Page 25 of On The Rocks

I’d perfected a few drinks that used the Hot Honey cider base. One was a lemonade with a kick, and the other used bourbon-soaked cherries and a splash of the new vodka.

I took a taste. “Decent. Do it again.”

Dean sagged, but he started building the cherry version a second time.

“You like cherries?”

He nodded.

“Then cut off a tiny bit and taste it. Sometimes they’ll be sweeter, sometimes more sour—you need to know how to adjust.”

He sliced off a bit of the cherry and his green eyes warmed. “That has a kick, but it’s sweet.”

“Then level out the drink.”

He went back to work, this time, more focused.

My people obviously needed to shake off the cobwebs. Dean tended to work in a dive bar in Turnbull on the off season and Mick’s idea of a mixed drink was Jack and Coke.

“Hey, man. Now the whole team is back.” Dean’s warm voice had me glancing up to find Griffin.

First, he wasnotpart of my team. Second, my stomach jittered—annoying me further. I hadn’t seen him for a few days. Not since that weird tension had rose up between us.

He had a stripe of black across the powder blue T-shirt that clung a bit too well to his chest. Gray dusted his dark hair, thanks to some sort of renovation. His beard was well past full and bordered on shaggy. The espresso curls of his overlong hair were just as wild, and I’d bet he had spent the day shoving his fingers through it.

I tried not to notice how his arms bulged from the box he was carrying. He already had a gold hue to his skin from all his outdoor work. I dragged my gaze away from the whorls of ink that snaked over his left arm.

Griffin grinned. “You guys look like you’re in full swing.” He glanced around. “I thought you weren’t opening until Saturday.”

“We’re doing a soft launch tonight.” Dean finished building the drink and pushed it forward. “Be our guinea pig.”

“Always eager to help.” His usual smile wasn’t quite back, but there was enough to produce crinkles at the corners of his eyes that made my own skin tingle.

What the hell was my problem?

He jostled the box more comfortably against his chest. “Let me put this in the back for Kain. He said he needed to fix something in the kitchen. Didn’t tell me you guys had a thing tonight.”

He disappeared around the corner toward the kitchen. I rolled my eyes when I heard Ronnie’s husky purr saying hello.

“Why don’t you go check on the kegs, get them lined up for opening?”

Dean nodded. “You got it, Boss.”

I wasn’t exactly the boss, but I had a feeling I’d be jumping in more than Kira wanted to admit. The twins were both down with ear infections, so we were flying solo tonight. Annette and I made a good team, though. I was pretty sure she was even more strict than Kira when it came to running the dining room.

Ronan would stop in to talk about the new ciders later on that night.

We’d done a special invite for our food truck people and their staff. Showing off the new spirits and ciders would help them with creating menus, as well.

With Kain’s tighter schedule, we’d upped the food truck agenda from twice a month to once a week. Helped to boost the local economy along with bringing new people into the taproom.

Add in the summer concerts and we would be seriously busy this season, which suited me just fine. There was nothing I hated more than downtime.

Griffin got waylaid by our new waitress again. His easy way with every-damn-one made me gnash my teeth as I scribbled in my recipe book.

Ronnie was a champion flirt, and Griffin was easy pickings.

“Place looks great.”

---