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I should go. I need to organize myself for tomorrow so I can start bright and early, then get some sleep. If that’s even possible. I now also need to do some more research and see if this legal paperwork Tanner has submitted has any legs.
“A nightcap for you, from Tanner,” Lacy says, putting a glass in front of me and pouring another shot of whiskey. It is from a different bottle than the last one, but the branding is the same.
“Ahhh, thanks?” I say, unsure, and she just smiles and gets back to other customers. I sit staring at it for a moment. Turning the glass around in my hand, I look at the liquid in different lights. It kind of reminds me of the color of his eyes a little with those gold flecks. I lean down and smell it. The aroma almost burns my nose hairs. Again, it is strong, and honestly not my favorite.
“You gonna drink that or look at it?” His low grumble comes from beside me, and my heart picks up pace as I look at him.
“What’s so special about it?” I ask, pulling my eyes from his handsome good looks and back to the glass infront of me, not understanding how Whiteman’s can be any better or different than others. All liquor is the same, isn’t it? I also debate throwing it in his face after what Jasmine just told me. But I need to be smart about this. It could just be small-town gossip and I don’t want to make enemies in front of the entire town here tonight.
Even though I’m not looking at him, he is hard to miss. He stands close. I can smell him. A woodsy cologne, very masculine, just like the man himself. My body starts to betray me, but I take a deep breath and stare at the whiskey.
He pulls up a stool next to me and sits, one arm on the bar, his body facing me, and I look at him again. Swallowing hard, I take him in. His dark shirt is crisp, the kind you know is made of good quality and professionally pressed. With the collar open, I can see a sprinkle of chest hair, some gray, showing his age. Jaw tight, his eyes sparkle, and I take in another deep breath. It isn’t the first time we have been this close. In fact, over the past few days, I have been physically closer to him than I have anyone else. I can see a few people looking at us with interest. Great, more small-town gossip.
“This whiskey is a single malt. Using barley from our farmlands. It is aged in oak casks that I individually select from our supplier in Southern California. This single malt is the same recipe my father used over thirty years ago to make the very first batch of Whiteman’s. Although it wasn’t a business then, more just his hobby. But our family blood still runs through both this whiskey and this town.”
I appreciate the lesson in whiskey.Is this the start of our truce?
“I don’t drink whiskey. I don’t know anything about oak casks or barley. But I know family. Family is important to me,” I tell him, nodding.
“Good. So are you gonna stop being a pain in my ass and sell me that property?” he asks, and at first I think he has to be joking, but then his eyes thin as they search mine. I sigh, chest burning with disappointment. He clearly just came to talk to me because he still wants my property, not for any other reason.
“Like you said, Tanner. It’s about family. Aunt Marie was my family and she left me her place to look after. It is important that I do that. For her and for me,” I say, slipping off the stool, grabbing my bag, and walking out the door, leaving him and the shot of whiskey at the bar.
Now I’m even more determined to get back to work… and get my mind off my annoying neighbor.
11
TANNER
Iwatch her walk away from me, and again regret is a bitter pill to swallow. Why can’t I get it together around her and stop being a jerk? Yes, I want her property. I am a businessman, after all, and I need to try and go after what I want. But I don’t need to be a total asshole. Instead of making nice conversation tonight, I railroaded her again. So much so, she couldn’t wait to get away from me. Yet another thing about her that is different from every other woman I meet.
She left the glass on the bar. Full of our best release, the one that costs upward of fifty dollars per pour, and she didn’t even do more than sniff it. She also left me sitting here. Alone. I should have known better than to approach her in such a public setting. The two of us will become hot gossip before the weekend is over if the looks I’m getting are any inclination.
I glance back at the door she just walked through and crack my neck. She is as maddening as she is fucking beautiful.
“Seems like she got under your skin, boss,” Lacy says as she wipes down the bar and smirks. Lacy is a nice young girl I hired a few months ago. A local girl who went away for college and had to come home once she graduated because her mom is sick. She needed work to pay for medical bills, so I hired her, made up a job for her, and now she does whatever I need her to do. Tonight, it is tending bar. Next week, I’ll probably have her help out at the distillery. I plan to put her marketing degree to good use once Connor gets back to town to manage her.
Grabbing the glass of whiskey, I throw it down, raising my eyebrows at Lacy before walking back to the table.
“So you managed to run a woman off. That is a first,” Hudson says, smirking.
“She’s my new neighbor.” I maneuver my tired body into the booth, positive he has already worked it out.
“Marie’s niece?” he confirms, and his smile gives him away. I already know he has been speaking to Connor. The two of them are as thick as thieves these days.
“Apparently.” I’m being short because I’m pissed off. Pissed off I can’t get this property and pissed off that I want to see her again even more.
“She doesn’t look anything like Marie,” Hudson remarks.
“That is because Marie was old and gray and knew more swear words than a damn dictionary.” I huff, thinking about my old neighbor. She was a strong, capable, tough woman. Traits I think her niece has inherited.
“She looked pretty hot, actually… Not many women around here would wear bright-pink lipstick like that,” Hudson says, and my narrowed eyes flick to him. He is here temporarily, and I don’t need him looking at her lips. He and his brother Huxley grew up here, but like most kids, they left for college, and now Hudson is a single dad who resides in LA with his young son.
“Ohhhh, I get it.” His smile widens.
“What?” I bite out.
“A pretty thing like that comes to town, who wouldn’t want to have her. Even Mr. Cold Heart over here might defrost a little?” he pushes me, and my frown deepens.
