Page 36 of Single Malt

“Thank you.” The words were flat. I needed to get his mind off me and onto something else. Fortunately, I knew how to deal with guys like him. “I understand you’ll be lecturing on International Development. Would you mind giving me a preview of what you’ll be sharing?”

“I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you.”

“I’m not sure how many lectures I’ll be able to get to.” At least that was the truth. “My last semester has me fairly busy. I’d still like to hear what you’re going to speak about.”

“Of course.” He seemed pleased by my request, which told me I’d judged him correctly. The best way to get him to stop hitting on me was to get him to talk about himself.

The rest of the twenty-five-minute drive was full of him doing just that. He did include some information that could be useful, but everything always came back to him. Tedious and boring, yes, but definitely better than him flirting with me the entire time.

As I pulled up in front of the hotel, I breathed a sigh of relief that I didn’t have to spend one more minute with this guy. He hadn’t done or even said anything inappropriate, but he was clearly a man who was used to women falling all over him. Sure, he was good-looking and rich, but his personality was a huge turn-off. It was possible to be attractive and not be so full of himself. After all, Brody was just as hot, maybe even more–

No.

I only thought of him because this was the same hotel he’d stayed at. No other reason.

“Well, thank you for picking me up,” Korbin said, flashing a smile that probably cost more than my car. “Why don’t you join me in my room for lunch? We can continue our discussion there.”

I kept my own smile pleasant. “No, but thank you for the invitation.” I rolled down the passenger window and spoke to the young man who’d come over to the car. “His luggage is in the trunk.”

When it became clear that I wasn’t even going to get out of the car, Korbin’s smile faltered, and a hint of annoyance flashed across his face. He didn’t, however, try to pressure me or even insult me. Instead, he just said that he’d see me at some point and to have a nice day.

What did it say about society when a woman actually had to be concerned about a man’s reaction to her rejection? Yes, things were getting better, but I shouldn’t have needed to worry at all.

I would say this for Brody McCrae…despite how things ended between us, I’d never felt unsafe with him.

Twenty-Two

Brody

The last timeMaggie and I had done something with just the two of us had been a while, and even though it might’ve been longer since I’d spent time with some of my other siblings, it was different missing that time with Maggie.

The five-year age difference between the two of us had meant that we’d been at very different places in our lives growing up. By the time she was out of diapers, I was climbing trees and learning to surf. When she hit her teens, I was on my way to adulthood. And even though I’d stayed in San Ramon after I graduated from high school, I’d constantly been on the move.

Every year until recently, however, we’d had one day a year where we did something together. Her birthday.

She’d barely been one when Ma died, and while I only remembered bits and pieces from that time of my life, one of my clearest memories was Maggie’s second birthday. I’d tried to make her a chocolate cake and had nearly burned down the kitchen.

After Da had put out the fire, and I’d told him what I’d wanted to do, he’d taken me to a bakery to pick out a cake for Maggie. Every year after, I found something special to give her or something for us to do. I’d even made a point to come see her after she moved to New York.

A month before she turned twenty-four, though, she’d called to cancel our plans, saying her new boyfriend was taking her somewhere special. Last year, she’d said that she’d been swamped with learning new music for an upcoming concert.

This year, I’d told her that we’d make it work, no matter how I had to juggle my schedule. I didn’t know what had gone into her being able to spend yesterday evening at Carson’s or today with me, but I was glad she’d made it happen, especially since I had a great surprise for her.

“You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?” she asked. “You do realize I’ve lived here for almost eight years, right?”

“Let me have my fun.” I put my arm around her and gave her a hug as we left the diner where we’d just had lunch.

“That doesn’t seem very fair since it’s my birthday,” she countered. “Shouldn’t I be the one having the fun?”

“Well, you don’t have to wait long to find out,” I said as I flagged down a taxi. “I do have to tell the driver where to go.”

A minute or so later, I watched Maggie’s face as I told the cabbie to take us to Radio City Music Hall. She smiled, but I saw a bit of confusion on her face. Obviously, she’d been there before, which I’d already assumed. What she didn’t know, however, was that we were getting a special, private viewing of a brand-new addition to the usual tour, which wouldn’t even be announced until tomorrow morning. The only reason I even knew about it was Britt Winder.

Britt and I had met at a club in L.A., when she was a senior at UCLA, and I’d been in the city making some connections with clubs around the college. At the time, I’d been working on my first whiskey while brewing and selling Shannon’s Beer to bars and clubs in several California cities.

We’d had a fun couple weeks before parting ways on good terms when I went back to San Ramon, and she headed to New York for her new job at Radio City Music Hall. We’d hooked up a half dozen times for the next few years, but when she started seriously dating the guy she was now engaged to, we’d transitioned to being strictly friends.

I still had lunch or dinner with her and her fiancé whenever I was in the city. A few months ago, I’d asked her to keep an eye out for anything that would be good for a gift for Maggie, and a couple weeks ago, she’d given me a call. It’d been perfect timing.