Page 22 of The Business of Love Box Set 1: Books 1 - 4

RHYS

V anny’s brother sat in the passenger seat of my Porsche, his cell phone engulfed in his big hand as he held it to his ear and talked to his daughter, Sandi, who had apparently lost her most precious stuffed teddy bear of all time.

I could hear her wailing into the phone as Chris pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath.

“Sweetheart,” he said evenly, “Toto couldn’t have gotten far. He’s in the house somewhere. Is Nana there? She’ll help you look.”

I couldn’t hear the little girl’s reply, but based on the weary sigh that left my friend, I assumed she was in near hysterics.

“I can drop you off at home?” I suggested.

Chris looked imploringly at me as his daughter sobbed. His face briefly glowed green as we passed under a traffic light. “Yeah. That’d be good. Hey, Sandi. I’m on my way home, okay? I’ll be there in ten minutes and we’ll find Toto. Go splash some cold water on your face. Daddy will be right there.”

She pulled herself together and the two of them exchanged some sweet words before he hung up and slumped in his seat. “Sorry, man. I was looking forward to this.”

“Don’t sweat it.” I hooked a right, followed by another, and pointed the car back toward Chris and Vanny’s parents’ place.

He and I had made plans to hit up one of my distilleries while he was still in town between games.

We didn’t see as much of each other as we used to since he started playing pro ball, but we always managed to squeeze a bit of time in here and there.

Tonight was supposed to be a night for the bros.

But Sandi came first. Always and forever.

And if she didn’t, Chris wouldn’t be the kind of man I could call a best friend. “So the bear’s name is Toto?”

“Fuck off, man.”

“It’s cute. You name it?”

Chris gave me a side-eyed glare. “Maybe.”

I laughed as we came to a red light. “Isn’t that the dog from—”

“The Wizard of Oz. Yeah.”

“Your age is showing.”

“Your douche bag is showing.”

“Fuck off.”

Chris chuckled and rested his arm against the door panel. “Think we can reschedule this? I was looking forward to it.”

“Definitely. Perks of being the boss is having access to the distilleries after hours. You just let me know when you have a free night.”

“Will do.”

I licked my lips and considered not asking the question that had been nagging me since Chris got in my Porsche fifteen minutes ago. Fuck it. “So your Nannie is a bit of a bitch, huh?”

“Watch it.” Chris turned to me. “My Nannie might be a bitch, but only me and Vanny have the right to say so.”

“She’s especially hard on your sister.”

Chris nodded and his tone softened. “Yeah. She’s definitely gotten the brunt of it ever since we were kids.

I’ve tried to talk to Nannie about it. To ease up.

But she’s a stubborn old bird. She thinks she’s doing Vanny a favor but in reality…

” He trailed off and shook his head. “I don’t know.

Sometimes, I wonder if Vanny struggles so badly because of Nannie. ”

“Doesn’t seem like that far of a stretch. Your sister is a beautiful girl. Your Nannie talks to her like she’s—”

“An ogre? Yeah. And for the record, where you’re concerned, you might as well consider her an ogre because she’s off limits. I don’t need you going around talking about how pretty my baby sister is. Got it?”

“Just trying to figure out your family dynamics.”

“Like hell you are.”

I flashed him an innocent smile. “Would I lie to you?”

“Yes.”

My phone rang. It was linked to the Bluetooth in my car, and the caller ID flashed on the tablet display in my dash. I thanked my lucky stars I’d saved Vanny’s name in my phone as “Betrothed” for this very reason. If she ever called when I was around Chris, I didn’t want him catching on.

Chris narrowed his eyes at the caller ID. “Who the fuck is Betrothed?”

“A company I’m providing moonshine to for a party,” I lied smoothly.

Chris dropped it. I let the phone keep ringing until it went to voicemail. I waited for the telltale chime that someone had left me a message but it never came. I’d just have to call Vanny back.

I dropped Chris off in the drive of his family home.

He reminded me that his daughter’s birthday party was this weekend at the house and that I was expected to be there.

I assured him I would be. Sandi was waiting for him at the front door and I watched her engulf his legs with her little arms. He rubbed her head, sending her blonde locks askew, and then he waved over his shoulder at me before undoubtedly beginning the search for Toto.

I called Vanny back as I reversed out of the drive.

She picked up on the second ring. “Where are you right now?”

“Pulling out of your parents’ driveway actually.”

“What? Why?”

“I was dropping your brother off. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. I considered going in and asking to see your old high school photos, you know, so I could talk to everyone at the reunion about how cute you used to be, but I thought you might—”

“Chop your balls off and barbeque them? Yeah. Good call.”

I chuckled as I palmed the steering wheel and pulled away from the house. “Come on, Vanny. You know I kid. What’s up?”

“Are you free?”

“For you? Of course. Where can I pick you up?”

Vanny met me outside her apartment complex.

She stood under a street light, her thick knit emerald-green cardigan drawn tightly around her body to ward off the chill of the night.

She wore a burgundy scarf, dark blue jeans, and a pair of dark brown ankle booties, and she was glaring at the sidewalk when the Porsche came to a stop in front of her.

She moved to the edge of the curb and I leaned across the passenger seat to push the door open for her.

She slid across the leather seat and immediately pointed the heat vents at herself. “Thanks for picking me up.”

