Nick was about to walk into the brewery when Daisy’s voice, loud and boisterous, drifted out the door. A sound that used to warm his heart but now was like sandpaper to his nerves. It amazed him how someone so little could be so loud.
He had thought seeing her might help him get used to the fact that he’d see her from time to time but then she kissed him igniting a fire within him that had been dormant for so long. Until she pushed him away, her words a bucket of water thrown in his face. He should’ve known better. Daisy was nothing if she wasn’t playing games.
With Daisy back in Red Maple Falls, he had no choice, he was going to have to get used to bumping into her. It’s not like it would be forever. It was only a matter of time before she took off again. Good riddance.
Done standing out in the damn cold, he grabbed the door and pulled it open, letting himself into the warmth of the tasting room.
His eyes were immediately drawn to Daisy, big smile on her face, blonde curls untamed, bouncing with each move she made.
He walked toward the bar. Daisy or not, he had a job to do, and there was no way in hell he was going to let her get in the way. He worked too damn hard to let her little games sidetrack his progress.
“Hey, Nick,” Cassie said, tossing a rag over her shoulder.
Daisy froze, the smile slowly deflating, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t find any satisfaction in that. She stared at him with those too blue eyes then plastered a smile back on her face, proving she was playing a role. She could stand there and pretend all she wanted, put on her little show, there was no way in hell he’d fall for that shit again. Besides, the brewery was his domain and he wasn’t going to let the likes of her make him feel uncomfortable. If anyone didn’t belong here it was her.
“Hey, Cass” he said as he approached the bar. He rested his briefcase on one of the open stools then met Daisy’s stare with indifference. “Daisy.”
“Nick,” she replied, her eyes locked with his.
He refused to be the first to break away and their acknowledgement of each other quickly turned into a battle of wills. Too bad for her this was a game he would win. Daisy’s eyes narrowed and contempt sharpened her features.
Cassie cleared her throat but Nick didn’t break contact. He was like a dog marking his territory, determined to stake his claim. Her brother might own this brewery but she was simply a guest here. Inside these doors Nick was in control.
His jaw ticked, all the built-up animosity from yesterday boiling to the surface.
“Um hello?” Cassie said and Daisy finally tore her gaze away.
He felt the slight joys of victory until Cassie held her arms out to Daisy like she was a gameshow model revealing a grand prize. “Nick, I’d like you to meet our newest bartender.”
Nick’s head snapped back to Daisy and she gave him an innocent wave. She actually waved at him. “Her?” Nick exclaimed not even bothering to hide the disdain in his voice.
A storm brewed in Daisy’s irises, blue turned to black as she regarded him with unadulterated loathing.
“You don’t even like beer,” he growled.
“That’s not true.”
Oh she was so full of it. He didn’t care how good her acting skills were, she couldn’t deny the past. “Really? Was it or was it not you who threw up in my truck after downing a six pack and then swore you’d never touch another beer a day in your life?”
“I was seventeen. Besides we’ve all said things in the moment that we didn’t mean.”
He let out a humorless laugh. “Like telling someone you want to spend the rest of your life with them.”
“Okay!” Cassie said before Daisy could respond. She moved between them, playing referee to two people who would not back down. “Nick, Daisy is part of the Five Leaf Brewery team now, which means you two are going to have to put your past behind you.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem for her,” he snapped.
“Screw you!” Daisy screeched.
He smirked. “I bet you’d like that.”
She pinned him with a look of death and if she could strike him down, he had no doubt that she would.
Cassie snapped her finger at him. “Stop.” A couple in the corner turned and looked.
It was the reality check that he needed to remind him that this wasn’t the time nor the place.
Cassie lowered her voice. “I don’t care if you two are at each other’s throats or tearing each other’s clothes off, but in this building when you’re working, you have to be professional.”
Nick glared at Daisy—he couldn’t help himself—and she met him with equal contempt. He was a professional damn it and he couldn’t allow a blonde haired, blue eyed girl from his past make him forget that. He worked too damn hard for this brewery. Mason trusted in him and he wasn’t about to do anything to jeopardize that so he tore his eyes away from Daisy and gave a quick nod to Cassie.
“Since we’re all adults here, I think we can handle that,” he said.
“Just because you carry a briefcase doesn’t make you an adult,” Daisy spat.
Nick went to snap back, but one look at Cassie’s determined face, he swallowed down the snarky remark.
“Daisy, you think you can hold the fort down while I go in the back with Nick and catch up on sales?” Cassie asked.
“I got this. Go,” she said with a smile that didn’t look forced and making her look adorable as hell. Damn it. Only Daisy Hayes could manage to look adorable after filling him with rage.
Cassie nodded toward the offices. “Yell if you need me,” she said to Daisy before meeting Nick at the end of the bar.
He took a deep breath, letting the anger from the last five minutes drain from his mind. There was no place for hostility in the brewery. He had a to-do list to tackle and he couldn’t do that if he felt the need to punch the nearest wall.
