Page 75 of One Chance to Stay
“Can we talk about food pairings?” asked Simon.
Reed emerged from the back office. “Absolutely. If you’re looking for a tasting menu, we’ll get you there.”
We had the rambunctious grannies out for a night of entertainment. Then there were two store owners supporting a local business. Seamus and I… I think we were exploring what we wanted to be. When Reed wrapped an arm around Julie’s waist, giving her a kiss on the cheek, I eyed Seamus. I don’t thinkwe’d ever be casual about our affection, but as I relearned my love language, I don’t think I minded.
“I’ll try not to drone on.” He clapped his hands. “You’re not here to listen to me speak. Let’s walk through our first selection. We’re heading to Scotland, to an adorable distillery in Luss where?—”
“He proposed,” Julie blurted out.
She reached out, taking his hand. It only took a glance from her, and Reed’s cheeks turned red. Love radiated from both of them, and it was hard to imagine they went from partners in life to partners in business with such ease. Despite the stress of a startup, they still eyed one another with a lusty affection.
“Alright,” he said. “If you pick up your glasses…”
“To end, we’re going local and stopping at a distillery in Portland. Handcrafted in aged-oak barrels, it’s made with dark honey. You’ll pick up notes of smoke and peat.”
We had reached the sixth snifter, and I had difficulty focusing. Would other bartenders make fun of me if they knew I couldn’t handle my liquor? Jason stared off into the void, making it clear I wasn’t alone. Gloria and Agatha, on the other hand, shopped between sips; a bottle of each sample we tasted, sat on their table. They claimed they needed to stock up for impending snowstorms.
“The first sip, you’ll find the peat to be rather robust.” Reed had done his homework, proving himself more than a simple salesman. “Seamus, notice anything?”
Seamus had sipped in silence. I’d occasionally hear him give a whiskey a “Mhmm” or “Hmm,” but no actual words. I watched as he shook the snifter, his nose dipping inside for a final inhale.Watching him savor his whiskey was like being a voyeur while he made love. Not that I looked away.
He sipped, holding it in his mouth until he gulped. The audible swallow got my attention, and I shifted to hide the semi in my jeans.
“Smoke. Barley.” He smirked. “Vanilla?”
Reed came in for a high-five, and Seamus’s eyebrow shot up. I jumped in for the save, smacking the man’s palm. He rolled with it. “And that’s our tasting for tonight. Hope you folks found something you liked?—”
“Oh, we did,” Agatha said, holding up a bottle. “Do they make these any bigger?”
“—and learned a little something on the way,” Reed finished.
Julie went to the back table, helping Gloria and Agatha carry their bottles to the register. Simon gave me a pat on the shoulder as he passed. I turned, looking for his other half, only to find him draped over the table.
“How you doing, buddy?”
“Somebody needs to carry me home,” he mumbled. I could understand the sentiment. Six drinks would have done me in, too. I cheated the last two and barely sipped. “I’m making Amanda open the store tomorrow.”
“He’ll be fine,” Simon said. “It’s no worse than when he gets home from Spectrum. At least he isn’t sweaty from dancing. Helping him shower is like having a toddler again.”
The thought of Simon propping Jason up in the shower made me grin. While Jason stopped to talk to Reed about joining forces for an evening date experience, I turned to Seamus.
“Find any you like?”
“Mhmm.”
“Whoa, now. Don’t overwhelm me with your opinions. I think if I had to choose, it’d be two and six. Maybe three, butdamn, I’m going to taste that smoke for the rest of the night. Have a favorite?”
He held up his snifter, taking the last sip. “My favorite is whichever is in the glass.”
“A man with diverse tastes.”
He gave me a sideways glance. My cheeks turned red by default. I hated how easily he got under my skin. Or maybe I liked it? If I admitted that, I’d get mushy, and I’m not sure I was ready for that, at least not in public.
“I’ll get a bottle of this one.” He held up number six, my least favorite. He gave me a pat on the back. “And this one.” He pointed to number two, my favorite. Dammit, Seamus yet again let his actions speak louder than words.
My hand brushed the bulge in my pocket. With a quick glance around, I couldn’t find a moment to pull out the flask. While I wanted to make him scoff, I didn’t want to do it with a room full of people watching. I wanted to savor the expression as he stared at the rhinestones.
“In that case, you can expect company.” I couldn’t leave it there. My tongue moved faster than my foggy brain. “Should we invite Abraham over? Grace strikes me as a woman with discerning tastes. I bet she’d?—”
