Page 111

“That sucks,” I say, but I hate seeing my brother so down, especially over a girl that could have never worked out. “You didn’t really know her anyway. For all you know, she’s not even right for you.”

Bryce puts down the beer glass he’s filling at the tap and turns to face me. “You know, for a guy that’s been grinning like a lovestruck fool for two weeks over his best friend’s ex-wife, you’d think you’d be more optimistic about other people’s love lives.”

I try to shrug off the embarrassment of being called a lovestruck fool and raise my hands in defeat. “What do you want me to say? Go to the concert, find her, and tell her you want to be her groupie and you’ll follow her wherever she goes.”

Bryce rolls his eyes and mumbles the word groupie under his breath. “Forget it. You’re no help.”

Guilt glues me to the spot. What the hell do I even know? Bryce knows better than me who he gets along with.

“No, seriously. Go. Find Amelia and… Nina and see how it goes tonight. Maybe you can get her phone number.”

He scowls at me for a moment. “You really think I should do that?”

“Sure. If you like her that much, give it a shot.”

His frown slowly turns to a smile that is much more in character for Bryce. “Alright.” He takes off his apron. “I’m going. It’s better to make a fool of myself than to forever wonder what could have been.”

“Exactly.”

He points to the tray that is now full of drinks. “That’s for Greg’s table outside.”

Bryce leaves, his back ramrod straight, and I’m a little disappointed that I won’t be seeing what happens, but I’ll get the recap from Amelia tomorrow.

My stomach clenches at the thought of waiting that long before seeing her again, but there’s not much I can do about it. I serve the drinks and take another table’s order.

Kayla shows up shortly after.

“What’s with you?” she asks, putting on her apron. “You’re not smiling anymore. Did something happen with Amelia?”

How much smiling have I done these past weeks? I do have to admit that I’ve been happy. Happier than I knew I could be. “Nothing happened. But I won’t see her until tomorrow.”

“Aw,” Kayla makes a cutesy face at me. “That’s so sweet. You really have it bad.”

I ignore her and scoop up ice from the freezer to dump into the ice bucket.

“By the way, is Amelia still looking for a place to rent? Levi spends every night at my place now, and I’m ready to officially say that he’s moved in. His apartment is free if she’s interested. It’s small but it does have two bedrooms.”

Levi is Kayla’s boyfriend, and he owns an apartment right here in the old town. It would be perfect for Amelia, but I think that she’s thinking more about buying a place. And now I’m thinking about a house for Amelia. It’s a renovated old farmhouse with a beautiful view of the mountains, next to our brewery.

“I’ll let her know,” I say.

An hour later, Brody shows up and I let Kayla go. The concert is starting soon, and the bar is starting to empty as people make their way to the main stage.

Amelia

“Are you nervous?” I ask, looking down from the hotel’s third-floor conference-room window at the crowd gathering in front of the main stage.

We gave Nina the conference room to use as a changing room since it has its own private staircase down to the hallway behind the hotel’s kitchen. There, by the back door, wait three security guards that are costing us a fortune. But Georgina is worth it.

“No.” She smiles at me as she adjusts the waist of her deep red leggings. On top she wears a crop top with one long sleeve and one short, completely exposing her flat stomach.

I get the urge to pull in my belly. That’s it, next Thursday I’m going to Lindsey's yoga class.

“I don’t get nervous anymore. Just excited.” She turns toward me, extending her arms out. “What do you think?”

Her clothes are covered in rhinestones. She saw a video of the Mad Grovers parading and dancing to her song at the parade this winter and wanted to surprise them by dressing up the same way.

“I think you’ll have some very happy fans in the audience tonight. Sophia may faint.”