“No problem.” I waited as she put her seatbelt on. Something was wrong. I could feel it in the air around her, vibrating like a menacing electric fence invisible to the eye. “Are you okay?”

She didn’t look at me. “Yeah. I’m fine. I just… I was visiting Mom and Dad and Nannie was there. You saw firsthand how much fun she is.”

“If you’re in need of a distraction, say no more. I have the perfect night in store.”

Finally, she looked at me. I wasn’t positive, but it looked like she might have been crying. Her nose was pink, either from the cold or wiping it with her sleeve, rubbing away her makeup, and her eyes were glassy. “I don’t think I’m in the mood for anything extravagant.”

“It won’t be. I promise. You’ll like it.”

“We’ll see.”

I drove to my original destination of the night, my distillery in downtown Nashville.

It had closed over two hours ago, so when I parked in the lot out back, Vanny was a little confused.

She let me open her car door for her, which was a surprise to me, and she accepted my arm when I offered.

The parking lot behind the two-story modern factory building was broken and uneven, and I didn’t want her to trip.

We entered through the back door, and I flipped on the lights.

Then we made our way down the wide hallway pretty much only used by my delivery guys.

We emerged into the open-concept factory floor.

Above was a metal platform and railing for employees only, and there were doors off the walkway into offices.

On the ground floor were the actual moonshine distillery systems. Off to the left was the customer-friendly space.

Through a set of doors was a seating area for guests to test and sample the product made in-house.

It was a simple space with minimalist decor, and it smelled like pine from the furniture.

On the back wall of this room were rows upon rows of different kinds of moonshine and flavors. I had Vanny take a seat and then I poured her a flight of samples. She watched me and leaned back in her seat when I joined her.

“Are you trying to liquor me up?” she asked.

“You can never just enjoy something, can you?”

“Yes, I can.”

“Uh huh. Sure.” I slid the flight to the middle of the table, turned my chair around, and sat on it backward so I could rest one arm on the backrest. Then I pointed with my free hand at the four small glasses.

“This one here is the in-house classic and the one I had the most success with. The original Daniels Moonshine. It’s a sipping liquor. You don’t shoot it.”

Vanny pulled the glass free. “I know that.” She lifted the glass to her perfect lips and took a sip. Her nose crinkled in the most adorable way, and she sputtered a bit but got herself under control quickly. “That’s… intense.”

Grinning, I pointed at the next glass. “Then we move onto the lighter version. Something I think you might actually like. You could sit and sip this after a long day at the shop.”

She tried the second one and nodded favorably. “That’s better. It doesn’t feel like it’s setting my throat on fire.” She reached for the third before I could point to it and held it up to the light. “Is this one green?”

“A little. It’s flavored.”

She sniffed it. “Apple pie?”

“Close. Apple cider. It’s not as sweet as an apple-pie liquor. It’s hard to market an apple-pie moonshine liquor. About seventy-five percent of our customers are male. Women don’t really reach for something like moonshine when they’re looking for a sipping drink.”

Vanny tilted her head back and took a sip.

Then she held the glass up and licked her lips before rubbing them together.

She had no clue how intoxicating she was to watch, three times more intoxicating than the liquor lingering on her tongue.

I caught myself daydreaming about how good her kiss would taste right about now as she spoke.

“I like this one. You’re right. It’s not too sweet. I’d buy it.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded before picking up the fourth and final glass. “Definitely. Now tell me about this bad boy.”

“This one is new. Nobody has tried it yet.”

Her dark brown eyes flicked from the glass in her hand to me. “Really?”

“Really. Aside from me, of course.”

She smelled it. “It’s familiar. But I can’t place it.”

“It’s one I’m hoping to put on the market pretty soon. Another month or two and we’ll be good to go with all the branding and labeling. Right before the Christmas season.”

She smelled it again. “Is it… cinnamon? No.” She shook her head and her brows drew together as she considered the familiarity of the scent. “It’s spicy. But a sweet spicy.”

“Uh huh.” I could have watched her all damn night.

A smile curled her lips. “Hang on. I know what this is. Is this chai?”

“You have a good nose.”

“Interesting. I’ve never heard of chai moonshine.”

“Neither had I. My grandmother adores chai tea. I swear she drinks four a day. And this is kind of my tribute to her. Tell me what you think. Be honest.”

Vanny took a sip. She held it in her mouth, letting it linger on her tongue, and I couldn’t read the neutral expression on her face. This moonshine had a special place in my heart. I was eager to reveal it to my grandmother, who’d never shied away from joining me for a stiff drink after a long day.

Vanny swallowed and took another mouthful.

“Do you like it?” I asked.

She ran her tongue along her lip once more. “Rhys, I’m not trying to be a kiss ass here. But this is really good.”

“Yeah?” The eagerness in my own voice might have been embarrassing if I was with anyone but her.

She nodded eagerly. “Yeah. I’d buy this for people as a gift.

I’d keep it in my fridge at home. It’s delicious.

Like a sweet, spicy, little treat. I like how it lingers in your mouth.

I know a lot of people who would drink this.

” She pushed the half-full glass away. “I can also see how it could get dangerous really quickly.”

I flashed her a smile. “What do you say we take a bottle back to my place and play twenty-one questions?”

She let out a sharp laugh. “How old are you?”

“Old enough to know you’d have said no if you weren’t interested.”

She gave me a sly smile. “You’re paying to put me in a cab when the night is over.”

“Deal.”