I know she’s not saying it to be critical, and there’s no denying she knows her stuff. Silver Star Brewery is at least fifty to seventy-five percent ofherlife.
The thing is…
I don’t want what my friends want.
They may believe in marriage and romance and happily ever after, but my views on the subject aren’t all that different from Cormac’s. I had a front-row seat to my mother’s misery for years. My father didn’t just cheat on her. He shattered her confidence and self-image.
Then I dated that loser Jonah, who was seeing Hannah, Briar, and me all while he was engaged to Sophie.
I’d never been all that into him, but learning the truth about him had felt like a sign.
My heart is meant to be mine, and mine alone.
This brewery may not be a life, but it is a real, tangible thing. Creating ginger beer is a reliable process. Certainly, new test batches might be undrinkable. Such is the risk you take. But the steps of the process can be relied on. If you put certain ingredients in, you will get an alcoholic ginger beer at the end, guaranteed.
There are no guarantees in games of the heart.
Look at José. When he met Pansy a year and a half ago, it was cold out, so she was probably wearing all long sleeves. Odds are, he had no idea she had a Bon Jovi tattoo until he’d alreadygotten himself invested. Now, he’s probably going to have to listen to “Livin’ on a Prayer” for their first dance.
“The brewery’s the only life I want,” I insist. “That’s why I’m doing this. I have to keep it.”
My friends all display varying expressions of disapproval.
“I don’t think you should tell José about your secret fake relationship,” Sophie says after a moment. “You’re doing him a favor if you keep pretending it’s real. That way he won’t have to lie to Pansy.”
“I was thinking the same thing earlier, but…” I trail off, working up to it, then faintly admit, “I can’t let him marry that woman. She’s horrible.”
“Yeah, she’s hot, but she’s the human equivalent of a hemorrhoid,” Hannah agrees. “What does that say about him, though?”
I rub my temples, feeling the abrupt return of my hangover. “It doesn’t necessarily say anything about him. I mean, we all dated Jonah. I hope that doesn’t say anything horrible about us. José’s just pussy-whipped.”
Sophie frowns at me. “Gross. But…” She shrugs. “Yeah, maybe she’s different with him.”
“She is. So I have to figure out a way to unmask her.”
Hannah’s eyes widen. “Like in Scooby-Doo. You know, I watched that with Ollie the other day, and I’ve got to say, it holds up.”
“It does not,” I disagree.
She laughs as she snags my plate and starts eating my cake. “You better work quickly. I saw those interior design photos. If you don’t act soon, this whole place will be pink and covered in baby lamb skins before long.”
“Oh my God, you’re right.” I drop my head into my hands and massage my scalp. I may have avoided making a commitmentto Pads by Pansy today, but the woman isn’t exactly patient.
Hannah pokes me with the tines of my own fork. “Hey, you know what? Maybe youshouldhire her. If she’s in here, poking around and making a nuisance of herself, covering everything in ugly fuzz, he’ll figure shit out soon enough.”
“He didn’t figure it out when she was covering his whole apartment with it,” I say with a sigh.
Which is when an idea strikes.
José invited Cormac and me on a double date with him and Pansy. If we spend “quality” time with them, we’ll have plenty of opportunities to unmask her.
I sit back in my chair and begin to plot all the ways I could expose Blonde Satan. I’m not entirely sure Cormac will love me turning our double date into a spy mission, but he’s been surprisingly agreeable today.
“You have your idea face on, Nora,” Hannah says. “Share your evil genius plan with the group.”
“I think I’m going undercover. I just have to convince Cormac to help.”
“How much have you had to drink?” Sophie asks, giving me a probing look.
