Page 26 of Bragg's Love

“Anyway, the presentation.” I nod to the light switch behind him. “Can you get the lights?”

I hear him mutter, “Another fucking presentation.” But I ignore him.

He remains quiet for the entire fifteen-minute presentation. It was a thirty-minute presentation, but I pared it down for him. Do I hear him thanking me, though? No, I do not.

“That’s fifteen minutes of my life I’ll never get back,” he mumbles when I switch on the lights.

“Asshole.”

“What? Your presentation didn’t provide me with any more information about why you’re opposed to the brewery expansion than I already knew.”

I throw my arms in the air. “But now you understand why the expansion can’t go through.”

He runs a hand through his hair. I wonder if his hair is as soft as it appears. Or is it full of gel? Is gel how he manages to get it to stick up in the air? Nah. Miller isn’t the type of man to spend time gelling his hair in the morning.

He stands. “I don’t understand why you can’t simply replant your garden. You put the plants needing less sunshine in the shadow created by the new building. Done.”

“Did you not listen to a thing I said? I explained this. Transplanting plants can damage their roots and strain the plant. Plants can go into transplant shock.”

He snorts. “Transplant shock? Are you making things up now?”

I ignore him to continue my rant. “And none of this includes consideration of the extra cost of production. The delay in maturity.”

He stuffs his hands in his pockets. “Ah, it’s a money thing.”

I huff. It’s more than a money thing. But I can’t deny money has a part in it. Of course, it does.Eden’s Gardenis a business.

“How about this?Naked Falls Brewingwill compensate you for the cost of replanting or transplanting or whatever it is.”

I poke him in the chest. “I don’t need your money, Mr. Money Braggs.”

“Really?” He cocks an eyebrow. “It sounds as if you do.”

“You jerk! I can’t be bought. Eden Spring is not for sale.”

“I’m not trying to buy you. I’m trying to come up with a solution that works for both of us.”

I freeze. Is he serious? Is he actually trying to compromise? I didn’t think he knew what the word compromise meant.

“But how do I figure out the cost? There may be several years of problems due to the transplantation of the garden.”

“We’ll pay you a generous sum for five years.”

He’s not trying to compromise. He’s buying me off.

I point to the door. “Get out!” When he doesn’t move, I shove him. “Get out and don’t come back. This discussion is closed!”

He raises his hands in the air. “I’m leaving already.”

I slam the door shut behind him. I can’t believe I nearly told him about my father. What was I thinking? Miller isn’t a sympathetic ear. He’s a grumpy jerk! A grumpy jerk who thinks he can buy me off.

Chapter 9

I know where your glitter is and I’m not afraid to use it ~ Text from Eden to Moon

“I’m here,” I holler to Clementine as I pass through the gate into her backyard.

“Thank goodness,” she says as she stands from where she’s kneeling in front of a chokeberry bush. The bushes are low-maintenance and native to Colorado making them a perfect addition to any garden in Winter Falls. But don’t eat the black chokeberries raw. Talk about bitter. “I need help.”

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