He followed Cassie to his office, and placed his briefcase on his desk. He closed his eyes, centering his thoughts and waited until he felt he could speak without seizing. “I met with George at Pump and Go,” he began “He said that the Hippity Hop is flying off the shelves, and he wants to bring in a few extra cases on his next order.”
Nick sat down, crossing his arms across his chest ready to continue, but Cassie shook her head. “Want to talk about what happened out there?”
He looked toward the door, the anger slowly starting to build again.
His muscles tightened as he remembered the heated exchange.
“Not particularly,” he said.
“Whatever is going on between you two, it can’t happen in front of our customers.”
His stomach knotted at the memory of those two customers turning their way. He had never been unprofessional a day in his life and then Daisy shows up and suddenly he’s acting like a five-year-old who can’t keep his comments to himself.
He ran a hand over his face. “I know that, and I’m sorry. She just gets under my skin.”
“Look,” Cassie said, “she’s Mason’s baby sister, but you’re a huge part of the success of this brewery—his actual baby. If it’s too much I can talk to him. Maybe we can come up with a schedule that’ll keep you two from bumping into each other.”
It wasn’t a bad idea, and it would save his sanity, but he’d been hiding from Daisy for so long, he couldn’t keep doing it. He needed to do as everyone had been telling him to do.. He had to put the past behind them even if that meant letting go completely.
Besides, he could imagine Daisy behind the bar chatting away with the customers and securing the venue a good rating. She had that natural charisma that drew people in and could turn anything into a fun conversation. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, Daisy would be a good addition to the brewery, and at the end of the day the brewery was all that mattered.
“That won’t be necessary.”
“Are you sure?”
He wasn’t, but he wasn’t going to inconvenience everyone because he couldn’t man up. “It’s fine.”
Cassie looked at him for a moment, as if she was waiting for him to change his mind. “Okay then.” She patted her knees and stood. “I’ll get Mason and we can talk sales.”
“Sounds good.”
Nick opened his briefcase, ready to throw himself into work when Cassie paused at the doorway.
“I know what it’s like to let your past have too much power over you. And speaking from experience, letting it hold you hostage won’t do you any favors. Sometimes it’s easier to let the ghosts down to rest. Something to think about.” She tapped the doorframe and disappeared.
A few minutes later, Daisy’s laugh floated down the hall and right into his office.
He knew Cassie meant well, but his ghost was just on the other side of the wall.
***
Despite her annoyance, Daisy kept glancing back to where Nick’s office was. She couldn’t help herself; it should be illegal to look that good in a pair of dark gray slacks and a light blue button up. She was slowly starting to get used to seeing him, but she wasn’t sure she’d ever get used to the new him. When she’d left he didn’t even own a pair of dress pants. He’d lived in cargo pants and mud stained jeans and she assumed he always would.
It was becoming blatantly obvious that while she touted on and on about being an adult, he actually was. He’d grown up and made something of himself while she was still floundering around, trying to make her dent in a scene that continued to eat her up and spit her out.
Maybe her determination was holding her back, tying her down to a dream that should have been nothing more than a passing phase. Being on stage, seeing her name in lights on Broadway, adored by fans, raved about by critics, it had been engrained in her mind for so long. It made her wonder if she really still wanted it or if she was too damn stubborn to admit defeat.
Six years was a long time to pursue something, but for Daisy six years was an eternity. Growing up, she’d never stuck to anything. She’d floated around, jumping from one fad to the next while her family supported every bright idea.
When she’d wanted to play the flute, her grandparents had gone out and bought her the nicest flute they could find. Two months later the silver instrument had been tossed to the back of her closet, never to be taken out of its case again. When she’d wanted a donkey because it was the cutest thing she had ever seen, her parents had gotten her Dylan. Then she’d abandoned him like she had everyone else. Then the gymnastics, karate, sailing, skiing and painting… All things she’d had to do or the world would’ve ended, but when they’d gotten too tough or turned out to not be what she’d hoped, she’d dropped them like a bad habit.
Acting, pursuing Broadway… that was the only thing she’d ever stuck with, the one thing she could wholeheartedly say that she’d done on her own. She couldn’t turn her back on it now or ever.
So what if she didn’t have a stack of Playbills to prove her worth? Or clippings of her name highlighted in reviews? She had the blood, sweat, and tears to prove she wasn’t exactly where she was six years ago. Six years ago, she would have given up, tail in between her legs, and come back home, but she hadn’t. If that wasn’t proof that she’d grown up then she didn’t know what was.
Nick might have grown up, but damn it, so had she. Sometimes she needed to step back and remind herself of how far she’d come.
But then there was that foolish kiss. He had every right to hate her after that. She had no idea what the hell she was thinking, obviously she wasn’t, but my God if it didn’t knock her on her ass.
Regardless of the way it ended, she could still feel the hard press of his lips against hers, the demanding swipes of his tongue, and the desperate way he’d held her. There hadn’t been many men since Nick, but they couldn’t even compare. They were all pathetic amateurs compared to the way he was able to light up her body.
