Ben pulled his BMW against the curb in front of Shia’s house. It was a quaint, brick rambler, with garden beds holding beautiful blooming rose bushes. Regan rolled down his car window and inhaled. Sweet perfume filled the spring air.
“Can I walk you to your door?” Regan asked looking over his shoulder.
“No. Rest. I’m just happy I didn’t have to take the bus.” Shia opened the side door and stepped out.
“Can I call…” Regan started to ask, as Ben jumped out his driver’s side door and hurried after her up the walkway.
She stopped and turned. Ben said something out of earshot, smiled his lady killer grin, and then swaggered back to the car.
The engine roared to life as Ben hit the gas.
“Did you ask her out?” Regan asked, as he drummed his finger in a sharp staccato on the door.
“Of course I asked her out.” Ben wiggled his eyebrows and then flipped his expensive Gucci sunglasses over his eyes. “Are you going to tell me how you met her, or are you going to keep me guessing?”
“She works in a blood bank. I followed her in, and then it was too late to get out.”
“You still have that blood issue from when we were kids?” Ben dropped the car into another gear.
“You mean the time your bones were sticking out of your arm? For you it wasn’t traumatic, you were passed out. I should have left your sorry ass out there in the woods.”
“I never have thanked you, have I?” A scar ran across up the right side of Ben’s arm and he rubbed it absently. “Maybe it’s time I did.”
Regan ran the window down lower and hooked his arm out. The cool breeze on his face felt wonderful.
“Is Shia the girl you told me about from the coffee shop?” Ben asked.
“Yep.” He dropped to his head back on the headrest and closed his eyes.
“I thought so. Does your head hurt, bro?”
“Like a mother bear.”
When Regan cracked his eye open, Ben was grinning at him.
Ben continued. “This is what you’re going do. Go home, chew some aspirin, take a long hot shower and then man up. Our fundraiser’s in a few hours and people are depending on us. I’m not doing it alone.”
“You could.
Ben’s shook his head and his tone grew serious. “That’s where you’re wrong. We’re business partners. That means two, not one. Besides, you’re the brains and we both know it. When you talk, the donors listen.”
Regan hoped the money they raised tonight would change other lives. The children’s burn unit always welcomed their substantial gift match along with the donors. It wouldn’t do any good to stay agitated with his brother. He’d been the dummy who messed up his meeting with Shia. If she liked Ben better than him, then that was that. He wasn’t going to stir the pot and race after her.
After he got back to his condo, Ben was right. With a few aspirin in him, he stood under the hot stream of the shower and the throbbing in his head eased. By the time he arrived at the brewery, Regan was ready to greet the throngs of people making their way through the main doors. The staff and catering crew did a knockout job. Between the wood racks of their specialized cask beers were linen-cover tables. Tiny white lights laid in criss-cross patterns across the exposed wooden beams and a jazz quartet played in one corner.
“Looks like we’re getting a good turn out,” Ben said as he tipped his beer glass in Regan’s direction.
“We always do. Free food and cold free beer. Are you kidding me? People love this night.” Regan patted his hand on the stainless steel vessel that held their best selling brew. The rich, bright copper cladding gave the steel a nostalgic look adding warmth and ambience to the room. A feeling of pride filled him, knowing the beer tasted even better than the place looked.
Regan and Ben spread out and shook hands to welcome faces they knew, and introduced themselves to those they didn’t. When Regan presumed most of the guests had arrived, he tapped a knife on the side of his glass to bring the room’s attention his way.
“My brother and I would like to thank everyone for coming to The Legacy Brewery’s third-annual Brew and Bid. I see many returning friends, many of you know that Ben and I are auctioning off custom cask blend ales. These beers are not available anywhere else but to the highest bidders of the auction tonight. Ben and I will match your bid. You get the beer delivered specially by us, and the Overview Hospital Children’s Burn Unit will greatly benefit from your generous donations.
If you haven’t been here before, there are smaller ticket items for bidding along the side tables and our cashiers will help you with any payment questions. I know it’s a bit of a drive out here to, but we hope we can make your evening worthwhile. How many of you know that beer is the third most consumed beverage in the world, only topped by water and tea? Maybe someday soon, we will pass tea. I think water might have an edge on us for awhile longer.” There was a roll of chuckles around the room.
Regan looked out over the crowd and his gaze stopped. Shia was standing by a side door.
