“So about that drink. Two options for you. First is a Velvet Night. Blackberry, gin, hint of spice. Just enough bite to keep you curious, like the look you gave me five minutes ago.”
Oh man, he was good.
“And the second?”
His slow smile said it all. “A Slow Burn. Whiskey, honey, and a splash of chili syrup. Starts sweet, finishes with a kick. Kind of like what I’ve got planned for later.”
Holy shit, Beck.
This working together thing was going to be tough. Gathering myself, I forced a leveled, and still flirty, voice. But this time, with a seductive spin.
“I’ll take the second one. Feels more in line with my mood.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Hmm hmm.”
Beck let out a breath, smiled as if to say “you’re killing me”, and began to make the drink. I watched every move with a different kind of anticipation than I had when walking into the bar.
Turning back to the group, I forced my mind from Beck. After all, he was closing, so the slow burn was an appropriate choice.
“Like Pia’s sign?” Delaney asked.
“Ahh, so that was you?”
“I had it hanging around the inn. I hope you don’t mind. Jules said you were telling everyone.”
“Mind? I love it. And I love you guys too. Seriously, thank you for everything. Welcoming me into the fold, putting up with Beck and me these past few weeks?—”
“Mostly Beck,” Parker said to laughter.
“You made it easy to want to stay in Cedar Falls.”
Mason handed me my drink. I glanced back at Beck, who winked at me, and then turning back to the gang, I lifted my glass.
“To Cedar Falls.”
They lifted theirs too, and we drank. To the town that had brought us all together.
EPILOGUE
BECK
“Why don’t we bring these into the kitchen?”
Mae and I followed Ellie from the front room into the bed and breakfast’s kitchen, our arms both laden with trays of desserts. Placing them on the table, I watched my beaming fiancée as she hugged the woman who’d gotten it all started.
“Thank you,” she said. “If it weren’t for you, Mae’d from Scratch might not even exist.”
“I’m certain,” the older woman said, “it would. But I insist on an invoice.”
Mae had refused to give her one, telling Ellie her thriving pastry business was thanks to the start Ellie had given her.
“Absolutely not.” Mae stood firm. “You were my first customer and this is my way of thanking you for believing in me before I even had a business card.”
Ellie’s displeasure showed clearly on her face. “Then I insist you stay the night, on me.”
Mae and I exchanged a look.