She forced the memory away and turned her attention back on the two customers at the far end of the bar. They still had two out of the four tasting glasses to get through so she gave them space to finish. If her job as a waitress had taught her anything, it was be accessible and ready to help at a moment’s notice but don’t be overbearing. So she stood off to the side of the bar, reading over the tasting menu, trying to learn all the beers. This job was only temporary, but she wanted to be knowledgeable enough if someone asked her a question.
Plus, a part of her wanted Nick to know she could stand on her own two feet. Silly really, since what they had together was so long ago and she shouldn’t care. But she did and maybe a little too much.
“How’s it going?” Cassie asked, coming back behind the bar with a rack of clean glasses in her arms.
“Good,” Daisy said and put the menu down. “Here let me help you with that.”
“I got it,” Cassie said as she placed the rack down. Daisy didn’t know Cassie as well as her other siblings did, but she was aware of her need for independence. It’s the reason Mason waited so long to propose.
What Daisy did know was that Cassie got trapped in an abusive relationship, relying too much on a man who hurt her both physically and mentally. Now, she found it hard to rely on anyone, refusing help and preferring to do things on her own. Daisy could understand that. Not that she was ever in an abusive relationship, but she had fully relied on people for a good portion of her life. It was the reason why she needed Nick to know she was capable of taking on anything that was sent her way. She’d relied so heavily on him for so long and it gave her the need to prove herself. So while their cases were much different, incomparable really, Daisy understood Cassie’s motives and respected them.
Cassie grabbed two glasses and began placing them back where they belonged behind the bar. “So that was intense,” she said as she grabbed another pair.
Intense was the understatement of the decade.
Daisy shrugged as she grabbed a rag and began to wipe down an invisible spot on the bar. “I guess there’s a lot of resentment on both sides.”
Cassie stopped stacking glasses and folded her arms over her chest. She leaned against the bar and waited for Daisy to meet her gaze. “Not to overstep my boundaries, but aren’t you the one who left?”
There was no argument there just the harsh truth. “Touché,” Daisy said. “But as much as everyone wants to paint me as the bad guy, and maybe I am, Nick wasn’t perfect either. Or maybe he was and that’s where the problem was. He had everything figured out, you know? Everything. The only problem was he never cared to ask what I wanted.”
Cassie nodded with understanding. “He’s a planner.”
“Yeah and I’m not.”
“Forgive me if this is totally out of line, but do you still have feelings for him?” Cassie asked and Daisy had to physically keep herself from stumbling back at the words.
Daisy’s lips parted but the word clung to her throat. “No.” It was a battle to get the single word out but she finally managed. Once out there, even she didn’t fully believe it.
Being with Nick for so long, he’d been there for all the milestones of her life, a fixture in every memory, it wasn’t something she could just get over. She tried and even convinced herself that the space in her heart that had always been reserved for Nick was now vacant and ready for someone new to move in. But the truth was, that space would never be vacant. The ghost of their past would always linger there, and Nick, no matter how hard she tried to let him go, would always have that part of her.
“I’m only asking because you two will be working together,” Cassie said. “I don’t know how much Mason has filled you in on Nick’s role here at the brewery, but he’s pretty hands on. He does a lot of work outside of the brewery, but he does all his vetting and phone calls in house. Also when it gets super busy he’s been known to jump in behind the bar and help out. He’s an asset and a big part of what has been accomplished, and I don’t want to see that jeopardized.”
The respect for Nick was obvious in Cassie’s tone. He clearly had earned his place in not just the brewery but in Cassie’s good graces.
Daisy had known Nick worked for Mason, in her family not much was left unsaid, but she had no idea how big of a role he actually played. If she’d known that she might not have offered to fill in. She desperately needed the money though, and in a few weeks, when she saved enough, she’d be on the next train out and Nick could go back to his Daisy free world. Everyone could be happy again.
She looked at Cassie, needing her to believe the promise she was about to make. “It won’t be a problem. What happened earlier won’t happen again. I promise.”
Cassie’s shoulders visibly slumped in relief. “Okay good, because I’d really hate to fire my soon-to-be sister-in-law.”
Daisy laughed. “I’m glad you’d feel a little sad about it.” Daisy was afraid that what had transpired earlier, created an awful picture of her character. Cassie’s admission gave her a little peace of mind.
“Oh, I’d feel awful,” Cassie confessed. “But Mason would never do it, so I’d have to take one for the team if necessary.”
“It won’t be.”
While some people might be offended, it made Daisy like Cassie even more. Cassie didn’t treat her differently because she was baby Hayes, and for that alone Daisy couldn’t be more grateful. She was looking forward to spending more time with her soon to be sister-in-law and getting to know her even better. From what she could already tell, she was a perfect fit to the family.
“You and Mason make a great team. He’s lucky to have you.”
“He is lucky, isn’t he?” Cassie said, a slight smile playing at the edge of her mouth and to see Cassie accept the compliment—and, by the look in her eyes, honestly believe it—it was proof that Cassie was letting go of her past and seeing exactly what she was worth, and Daisy was happy she was here to be witness.