Deliciously Bitter (Naked Brews Book 3)

by KB Jacobs

  “Pat was always just as happy as he looks in that photo. He lit up a room with his booming laugh and welcoming smile. I only got to meet him a few times when Lake brought us home from college for visits, but I always felt at home here.” Her voice cracked with a thread of sadness and an emptiness that echoed in my battered brain. “Even if I hadn’t been best friends with Lake, I think I could have come here, and he would have taken care of me, given me a soft place to land. He was just that kind of guy, you know?”

  Why would someone like Alex—gorgeous with a bubbly personality to match—need a safe place to land? I wanted to ask but couldn’t get the words past my tight throat.

  “And geez, he loved his little girl. He would have been so happy for her today, but what he wouldn’t be happy about was anyone ruining this day for her.” The censure dropped her voice an octave. “Every time you come out here, Walsh and Lake spend half their time watching the door to keep an eye out for you. That means they can’t enjoy their party like they need to be able to do.”

  I closed my eyes. I didn’t want to do anything to cause my best friend hurt, but that room kept pressing in on me. I didn’t know how to survive the next few hours without escaping. I managed to squeeze strangled words through my too-tight throat. “I’m trying.”

  “I know. Lean on me. Let me help. Come on, Damian. Come back into the room with me. They’re about to serve the main dish, and you won’t want to miss Chef Luke’s masterpiece.”

  Like food could ever lure me back into that room, but this temptress just might. I still didn’t move, but she wasn’t through with her enticement.

  “Okay, if it helps, let’s make it into a little game. You know this is the soft opening for Ice’s Brew Pub. I need your expertise in there as a businessman. As the head of Ghost Squad Charities, you owe it to Ice and your company to make sure that restaurant is as good as it can be. Whatever is wrong, we only have two weeks to fix it before the business is open for real.

  “Your assignment is to lock onto those issues and pinpoint fixes. You’re not here as a guest. You’re here to analyze how the other guests are enjoying the experience of the venue. Take yourself out of your head and into theirs.” She lightly grazed my left hand, leaving a jolting zing of electricity in the wake of her fingertips.

  I gasped, and she snatched her hand back.

  “Do you think you can do that?” Her voice softened.

  It was her job as head of PR for the brewery and BFF to the bride to make sure everything went smoothly. Normally, I’d be annoyed about being handled, but her method seemed like a good one. I could do this if I could focus on the job and not my own issues.

  “Yeah.” I swallowed against the catch in my throat. “Thank you, Alex.”

  And I almost laughed at this absurd creature I’d become. As if a parent of a teenage girl, she might as well be lecturing me with... Not everything is about you.

  God, I was such a fuck-up.

  Chapter Seven

  Alex

  “Thank you, Alex.”

  Damian’s words came out in a low, sexy growl that sent a delicious set of chills racing along my bare arms. If he ever decided to grow a pair and stop hiding from the world, Damian could be a lady killer. Even with the scars, he was still handsome, and he had that whole military hero thing going for him. My stomach clenched as my fingertips accidentally brushed his hand again. The two of us could definitely have some fun over the next two weeks. Too bad he insisted on shutting himself off from everyone except Walsh.

  “Don’t thank me yet,” I warned. “I have another favor to ask.”

  He kept his eyes trained on the hung pictures. “What?”

  “I realize there isn’t a bridal party, so you’re not the official best man, but of course you are. Melissa and I are about to give our toast. I know it would mean a lot to Walsh and Lake if you would give one, too.”

  Damian turned his face even farther away from me. “I can’t,” he whispered.

  It was as much as I expected.

  “Okay,” I threaded my arm around his, and when he flinched at the touch, I gripped tighter. “But I’m going to force you to sit and listen to our bad jokes and puns about their sex life.” I squeezed his arm. “You ready?”