She looked amazing—breathtaking was a better description. She wore a dark green dress that clung lovingly to her curves. Simple gold hoops hung in her ears and a pair of strappy heels made her legs look even longer. Their eyes met and his mouth went dry. He reached for and then took a drink of water from a goblet on the table.
When she noticed he’d stopped talking, she smiled and made a keep-going signal with her hand.
Regan took a calming breath. “Beer is one of the world's oldest prepared beverages. It dates back to the early Neolithic period to possibly around 9500 BC. That’s even older than my brother.”
More laughter.
“Tonight, as our thanks to you for coming, we are offering you something my brother and I are very proud of, our new cask ale, Hair of the Dog.” He lifted one of the brown bottles off the table and into the light. “If you don’t know what a cask ale is, many refer to it as real ale. With people trying to get back to a more natural lifestyle, cask beer is unfiltered and unpasteurized, with a fresh distinct taste. There are sample bottles on every table to try.”
The caterers helped guests open the bottles and fill glasses. There was the sound of pleased “mmmm” around the room as people took sips.
“Tonight’s not about selling you something. We’re here for the kids of Overview Hospital and to make new friends. Every business needs friends. Here’s to friends.” Regan raised his amber liquid filled glass.
There was a round of applause.
*****
Shia watched Regan walk towards her and she tried to force her heartbeat to slow. In jeans and a white dress shirt, he was drop dead gorgeous. A navy blazer finished the good and very sexy, casual but elegant look. The clothes offset his blue eyes.
His broad shoulders straightened as he came to a stop in front of her.
“You’re the last person I expected to see tonight,” he said.
“Your brother invited me.”
His face darkened. “That’s right. He said he asked you out. I’ll go and get him for you. He’s up by the stage.” When he turned to leave, Shia caught his arm.
Slowly he turned back and looked down at her hand. If she hadn’t been so cued into him, she would have missed his intake of breath when she’d touched him.
“I don’t want to take you away from your guests, but is there somewhere we can talk for a minute?” she asked.
“There’s a balcony that overlooks the acreage. Here, follow me.”
He led her out the French doors and watched as he closed them shutting them off from the crowd inside.
Shia leaned on the stone balustrade and shivered as the cool night breeze ruffled the hem of her skirt.
Regan shrugged out of his sports coat and wrapped it around her shoulders.
“Thanks.” She pulled the jacket straight. “I’m impressed. You put a lot of your own time and money into this fundraiser.”
“It’s all for the kids. We were asked to do it the first year, and it was a big success. It’s become an annual event. It makes me feel good to know that with our little donations we might be able to save a life. If that kid grows up to make a difference in the world, it’s all been worth the effort.”
This was the reason she wanted to go into nursing. To help those in need. She could see that Regan was a man who held a deep commitment to helping others. They had that in common. Shia heard it in his voice as he addressed the people at the event. She liked that. “Can you answer a question for me?”
He walked over to the silver barrel cooler and pulled out two beers. He screwed off the caps and handed her one. “What do you want to know?”
She turned his direction. “Who was that handsome, self-assured man standing in front of a room full of people? It sure wasn’t the shy, nervous guy I met earlier today.”
“This is my business. I’m in my element here.”
“And you’re not when you talk to me?”
“It’s different.” He took a long draw off the beer. “I’m not a smooth talker like my brother.”
“Yes you are. In there, you were smooth as butter.” She grinned.
“Those people aren’t women I like.”
“So there’s no competition at the party that I need to worry about?”
“What about my brother?”
“He’s not even close to being my type.”
“What does that mean?” He gave her a questioning look. “He asked you, and you came here to meet up with him.”
“What?” Then suddenly it all made sense. “He didn’t say anything to you about what he said to me earlier, did he? When Ben dropped me off and followed me up the sidewalk, he asked if I would come tonight and be here for you. Not him. He said tonight was going to be an important fundraising event for the Overview hospital. He was sure you’d have it under control, but you could use a pretty face here so you wouldn’t be nervous.”
“He said that? You should have decked him. You really came here tonight for me?”
“Do I look like I’m ready to work in the blood bank?” She did a little twirl on her heels.
He whistled. “That, you do not.”
This was a good start. Regan was starting to opening up. She wouldn’t let him back away from her now. “You never answered me. Why do you find it so difficult to talk with me?”
“I don’t know. It’s that rotten shy side I have.”
“You’re talking now. If you could ask me any question in the world, what would it be?”
