BY THE NEXT MORNING, Gemma wasn’t feeling any better about the uneasy truce Tom had formed with her brothers. She hadn’t heard from Reid or Quin since they’d parted ways after brunch the day before. That was strange, because they were normally in constant contact.
She sighed as she walked into Reid’s office for their weekly Monday morning meeting. Quin and Reid were already there. The air was ripe with tension. And she knew it was because of her. “What’s on the agenda today?” she asked, knowing full well what they were going to discuss.
“Are we okay?” Reid asked.
“Yeah,” Gemma said.
“Where’s Tom?”
“He went back to New York this morning.”
Quin scoffed. “Reid, I know you aren’t really interested in what Tom is doing. Neither am I. So, let’s just focus on business, without any of the personal stuff getting in the way.”
“Up until now, the distillery was personal,” Gemma pointed out. “But I’d like to carry on like we always have, and just get down to work.”
“Even though you’re sleeping with our biggest competitor.”
“I’m completely over this conversation. Can we just move on?”
“Yeah, I’d like that, but we still need to talk about our goal of moving into the Northeast, and directly competing with Cain Rum.” He looked at her with a frown. “Still think you can keep the personal separate form the business?”
Gemma knew it was coming. It was a plan that they had discussed before she and Tom had become more serious than a casual weekend hookup. Although they’d been racking up the frequent flier miles to see each other, they had never actually been casual. “Absolutely.”
“How well do you think you’ll be able to separate yourself when it comes to taking down your boyfriend’s family business?”
“I’m going to keep making rum. What you guys want to do with it is up to you.”
“We used to make these decisions together,” Quin reminded her.
“I want to do what’s best for the distillery,” she told them.
“Then can I ask you to dump Tom Cain?” Reid asked with a smirk.
She said nothing. She knew that this wasn’t going to go away. For the rest of her relationship with Tom, however long that was, she would have to keep him separate from the other parts of life—her work, her family.
Quin closed his laptop. “Gemma, can I ask you a question?”
“You’re probably going to ask it anyway.”
“Probably. You said that you’re in love with Cain?”
Gemma didn’t hesitate. She wasn’t eager to admit to her brothers just how deeply she was in. “I am.” She shook her head. “I didn’t mean for it to happen. We were just hooking up. I thought it would be like every other guy. But he wasn’t. I didn’t mean to catch feelings.”
Quin nodded, as if he understood where she was coming from. “Happens to the best of us, and we don’t even see it coming.” He nodded at Reid, who was stoic.
“You’ve got that right,” she agreed. “At first it was just about letting off a little steam. It had been such a heavy year for me, and I wanted to forget about all of the pressure for a few minutes.”
“A few minutes, huh?” Reid said with a derisive chuckle, rolling his eyes. Of course, he would take the opportunity to take a dig at Tom.
Gemma whipped her pen at him. “I would have said a couple of hours, but I didn’t think you wanted to hear that. Then when he showed up here one weekend, I thought I could shake him. But I couldn’t. It just kept happening.” She turned to Reid. “You probably think it’s stupid.”
He sighed. “No, Gem, it’s not stupid. Lila turned my life completely upside down. And I know I’d risk everything to be with her. And look at Quin.”
“I scuttled a deal that was worth millions because of Celia.”
“Your situation is different,” Reid said. “But we both understand what it’s like to have someone you can’t live without. But I won’t pretend to like that you found that with Tom Cain. I’m worried that you’re literally sleeping with the enemy, and it could put us in danger.”
“And I can understand that. We both know what’s business. And what’s personal.”
“Do you think you can keep your personal life separate from the distillery?”
“Yes. It’s about family and making sure this business is as successful as we can make it and setting it up for the next generation. Even though that’s far in the future, right?”
She looked over at Quin and saw that he had a small smile on his face. “What’s that look for?”
“What look?”
Gemma was grateful that the attention was shifted from her to her brother. Gemma quickly looked at Reid, who had also noticed their brother’s change in demeanor.
“What’s going on?” Reid asked.
“You can’t tell anyone,” he started, a smile growing on his face. “But Celia’s pregnant.”
“Holy crap!” Gemma exclaimed. “That’s amazing.”
“Congratulations, man!” Reid said.
“Thanks. We were going to wait until dinner with Dad before he goes back out west to tell everyone. But you guys pulled it out of me.”
Gemma couldn’t believe it. She was going to be an aunt. It dawned on her as Reid and Quin discussed the pregnancy. “Let’s do it,” she said, interrupting them. “I want what’s best for the distillery. Let’s move into the northeast.”
“What about Tom?”
“It’s about family now. You guys are right. We need to set ourselves up for future success.” She had to talk to Tom, but she knew she couldn’t discuss anything distillery-related with him. But with her business directly targeting his, how was their relationship going to work?
She put all of that out of her mind. At least for the moment, she wanted to focus on her work. “Why don’t you guys come downstairs? I’ve got some bottles that might be good to launch for the summer line.”
“Yeah, let’s go down.”
They left Reid’s office, and even though she felt better about her relationship with her brothers—and she claimed to be able to keep those parts of her life separate—it could have grave ramifications with Tom. That niggling of apprehension still gnawed at her gut. She’d made the right decision for her family, but it wasn’t sitting right with her.
