deal was. Since we’d initially bonded over gossip, I didn’t think she’d mind me poking my nose into her business. And if she did, she could stuff it.

“Two IPAs it is,” Cameron said.

“Here, take my seat,” yet another flannel-clad man said, standing and stretching his arms high over his head. “I have an early day tomorrow. ‘Night all.” He raised his hand in farewell and weaved his way through the crowd toward the door.

“That was Pat,” Alex informed us as Cameron sat down in the empty chair and I perched on the arm next to him. “He runs a sport fishing company and has a charter tomorrow for some guys up from Seattle. It’s late in the season, but if he takes them down the coast a way, they’ll probably be able to pull in some Chinooks.”

“So,” I said, taking stock of everyone we’d met so far. “Brewer, fisherman, coffee shop owner. It’s like you guys practically run this town.”

“Just you wait. You haven’t met everyone else. That’s Shea,” Hal said, pointing to a lovely pixie across from us who was deep in conversation with the bearded surfer to her right. “She’s the owner-slash-chef of a farm-to-table restaurant Pat supplies most of the seafood for. And the guy she’s talking to? That’s Stewart, the mayor.”

Hal saw my double take and laughed out loud. “Yeah, least likely mayor, right? He’s fourth or fifth generation, and his dad was the mayor before him. He’s lived in Eagle Harbour his whole life, except when he went away to university. You wouldn’t know it from looking at him, but he’s actually a pretty big deal. I mean, as big a deal a mayor in a Canadian province can be.

“I’ll introduce you. Shea, Stewart.” They turned in unison, and he continued, “This is Cameron and Sarah. Sarah works for a hot-shot Hollywood director, and you already know all about Cameron.” He smirked, confirming they’d all heard the gossip. When I jokingly scowled his way, he shrugged apologetically. “What can I say? News travels fast.”

“No thanks to Dolly,” I added under my breath.

“If it makes you feel any better, I didn’t hear it from Dolly,” he responded with a laugh.

“No?” Cameron asked.

“Nope,” Drea said, plopping down in Hal’s lap and kissing him squarely on the lips. “That little bit of information came from me.”

“Oh, in that case—”

“Speaking of Dolly,” Alex interrupted, leaning forward so I could hear, “any word back from The Powers That Be?”

“Nothing yet,” Cameron answered lifting his hands to take our beers from the waitress. “But it’s only a matter of time.”

He took a sip and nodded Hal’s way. “Dude, this is awesome.”

“Spruce tips,” Hal responded, acknowledging the secret ingredient that gave his beer an extra oomph.

Drea smiled proudly. “It won the gold medal at the Canadian Brewing Awards.”

“I had to start shipping it to the mainland as fast as I could brew it once that happened,” Hal added. “It was the first experimental beer I made back when I was still brewing out of my garage. When we started Eagle Harbour Brewing, I knew immediately it had to be a mainstay seasonal.”

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