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Yes, best to keep his end goal in mind. It would all be worth it if his time in Bourbon Falls led to the relationship he longed for with Mia. Besides, tonight’s lies were nothing more than harmless fibs.
After reading and responding to a handful of work emails, he shifted gears and dug into his author emails.Spam. Spam. So much spam!While hitting delete repeatedly, he remembered needing to email his agent to give her the heads up that he was switching book-signing locations. He sent Sally a note, adding not to ship anything to South Bend. Five minutes later, his phone pinged with a new text.
What do you mean you’ve switched locations? I already have three-dozen copies of each book on the way!
Alex cringed.Then ship a few dozen to Brooks Books in Bourbon Falls, Indiana, and I’ll reschedule my signing with B-A-P. If they’re not game, I’ll drive up there and pick them up myself.
Fine, but do not change locations on me like this again. You don’t want to get the reputation of being difficult to work with, Sally texted.
Alex grinned. As someone whose paycheck relied on him being easy to work with, Sally’s lecture wasn’t needed. Instead of pointing that out, he simply texted back,Okay.
Crisis avoided, he returned to clearing out his inbox. Buried under a dozen promo spams was a new email from his editor, passing along that the publisher had requested he increase the number of featured distilleries in his current book to an even ten. Damn, the last thing he wanted as his work year was winding down was to increase his writing workload. Alex had been hoping to spend more time with friends and family, not be chained to his computer.
But wait—hadn’t he seen something about a new distillery on his way into town? If it was close and worthy of making his highlight reel, that would give him even more reason to come north and visit. And he knew just the person to ask.
Alex headed back downstairs and was greeted by soft strains of Christmas music coming from the kitchen. He spied Mia sitting at the table, several small stacks of papers before her along with markers, her cell phone, and a pad of stickers. Her hair was now clipped in a high twist, and reader glasses were propped on her nose. In the time he had gone upstairs, she’d gone from beautiful to sexy librarian. He paused at the entryway to admire her, but a creaky floorboard gave him away. Mia looked up, did a double-take, and bobbled the pen in her hand.
“Oh! Hey, Alex. What’s up?”
His mind went blank as her stormy blue gaze locked with his. This—this was why he’d had to push her away all those years ago. Because when Mia was around, all other thoughts had a habit of disappearing. He just wished he had handled it differently. Hidden his feelings instead of exploding at her. Or transferred schools. Or begged her to choose him over Greg.
“Alex?”
He shook his head and refocused on the here and now. “Sorry, I was hoping to pick your brain for a moment.”
“Sure, go for it.”
“I just got word that my editor wants me to feature one more distillery from the Midwest in my next book. Is there a new one nearby? I thought I remembered seeing a sign on my way into town but couldn’t remember for sure.”
Mia’s face lit up. “We do! My friend Max Williams and his family own the Tipsy Barrel Pub downtown, and they opened a distillery a few years back. Tipsy Barrel Bourbons. They do a lot of infused flavors to differentiate between them and other brands on the market. People around here can’t get enough of them.”
“Wow, that good, huh?”
She shrugged. “Honestly, I can’t say. Bourbon’s a little stronger drink than I usually pick, but Del and Isaac swear by Max’s brews. I’m sure he’d love to talk with you—they’re always looking for ways to get the word out about their products.”
“I’m definitely intrigued. Think you could get me in touch with him?”
“Sure.” She picked up her phone. “What’s your number? I’ll text you his.”
“Does this mean you didn’t hurry and put my cell into your phone the minute I gave you my business card?”
Her cheeks flushed a dark scarlet. “Uh…”
“I’m teasing, Mia.” Grinning, he rattled off his number.
“Got it.” She tapped away on her screen. “And now you’ve got Max’s number. Shoot him a text—he’s probably working tonight. Maybe you two can plan to meet up tomorrow before you head out of town?”
She set her phone down and picked the pen back up. Someone wanted to work, not socialize. Alex reined in his desire and offered her a smile.
“Maybe so,” he said, again sidestepping the opportunity to admit he had no intention of leaving town until Monday morning at the earliest. “Thanks for this.”
“No problem.”
Though he’d love to pull up a seat and talk with her a while, Alex didn’t want to overstay his welcome. She was busy grading papers, so that’s what he would let her do. For today, anyway. He thanked her again for Max’s number and returned to the guest room. Besides, he had work of his own to do.
Like devising his strategy for convincing Mia to give him a chance this time around.
Chapter Five