  He nodded, so I led him back into the dining room. Round tables with crisp, white linens filled the new space. My gaze immediately went to all the unfinished details the way they always did when I came in here. Several of the wooden beams and pillars still needed to be stained, and I still needed to decide on window coverings. The tables were rentals since ours weren’t in yet. There was so much to be done before the official opening after the annual Fourth of July parade, but even unfinished, the space was amazing.

  I steered him around the edge of the room past dozens of smiling guests. Well, mostly smiling. Emily sat at her table with a permanently raised eyebrow while Jeannie did her best to pull Emily into the conversation with Anthony’s parents. Wait until she saw what Chef Luke had prepared for dinner. I made a mental note to upgrade Jeannie’s thank-you note to a gift basket of wine and chocolate.

  Most of the faces were strangers to me, but I knew from the RSVP cards that half the town was here. The guys from the brewery all sat together, enjoying tall glasses of Love Potion, a special ambrosia beer Lake had cooked up just for the night. Harlan and Warner were laughing so hard at something they had tears running down their faces. Might need to cut them off early. As big and beefy as he was, Harlan could probably handle one more. But with his baby face and zero percent body fat, one was probably Warner’s limit.

  As soon as we sat down with Melissa and Anthony, servers made their way out of the adjacent kitchen. I pulled my phone out of the bodice of my dress and checked the time. Right on schedule. My mouth watered as a server set a big, juicy hamburger and fries in front of me. I’d eaten at some of the most prestigious restaurants in the world, but I’d been looking forward to this hamburger for the past two months.

  Very few people would understand what went into making it, but I did. The pretzel bun was made from spent grain left over from the brewing process and then steamed in beer. The ground beef came from cows fed from additional spent grain that we gave to a local cattle rancher. And the cheese was made in house and blended with several of our most popular beers. This was so much more than a hamburger. It was a testament of everything Naked Brews was working toward.

  I glanced over at Lake. She stared at her burger like it was her first-born child. In a way, it kind of was. She caught me staring at her and winked. She nudged Walsh and they both glanced at Damian sitting next to me, quietly eating his food. Lake mouthed the words “Thank you” and picked up her own burger. Totally worth it.

  Twenty-five minutes later, my phone vibrated against my chest. Show time.

  “Melissa.” I reached over and squeezed her hand. “Time for speeches.”

  I grabbed the notecards from my purse and pulled Melissa toward Lake and Walsh’s table. We stood facing the crowd of a few hundred friends and loved ones from Aspenridge who’d shown up to support Lake and Walsh’s marriage. Melissa tapped a knife against her beer glass and the room quieted.

  “Hi,” I said, waving at the room in general. “For those who don’t know us, we’re Alex and Melissa, Lake’s best friends. I’m pretty sure she opted out of a bridal party in the hopes to avoid these kinds of speeches, but we’ve decided to ask for forgiveness instead of permission.”

  The room laughed, and I sighed in relief. There wasn’t a bridal party, because there was no way Damian would have been able to stand up in front of a crowd of strangers during the wedding. The absence hadn’t gone unnoticed by the guests, so hopefully this would pull a little of the attention away from Damian.

  “We’re unbelievably happy for both Lake and Walsh,” Melissa chimed in, picking up where I left off. “The two of you are a beacon of true love, and no one deserves happiness more than you do.”

  I turned toward Lake and winked. What were best friends for
if not to embarrass you on the most important day of your life? “Of course, we expect a few things to change now that the two of you are officially tying the knot. We want to be accommodating to the new Mr. and Mrs. Brackens, but we have a few new work place rules.”

  “Rule number one.” Melissa held up her pointer finger. “No use of adorably, sickeningly sweet pet names at the brewery. Naked Brews is dedicated to the pursuit of yeasty perfection, and we’re almost certain that the use of the name buttercup, sweet cheeks, or honey buns will throw off the cosmic vibe needed to achieve that level of perfection.”

  “Got it, sweet cheeks?” Lake asked Walsh.

  “No problem, honey buns,” Walsh answered, planting a wet kiss on her lips.

