Page 24 of Just One Chance

Beck chuckled. "That's similar to my situation with Clara."

I knew he'd had a secret relationship with my sister, but I didn't need to know the details.

"I met your sister before I came to that family dinner."

"You just said you dated in secret."

"Yeah, well that's the truth. I met her on my first night in town. I saw her walking away from the winter ball, and I invited her to take a ride on my motorcycle."

I held up my hand. "I don't need to hear anything more. That's my sister you're talking about."

He nodded. "I wanted to see her again too, but we hadn't exchanged names at all. I never thought she'd be at Malcolm's house. We tried to stay away from each other, but it was impossible."

"It was different because your future wasn't in her hands. Kennedy has the power to ruin everything."

He frowned. "How important is it to have your furniture at the inn?"

I made everything in the brewery. It looked nice, and the customers loved it. "It would mean I'd made it. That I was successful. Anytime someone asked about the furniture in the inn, they would direct guests to me."

"It's your definition of success."

"You know how much I hate traditional marketing. I don't do any of it. It's all word of mouth."

"It would be good for your career, but it won't end it."

"I'd have to do something else to build my business, things I never planned on doing."

He chuckled. "I don't blame you for feeling that way."

I looked around for Clara and Kennedy before I said, "It would be a bad idea to get involved with her, and I have a feeling she wants to forget about it."

"Maybe she's thinking that if people found out, it could hurt her career."

I sighed. "I could see that."

He moved out of the way of the other bartender. "You have to respect her wishes."

"I don't even know what I want. The logical part of me wants to forget about her and deal with her on a professional level. That would be the smart thing to do."

"The problem is that you don't always think with your brain."

"Tell me about it." I sipped the brew, barely tasting it.

He considered me. "You really like her."

I lowered my glass. "Last night surprised me. I've never felt anything like that, and it was with a virtual stranger no less."

"You're going to have to figure out if you want to risk everything for her. Is it worth it? Is that what you want?"

"I want my furniture at the inn." It had been my dream forever, and I couldn't see any other path to success. Not unless I wanted to go out on my own, create a website, and hire someone to help with my marketing. I would rather build furniture than do any of that other stuff.

"Sounds like you have your answer."

I nodded, draining the rest of my drink.

"Just make sure you can live with your decision." Beck moved down the bar to help another customer, and I was left wondering what he meant by that. Was he advocating for me to focus on my business or Kennedy? Hadn't he just said that hooking up with her was a bad idea?

My head was starting to ache. But I couldn't forget that Kennedy was in one of the brew baths. What if she was with another man?