Page 99 of Sunkissed Colorado

“Russ mentioned we’d have a crowd for the tasting. I just didn’t realize it would be…this.”

“Impressive, huh?”

Her smile glowed with pride. “Yeah. It is.”

Hearthstone was loved by so many people in Hart County. It was an honor to be a part of this place.

And somehow, running the brewpub with Zandra over the last six or so weeks had only made that sense of pride stronger. Working with Z was a blast, I’d learned a ton, and Hearthstone was thriving more than ever.

Even more importantly, since we’d installed a couple additional cameras at Hearthstone and Zandra had moved in with me, there hadn’t been any further harassment or vandalism incidents. Tommy Pickering hadn’t dared to show his face around either of us, which might’ve had something to do with that.

We were sailing toward the end of the summer. I was having the best sex of my life with the same gorgeous woman in my bed every night. And it felt like only good things were ahead.

Once we got to Hearthstone, there was a sense of anticipation and excitement in the air. I greeted a bunch of regulars waiting in the line as Zandra and I headed inside.

As soon as Russ tapped the new keg to a chorus of cheers and shouts, I grabbed one of the first tastes. It was a golden-colored brew called Alpine Dawn.

“This is great. Nice job, man.”

Russ glanced around. Our servers were busy pouring tasters while the crowd buzzed happily. “Zandra didn’t want to taste it?” The poor guy seemed a little hurt.

“She can’t.”

He cursed. “I forgot about the gluten thing. Damn. Not very fun to work at a brewpub when you can’t drink the beer.” Then he got a thoughtful look, which was something of a stretch where Russ was concerned. “Hey, there’s that new gluten-free brewery over in Pine Creek. Have you heard about it?”

I perked all the way up. “No. Tell me more.”

A few minutes later, I’d joined in to help behind the bar as we were mobbed for samples of Alpine Dawn. And I had an idea for how Zandra and I were going to spend our next night off. It was going to be an epic date.

Then I froze, right in the middle of pouring a taster for the next customer in line.

Z and I weren’t dating. She’d made that clear, and of course, I wanted things that way too. Coworkers with benefits. I wasn’t a dating kind of guy.

Right?

“You okay, Callum?” Winnie asked, blond ponytail swinging as she angled her head.

“Uh, yeah.” I handed the taster to the waiting customer with an apologetic grin. “Just some things on my mind.”

“I bet. Only two more weeks until Manny makes his decision. You must be sweating!”

Oh, shit. Two weeks.

Of course, I’d known that in theory. But I hadn’t been focused on the reality. Only two more weeks of Zandra in my bed. Once one of us was the boss, we weren’t supposed to be getting busy anymore.

I mean, was that a hard and fast rule? In the employee handbook anywhere?

“You know,” Winnie said when the crowd had died down, “you and Zandra seem to be getting along real well. Nobody saw that coming.”

I shrugged, collecting dirty taster glasses. “I knew I’d win her over eventually.”

“Yeah, but youreallywon her over,” Winnie replied, speaking low with a mischievous glint in her blue eyes. “And under, I’m guessing?”

I grinned. “Winnie, I’m shocked at what you’re suggesting.” Sounded like Z and I hadn’t kept our sex life under wraps as much as we’d thought. “I can neither confirm nor deny.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not telling Manny. But in a couple weeks, one of you will get the job, and the other will be pissed. Aren’t you worried about that?”

“I won’t be mad if she gets the job.” Those words came out before I’d really thought about them. Yet I didn’t have a single doubt. A month and a half ago, I’d wanted general manager more than anything, but now…I could imagine other scenarios working out too.