  “That takes us to rule number two.” Melissa and I both held up two fingers. “Absolutely no hanky panky in the office.”

  This elicited a slew of cheers, especially from the tables seating Naked Brews employees.

  “We’ve been pretty lax about this in the past, but that leniency has to come to an end. No one wants to walk into the office and catch a bare ass christening the expense reports.”

  “Dear god in heaven, please be the end,” Lake groaned under her breath.

  I ignored Lake’s comment and flipped to my next notecard. “You guys are an old, married couple now, so we’re going to need you to keep your dirty deeds in the privacy of your own home like normal people.” I leaned toward Melissa and whispered in her ear, “This one goes for you, too.”

  Melissa had the decency to blush. She’d gotten over her embarrassment from the episode a few months ago when a photographer caught her and Anthony in a compromised position on his balcony. Last week, I’d caught the two of them one button away from their own office exposure.

  Fanning her face, Melissa cleared her throat and flipped to her last notecard. “And finally, rule number three. We must insist that the two of you continue to find joy in your love for one another and live happily ever after.”

  “To Walsh and Lake.” I lifted my glass, and everyone joined us in toasting to their happiness. I sipped my beer and pretended that I believed just like everyone else that a happily ever after was still possible.

  Chapter Eight

  Damian

  I turned my new mountain bike into the gravel parking lot and swung off as it rolled to a stop in front of the new front doors leading into Naked Brews.

  As part of the rebuild, the configuration of the building had been modified. A whole covered entryway provided both a place for hanging coats and extra seating for those waiting to get into the new Brew Pub while being a handy enough place for me to park my bike out of the way.

  And after hearing Walsh bitch about it all winter, the upgrade also shifted the snow falling off the roof in another direction rather than onto unsuspecting patrons’ heads. Not that we had to worry about that today. The sun was just rising over the ski mountain, so it was still chilly, but it promised to be another gorgeous summer mountain day. In fact, they were predicting record highs possibly into the eighties this week. I shook my head at the idea of that being hot in the summer. No wonder none of the cabins had air conditioning here.

  I finally let my gaze drift to the light spilling out the door. I steeled myself to walk toward it. I could only distract myself with the weather for so long. I’d agreed to do this for Walsh, so I needed to go in there...

  Alex came charging out the front door with a bat held high, a fierce look on her face that would have been sexy as hell if she wasn’t coming right at me.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I held a hand up to stop her as I leaned back a step, twisting to put the bike between her and me. “It’s me, Damian.” I pushed the hood of my sweatshirt off my head.

  She skidded to a halt barely a foot away from me. She dropped the bat and clutched at her chest. “Holy crap, Damian. I could’ve killed you. Why the hell are you skulking about in a hooded sweatshirt, looking like a thug? I thought for sure you were about to throw a firebomb into the restaurant.”

  “Um, wow. Overdramatic much?”

  She bowed back like I’d physically hit her, but instead, I think she was just winding up for her punch. “Overdramatic? That’s rich coming from you. How many years has it been since you left your house?” Immediately, her eyes widened, and she covered her mouth like she couldn’t believe she’d just said that.

  Yeah, well that made two of us. “Nice,” I sneered and yanked at the handles of my bike, steering it toward the entrance. One good thing about this lovely little confrontation, my anger way outweighed any nerves I’d had about opening those doors now.

  Behind me, I heard her mutter, “Nice going, Alex. Way to alienate the sexy guy.”

  I stopped and turned to her in shock. “You think I’m sexy?”

  She blinked rapidly. “What? No.”

  But then she did a full-body perusal that heated me from the inside out, especially when her pupils dilated.

  She waved her hand toward me. “You’re just... So much...” She shook her head. “Yes, okay? Now, stop confusing me. I haven’t had any coffee yet, and I can’t find my clipboard. You need to just...” She marched past me, her ass swaying in those tight jeans. She didn’t look back, just swung her hand behind her as if to shoo me away. “No, just keep away. I need half a cup before I can deal.” And then the door closed.

