Page 3 of Why Not Us?

Well, part owner.

Date Nights had been my idea and watching this one come together—at maximum capacity after only running for a few weeks—my heart is filled with excitement. We’d kept the max capacity low at thirty people, since I’m the only teacher and my friends don’t want me to be overwhelmed. Spencer, Derek, and Vic will be here tonight to help with guests, and we have a full staff, but I’m in charge, and there’s only one of me if people need help with their paintings.

“Hey,” Derek says as he comes over to me. He’s dressed casually today with his jeans and t-shirt and a backward ball cap covering his dark curly hair. “I wanted to confirm you have the stations set up close to the front for our VIPs.”

“Yes.” I point out the three easels right beside where I’ll be hosting the class. “The Sinclairs are there. The daughter is closest to me, in case she needs my help. And I figured it’ll be easier for the wait staff to find them if they’re not mixed in with the others. You said the two men are brothers?”

“Yeah. Nate and Taylor. The girl is Nate’s daughter, Dani.”

I repeat the names to myself, memorizing them, then nod. “Got it. Anything else I should know?”

“Not that I can think of. I’ll bring them up and introduce you when they get here.”

“Perfect.”

Derek grins. “You nervous?”

I straighten to my full height—which, next to Derek, is pretty pathetic—and square my shoulders. “I’ve hosted paint night three times before. It’s easy now.”

Lis, the head chef at Blue Vista, has hosted the other date nights and done a cooking class. But where Lis is used to leading people—she leads a whole kitchen every night—I’m not so good at being at the front of the room and Derek knows it.

“Sure it is. You let me, Vic, or Spencer know if you need anything. And Denise is around here somewhere.”

Denise is our new assistant. We’d hired her at the start of the year since we have more events than ever and are officially considering locations for a second venue in our effort to expand the business. She’s been a huge help getting the events up and running so quickly.

“Are you worried about the Sinclairs not signing the contract with us?” I ask before Derek can head back to his duties for the evening.

He shrugs. “Hops Scotch will be a good match. I’ve got one other brewery who’s already signed with us. But I wanted two. If Hops Scotch decides not to partner, I can find another. It’s not like Vancouver doesn’t have a hundred.”

“But you want this one.”

“I do. They started their brewery right around the time when the laws changed, allowing tap rooms. They’ve stayed relevant all these years, pushing their business to grow. It’s the kind of people we like to partner with.”

I smile. “I’ll make it happen for you.”

He gives me a hug. “You’re awesome, Adalie. I’ll see you in a bit.”

I’m feeling good when he walks away. A feeling that comes crashing down when my phone rings and my sister’s name lights up my screen. I move to the far end of the ballroom before I take a breath and answer.

“Hey Calista. What’s up?” I say.

“I was wondering what’s going on at Blue Vista tonight? Didn’t you say there was some party?”

“Yes. I’m hosting a paint night.”

“Oh. That sounds boring.”

I clench my teeth, but don’t say anything about her opinion. “That’s fine. It’s sold out, anyway.”

“Sold out?”

Her tone tells me her interest has piqued. I shake my hand out when I notice my nails digging into my palm.

“Yes. So are the cooking night next week and the paint night the week after that.”

“Hm. Can you get me into one of these events, do you think?”

I close my eyes and take a breath. She only wants to come because she can’t. “No, Calista. Like I’ve said before, Vic doesn’t let me give event tickets if it’s already sold out.” This is a lie. A lie Vic came up with so I don’t have to be the bad guy to my sister, which makes it easier for me since she’s always asking for free tickets to our events. “We’re at capacity. If you want to come to one of these, I can get you a ticket to one that still has space. But they’re filling fast and we’re only running them until the middle of next month because wedding season is starting.”

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