“It’s not a question, it’s more of a request.” He watched her for a long moment and then asked, “Can I kiss you?” He pulled her close and ran his hand around the small of her back. He tilted her chin and lowered his head until his mouth was inches from hers. She thought she might die from anticipation. She was unable tear away from the hypnotic blue depths of his gaze. The shiver that ran through her wasn’t from the cool breeze.
And then he kissed her.
It wasn’t hard and demanding, like many of her boyfriends’ kisses in the past. This was more of a test. A tease. A warm and gentle brush of his lips over hers.
Regan drew back a few inches to look at her, his breath warming her cool lips. “I asked my question. What do you want, Shia?”
“I want another kiss like that.”
He grinned. “I hoped it was going to be an easy request.”
Her insides turned warm and oozy, and she closed her eyes. Automatically she moved
into him, his arms closed tight around her, wrapping her in twin bands of strength and steel.
The kiss got a little more passionate than perhaps was appropriate for a public place. As his tongue coaxed hers, Shia moaned softly.
There was a whoosh of warm air from inside the brewery and Ben said, “Hey, get a room. Happy to see things are working out with the two of you. Hey Bro, thanks for saving my life.” Ben grinned. “Though I have no idea what you see in my baby brother.”
“If you’d been kissed like I just was, your brother wouldn’t be asking that question,” Shia whispered and rested her forehead against Regan’s. “I thought you were shy.”
“I am. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like to kiss beautiful women.” He brushed a thumb down her cheek before stepping back. “I’d better get back but not before you try my beer.” He handed her back the bottle. “It’s the one we are debuting tonight. Have a drink and tell me what you think.”
“Isn’t the beer great. I think we have a real winner here,” Ben said as he joined them on the balcony.
She paused and looked into the men’s hopeful eyes.
“Come on, before I have to go back and tell the room how great our new beer is. I want your opinion.” Regan prodded.
Ah, geeze. How could she say no? She took the bottle and drew in a tiny sip.
“Tip it back and take a big swig,” Ben said. “That’s how you can taste all the unique citrus flavors.”
“We’re both very proud of it and excited for the release next week. It would make my night if you liked it,” Regan said.
She knew she shouldn’t. She should be truthful. But how could she? The two men who invited her to share their evening owned a brewery. It had been a few years since her last allergic reaction. Shia closed her eyes, filled her mouth, and then swallowed.
“Come on. In about a half an hour they are opening the dance floor.”
Something started itching on the back of Shia’s neck and she knew she was screwed.
Around ten there was a knock on Shia’s door. With effort, she rose from the couch, looked out the peephole, and then opened the door.
“Regan. What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to come over in person and tell you. I didn’t mean to ignore you at the fundraiser. You left before I had a chance to say goodbye. I hope this will make up for it.” From behind his back he brought out a huge bouquet of flowers. They were beautiful and all in bright hues of pinks and lavenders.
“Come in. How did the fundraiser do?” She let him in and shut the door.
“With the combined bids we raised over twenty- thousand dollars.”
“That’s great!” Grabbing a vase and filling it with water, she nestled the flowers inside and then came to sit next to him on the couch. “Did you pick these on the grounds at the brewery?”
“I figured there would be a fat chance of finding a florist open this time of night.” He leaned forward and rubbed his hands on his knees. “If I moved too fast earlier when I kissed you. I came here to…”
Shia cut him off. “That is the last thing you need to apologize for.”
“Then why did you take off?”
“Earlier when you didn’t tell about your fear of having blood drawn, well I forgot to mention that I’m allergic to beer. It gives me hives.” She pulled her long brown hair to the side to expose a row of welts on the back of her neck.
“God! Shia! Why didn’t you say anything?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “Just like you didn’t want to hurt my feelings, I didn’t want to hurt yours.”
“But… but now you’re broken out in welts!”
“And you have stitches.” Shia yawned and scratched at a pink bump on her shoulder. “I hadn’t had a reaction in about five years, I thought I would give it a try. It’s not like I’m anaphylactic. I get itchy and bumpy. I swallow an antihistamine and sleep it off. No big deal.” She made the mistake of laying her head on the crook of her arm.
Regan scooted closer, pulled the blanket off the back of the couch, and draped it over her.
Shia yawned again. Her head felt sloggy and slow. “Benadryl makes me really sleepy. Sorry. Believe me, it’s not the company. I’ll be fine. I’ll call you tomorrow. You can leave your num…”