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“Uh huh, uh huh,” Brodie replied. “Keep going.”
“There is nothing to keep going on about,” I replied. “Aside from church, my family and his have not been in the same room together since 1899, and I just broke it.”
“Can you describe Ethan Vega for me?” Brodie asked.
“Why?” I asked.
“My author brain needs a visual,” he replied. “So come on, tell me.”
“Ugh,” I huffed, “He's tall, about six-two or so, dark brown hair, green eyes. His face is somewhere between Ian Somerhalder and Zachary Quinto, and he’s got big hands with slender fingers and neatly cut nails—” my lips clamped shut because when the hell had I noticedthat“—and he’s toned, like YMCA swimmer tones, or a runner’s body. I don’t know. I can’t tell you.”
“Sounds good,” he replied. “And what is his voice like? Rough, gruff, deep, or—”
“Jesus,” I laughed. “What is it with you authors? His voice is, I dunno, somewhere between baritone and tenor. You figure that out.”
“Okay, last question,” Brodie asked. “Step away from your hatred of him and think objectively, like that time Sunny asked you if she thought she could sing, and tell me if you think he’s handsome and hot.”
My stomach twisted, “For some, sure,” I said.
“You’re dodging the question,” Brodie called out. “Do you think he is roll-in-the-sack worthy?”
I felt my blush start from somewhere around my toes. “I—yeah, he’s hot. But if you ask me to repeat that, I will deny it to the day I die.”
“No promises.” Brodie laughed. “Sounds like you had a crush on the guy but never wanted to admit it.”
“Okay, I’m hanging up now,” I said firmly. “This conversation never happened.”
All I heard was laugher before he added, “If you’re coming back this way anytime soon, remember my bottle of wine.”
“Goodbye,” I replied, hanging up.
I pressed the heel of my hand to my eyes. As irritating as Brodie was…. he was right. I’d had a crush on Ethan years ago, but now, anything more than being business acquaintances was off the table.
Heading upstairs, I had to get a shower, get dressed, and then find out when Mom and Dad would be home. I had a lot more critical things to consider than a misplaced crush that would never go anywhere.
Ever.
ChapterThree
Ethan
As interesting as it was knowing these Texas guys were coming, it was hell trying to find out who they were when they would be in town and who they would be meeting with first.
Benji and Sarah were tied up cold calling every big beef producer in Texas, trying to fetter out any scrap of knowledge to give me a heads up. At the same time, I was busy getting my portfolios together, estimates, and projections into on-hand files if these guys decided to drop in unannounced.
That is, if Mia hasn’t gotten ahead of me already.
It had been twelve hours since she had dropped in—how far could she have gone at all? The sad—and scary—truth was that with her family’s connections, she could be light years ahead of me right now.
I felt a headache coming on, but the work still had to be done even more when the town’s festival was tonight, and all hands were on deck preparing for it. Rubbing the back of my neck, I didn’t know if I should take a break or push on—after a strong drink of Scotch.
The Vega Meadery had an eclectic sense of style that balanced modern and traditional. When I had gotten to the helm of my family’s business, I’d made sure to change it.
No more 19th-century hand presses and wooden buckets, but we made it look that way. My Meadery was split in half. The front room had a tavern with wooden tables and seats made from old casks for guests’ tastings, and behind it, shelves made from iron spigots where full casks of mead rested on display.
Customers came here to get a drink and some munchies while they watched the automated tanks and fermenter barrels in action through a vast glass wall. I was manning the bar while every one of my twenty-one staff was fixing the bottles and the small tasting cups, plus the mason jars for the people to buy drinks later.
With the town getting flooded with tourists, my hands were flying trying to make drinks until I had to call Indie over to help me. I grabbed a fresh towel from behind the bar and wiped a condensation mark off before grabbing another glass and going to the taps.
