Page 3 of Wildflower and Whiskey
“His grandmother’s watching him. She’s going to babysit so I can work,” I explained.
His jaw tensed and began to pulse. “Where are you living?” he asked next, his tone clipped and to the point.
“With my dad,” I said evenly.
“I don’t have any employee cabins available right now, but if something frees up, I’ll let you know,” he said without me having to ask because under all that grumpiness was a good man.
“That’s if I make it past the first shift,” I replied with snark, and I immediately wanted to bite my tongue. Why was I pushing his buttons when he was trying to help me?
His dark eyes sliced into me, sharp and unflinching all at once. For a heartbeat, I thought he was going to lay into me. Instead, he leaned closer, his voice dropping low enough so only I could hear.
“Don’t test me, Elyna. I don’t have time for games anymore.”
The air between us tightened, thick with everything unsaid. My pulse jumped, and I hated I noticed the way his cologne clung to the warm air between us, or how his stare made me feel fifteen again, seen, judged, and unsettled in a way I couldn’t explain.
I squared my shoulders. “Good. Neither do I.”
“You can start tomorrow morning be here by nine. Dominic will train you,” Phoenix said, his tone clipped and final.
“I can show her around too,” Cooper offered with a grin.
Phoenix’s dark eyes cut to him, sharp enough to slice. If looks could kill, Cooper would already be six feet under. “Dominic will train her. Get back to work, Coop.”
Cooper just smirked, completely unfazed by Phoenix’s grumpiness. They must be close if he was that comfortable poking the bear.
I cleared my throat, focusing on Phoenix again. “Thanks for this opportunity. I won’t disappoint.”
The words came out steadier than I felt, because the truth was I wanted him to see I’d grown up, that I was not the reckless girl he remembered from high school. I wanted him to know I’d changed, that I could stand on my own two feet now.
But if I was being honest with myself, it was not just about proving I deserved the job. My pulse was racing, my blood hummed under my skin, and I knew exactly why. No matter how hard I tried to deny it, Phoenix still got to me. And that could only mean one thing. . . I was in deep, deep trouble.
CHAPTER 2
Phoenix
I watched her walk away; my jaw clenched so tight it ached. Damn it, I should’ve said no. Should’ve told her to turn right back around and take her baggage, literal and otherwise, somewhere else.
But the second Elyna walked into the brewery, all wide eyes and stubborn chin, I knew I was screwed. Same girl. Same effect. My pulse hadn’t stopped hammering since she said my name.
She thought I didn’t remember the past. That I didn’t remember the way she left me standing there, gutted, while she ran off to chase something better. Well, I remember every damn second.
Now she’s back. With a kid. A kid who isn’t mine.
I scrubbed a hand over my face, forcing myself to focus on the paperwork in front of me. But it was useless. All I could think about was her smile, the one I used to think was mine, and the way her voice shook when she promised she wouldn’t disappoint me.
She already had. Years ago.
So why the hell did part of me want to give her the chance to prove me wrong?
I should be focusing on invoices or the hops order that’s late again. But instead, my eyes kept dragging back to her.
Elyna.
She was at the bar with Dominic, her brow furrowed in concentration as he walked her through the taps. Her teeth dug into her lower lip when she listened, the same way she used to in class when she pretended to take notes but was really doodling in the margins. The same lip I’d fantasized kissing more times than I’d ever admit.
I dragged a hand over my jaw, irritation prickling under my skin. I should not have been watching her. I shouldn’t have cared how quickly she was picking things up or how polite she was to customers or the way she laughed at something Cooper said.
Especially not that.
