Page 64 of More Than Words
I opened my mouth but closed it again, because she was right.Truthfully, I just hadn’t let myself go there yet.Not in all the moments we’d shared together in the bookstore and the brewery.Or even those times where Quinn would tell a joke or say something sarcastic that might push the limits a little, only to look at me to see how I’d react.
“You know,” Kat said, “you might want to talk to my sister-in-law, Lucy, about it.Their situation is a little different in that Lucy was technically Meri’s nanny before she and Craig hooked up.But, she had to settle right into that mother role, too.She might have some words of wisdom for you.”
I nodded.That wasn’t a bad idea.
“I’m not trying to be her mom,” I said, choosing my words carefully.“I’m not trying to…well, I’m not sure what I’m trying to do yet.”
“It’s still early days.”Lauren offered me a small smile.
I smiled in return before stuffing my mouth with a cracker full of cheddar and fig jam.But even as the conversation turned to Kat, Andy, and the baby, a quiet part of me couldn’t let go of the conversation or the new and unexpected questions it had brought up.
Ethan
“I forgot what mediocre beer tastes like.”I winked and reached for the pitcher the server had placed on the table.
“Not all beer can be fancy craft beer, brother.”
“Nor should it be,” Reid agreed with his twin.
“How is it going with the brewery, anyway?”Brody asked.“You still thinking about doing a patio expansion?”
Truthfully,the idea of a patio had been put on the back burner almost as immediately as it had come up when Brody had mentioned it.I was busy enough with the day-to-day running of the brewery.
Some days, it was all I could do to keep my head above water with managing inventory, production, operations, and then of course there was the whole human resources part of things.I’d been pretty lucky so far with the staff I’d hired, but managing people came with a whole different type of stress I hadn’t considered before.
I shook my head and lifted the glass to my lips again.“Honestly?It’s been chaos.”
“Especially now that you’re juggling a new relationship along with everything else,” Brody said.“That’s never easy.”
“Because you’re one to know.”Preston elbowed him in the ribs.“When was the last time you were in a relationship?And hookups don’t count.”
We all stared at our oldest brother, who choked on his beer before finally wiping his mouth on the back of his hand.“All I’m saying is, it’s a lot.”
It was an interesting cop-out, especially since we’d all been wondering for years what exactly was going on between Brody and Lauren.But it didn’t take a detective to see we weren’t any closer to getting any information out of him this time either.
“Anyway.”Reid exaggerated the word, his eyes wide as he looked at me.“Back to the patio idea.It’s a good one.”
“Putting a few tables out front would be pretty sweet,” Preston said.“With those big garage door windows open, it would be like an inside-outside situation.”
“That’s smart,” Reid said.“A few heaters for the shoulder season, and some big planter baskets…maybe some string lights.”
“String lights?”Brody eyed him sideways.“Who are you right now?”
Reid shrugged.“What can I say?Avery’s shown me the way when it comes to string lights.It really does make a space cozy.”
We all stared at our grumpy, turned soft and gooey, brother and shook our heads before I pulled the conversation back.
“He’s not wrong,” I conceded.“And really, a few planters and strings of lights would be a hell of a lot easier than trying to transform the back-alley space right now.”
“Good point.”Grayson pointed at me with a chicken wing.“No construction and minimal overhead.”
I nodded.“There’s only one problem.”
“Oh yeah.”
“Good point.”
“Right.”