  I stood there with my mouth hanging open. What the actual fuck had that been? I had no idea what she wanted me to do. Hell, I was pretty sure she had no fucking clue what she wanted me to do. I’d watched her a lot over the weekend and had never seen her get flustered.

  Note to self: Catch the sexy brunette before coffee more often.

  I chuckled, picked up the dropped bat, and opened the front doors. I parked my bike and entered Naked Brews, feeling much better about the prospect for the day than I had in years.

  But then I frowned down at the bat I held in my hands. What kind of security was this? And how bad had things gotten that Alex was attacking people in the parking lot? That spoke to a level of alertness that made my gut churn and my neck prickle. I didn’t like the thought that someone might be targeting her...or Naked Brews. But the idea of her specifically being in danger did not work for me...at all.

  I charged into the office where Alex sat, her coffee cup clasped to her chest, looking down on it like I’d imagine a mother would gaze at her newborn baby. This girl had it bad.

  Seeing her like that, though...something heated in my chest, making it feel too tight, not normal. Before I could examine the sensation closer, she glanced up at me, her forehead wrinkled with the force of her frown.

  She held up a single finger to stop me from talking. “No words. Let it have five minutes to do its job.” Then she took another long sip from the cup, her eyes closing with bliss like she was on the verge of the best orgasm of her life.

  Holy hell. That expression on her face awoke my body like nothing else. Unfortunately, my cock decided it needed in on that action and rose to attention.

  There was another desk and chair against the front wall, so I sat down and hunched forward with my elbows on my knees to hide my embarrassing, teenage-like reaction as I watched her. She was breathtaking.

  The front of her dark hair was pulled back off her face in a series of complicated braids that reminded me of the way an Amazon or superhero would wear her hair—out of the way, but still wholly feminine. The sections all joined at the back of her head, leaving it all to fall loosely over her shoulders.

  The overhead lights of the office illuminated the light dusting of freckles across her nose and her sooty, thick lashes. This was a woman who could look like an innocent schoolgirl or an elegant seductress, depending on how she played up her appearance. Although I had to admit the all-American girl next door who was slightly caffeine deprived worked for me today.

  She wore jeans that looked old enough so they cupped all her dips and curves and those mile-long legs but not so old that they’d faded too much. A black, fitted tank top
gave tantalizing hints of cleavage, and every once in a while, I got a flash of red lace bra that wasn’t helping my errant erection any. Because the morning was chilly, over the tank top she wore a long sleeve, black-and-white checked, flannel shirt. I had a feeling she would shed it as the day wore on.

  As I watched, she came alive. It was like I could see the caffeine hitting her system. She opened her eyes, looking at me in surprise like she’d forgotten I was there.

  “Damian.” She tilted her head, and I suddenly wished I could read minds. “I’m sorry. Where are my manners? Would you like a cup, too?”

  I couldn’t help it; I laughed. “I would have asked earlier, but I was afraid I might lose a finger or two if I dared approach the precious.” I nodded at the shiny one-cup coffee maker sitting just over her shoulder.

  Pink rose up her cheeks in a blush that made her even more attractive. How was that even possible?

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “It was a really long weekend, and I barely had time to inhale a single cup each morning before all the wedding stuff took over. My body reached its limit of caffeine deficiency this morning. It’s just too bad you were there for the fallout.” She winced. “I’m not usually that bad before coffee.”

  “Suuure.” I nodded slowly. “I believe that.”

  “Really! It’s true.” She stood as someone walked by the door. She ran over to it and snagged the sleeve of the man walking by. “Harlan, come in here.”

  A middle-aged man with a curious smile on his face let himself be dragged in.

  “This is Damian,” Alex said as she shut the door behind Harlan. “He’s the guy from GSC. He’s going to be working here while Walsh is gone.”