Page 13

“If you’re organizing it, I’m sure it will be great. I mean, it will be a good way to meet everyone from town again. Some of Tanner’s other network is coming, plus Huxley will be there.”
I nod, having seen all the names on the guest list already.
“Hopefully, I’ll have the distillery sparkling for you,” I tell him, smiling.
“If you are there, it will be radiant.” His lowered voice turns a little gravelly, and I forget to breathe. We stare at each other for a beat. His smile is small as he watches me, and I lick my lips. I don’t miss the way his eyes catch the movement. Something about that has me relaxing in the weirdest way.
“You think too highly of me, Dr. Hamilton,” I tease, feeling my feminine energy come through. My body relaxes a little, and I begin to feel like I’m the young woman flirting with him from before the incident happened.
“Hmmm. I think a lot of things about you, Lacy,” he says, and his eyes are pure fire as they stare into mine. I swallow roughly before clearing my throat.Is it getting hot in here?
“So you have a whiskey collection?” I ask, getting us back on track. Our flirty banter feels too good and with little ears nearby, I need to be careful.
“Mostly Whiteman’s, but I have a few exclusives fromJapan, of course some Scottish, and a few boutique ones from Australia that I picked up when I visited a few years ago.”
Suddenly, that familiar feeling of insignificance barrels back into me. Of course this man is worldly and has traveled all around the globe. Of course he has a whiskey collection that’s probably worth more than my house. I was lucky enough to go to college on a scholarship and survived by working two part-time jobs, plus a third casual cash-in-hand weekend job in promotions, and almost every cent I’ve ever had has served the purpose of survival. No overseas trips to sightsee or a whiskey collection or a shiny Rolex, like the one on Hudson’s wrist.
“Australian whiskeys are pretty special. I tasted a few at an event in New York that Connor and I went to a month or so ago,” I say, remembering the week-long trip I had. It was great for my career and networking, but I had anxiety every day for leaving Mom that long. Thank God for her friends and our neighbors.
“You like whiskey?” he asks, surprised.
“It’s a bit hard not to when you work at a distillery. It’s growing on me. I like single malts,” I add, and he nods in appreciation.
“I spent some time in Scotland, traveled the highlands and tried some of their famous whiskey for a few weeks. I highly recommend that if you are interested in learning how they go about making their batches.”
“Hmm, sounds like a dream trip.” I wonder if I could do it as part of a work research trip or something.
“So aside from New York, have you traveled much?” he asks, basically reading my mind, and I sigh.
“No. I would like to, but life just doesn’t offer that to me at the moment,” I say honestly. I’m not going to try to be someone I’m not. Traveling is absolutely out of the question for me and will be for a long time, even though I yearn to see something different.
“Where would you like to go? What is the first place you would visit?” he asks, sitting forward, looking interested and not at all dismissive as I assumed he might be.
“Rovaniemi,” I tell him, my mind already wandering.
“Rovaniemi?” he asks, frowning. “Where’s that?”
“Finland. Arctic Circle. It looks like such a magical place.”
He looks stumped, clearly not familiar with it.
“It’s supposed to be one of the best places to stargaze in the world. They have these glass igloos that you can stay in, so you are surrounded by snow, but you are warm in bed, just falling asleep under the stars,” I say, sitting forward, resting my hands near his on the table, my voice turning whimsical as I dream about it in my head.
“An igloo?” Harvey pipes up, and I nod, giving him a wide smile.
“Plus, it’s where Santa's village is, and I would really like to see that,” I tell him excitedly, and his mouth drops open.
“That would be so cool…” he says in awe, making me smile.
“Very cool.” Even though I’m an adult, Christmas is my favorite holiday.
“Sounds like fun. So you like astronomy?” Hudson’shandsome features make me breathless, and my mouth moves before my mind catches on. I like this. Our conversation is light, nothing too deep, while still getting to know each other.
“I just like stargazing. There’s something settling about it. I like looking up and seeing the different stars in the night sky.”
“So you like the stars?” he says, smiling, looking content. Like he is happy with what he is uncovering about me.
“I wish on one every night,” I whisper to him, our gazes locked for another moment. My chest feels like it is pulling me to him and I sense the same feelings from him as his eyes look deep into my soul. Our hands are near each other’s on the table and I feel his touch and look down quickly, seeing his finger tap mine before it curls around it, like a little secret finger hold. I take in a deep breath and look back at him before Rochelle comes back.