“So, what do you have for us?”
“Well—” Gemma drew out the word “—it’s definitely light. And it’s been infused but not fully flavored with tropical fruits. Pineapple, mango, strawberry. But it isn’t overpowering and would be good in a cocktail, with soda, and also on its own.”
“Sounds promising. How is it?”
“I haven’t tried it yet. I was waiting for you guys.”
“You haven’t mentioned it,” Reid said.
“I was mad at you, remember?”
“I didn’t know you were working with flavors like that,” Quin said. “It’s not our usual profile.”
“That’s why I made it. I wanted to try something different. I didn’t know how it would work out, and I didn’t want it to get out. It’s something I’ve been developing for a while now. With the popularity of hard seltzer, this could pair well with soda water. I thought if it was good, it might be a good addition to our product line.”
“What other surprises do you have down here?” Reid asked her as they entered the distillery.
She winked. “Not many. A girl has to have a few secrets, doesn’t she?” Gemma was always excited when she had something new to show them, and this was no different.
They walked into her office and she bypassed the drum that contained the rum she’d made with Tom and went for the bottle on the end of the shelf in her office. She opened the bottle and poured the rum into three small tasting glasses. Even though it wasn’t a fully flavored rum, but rather just infused with a light flavor, she could still smell the tropical notes. She already knew it was going to be a hit. She handed the glasses to each of them.
“To the family,” Reid said, holding his glass up, toasting to their name and the distillery as they did whenever they tested a new batch. Gemma and Quin echoed his words, and they all drank at the same time.
The rum was light and crisp, with a hint of tropical fruit. She was glad that she’d followed her gut on an infused rum. They quick-distilled their mainstream offerings, and she knew that she could have enough made and bottled for their launch in the spring. She watched her brothers eagerly as they tasted the rum.
Quin spoke first. “Gemma,” he said, and his voice held an awe that embarrassed her a little. “That’s incredible.”
“Yeah,” Reid concurred. “On its own, with juice or with seltzer, it’ll be incredible.”
They all drank in silence, savoring the new rum. When Gemma saw Reid’s eyes catch on the barrel in the corner that held her and Tom’s rum, she knew what was coming. Her brothers normally left the distillery floor to her. But they both still had a keen eye on what happened. Reid pointed to the small barrel. “What is that?” he asked. “Another infusion? Something new?”
“Yeah, kind of,” she said, hoping they’d drop it and focus on what she was putting in front of them. They’d just come to an understanding about Tom, and she was reluctant to bring him up again. Gemma thought about lying, but she had nothing to hide. Even if her brothers didn’t like him, she was in love with Tom and was proud of their relationship. Reid and Quin would just have to get used to it. She straightened. “That’s the batch that Tom and I made.”
His eyes narrowed. “Wait, what do you mean? You and Tom made a batch?”
“I knew you would hate this. I didn’t want to tell you,” she muttered. “He was at my place a few weeks ago, and I had that emergency with the tank. I had to come in and fix it. It was a Friday night and I didn’t want to call in any of the crew, so he came with me and helped save a huge batch. We ended up making some ourselves.”
“You let him into the distillery?” Reid asked, angry again. “Jesus, Gemma, how could you be so stupid as to let him in here?”
Her mouth dropped in a mix of anger and surprise. “Stupid?”
“What would you call it?” he challenged. “You’re sleeping with this guy. Our families have been at odds for years, and this is what you do? You invite him into our distillery? What about family loyalty?”
“Fuck you, Reid. I thought we were past this. What I do is none of your business.”
“Cain Rum almost ruined us once. How could you have forgotten about that? And you invited him in here after hours?”
Here we go again. “I haven’t forgotten what Carolina did—not for a second. But that has nothing to do with Tom.” When Reid rolled his eyes, she slammed her fist down on her desk in frustration. She would never get through to them. Quin casually stepped between her and her oldest brother.
“He stole our recipes,” Reid maintained.
“He did not!” She sighed and walked to her desk. She opened the top drawer and took out the flash drive that Tom had given her—the one that contained the recipes Carolina had stolen. She tossed it to Reid, and he caught it in one hand.
“What is this?” he asked.
“It’s the recipes that Carolina stole. The same ones that Tom paid his distillery workers to hand over and forget about.” That shut him up, but she was still angry. “I’m done with this conversation. What I do in my personal life is none of your business.”
“It’s my business when it comes to protecting the distillery and this family.” His voice was softer.
“Reid, you don’t need to protect me.”
“He could have taken anything,” Reid said. “Or seen anything, sabotaged something. We have sensitive equipment here that a lot of people want to get their hands on.” He wasn’t letting go of it, but he seemed tired of fighting. But not as tired of it as Gemma was.
Gemma didn’t want to admit to Reid that he was right. Something like that could have happened. But not with Tom. She trusted him. Didn’t she? She thought back to his questions that he’d had about their future plans. She thought about him studying her equipment, but she shook it away. “He wouldn’t do any of that.”
“How do you know that?”
“Because I know him.”
“How well?”
Gemma had given Tom her heart. Her body. Her love. She trusted him with those things. But she eyed the glass of rum in her hand. Could she trust him with her family?
“Why did you choose him?” Quin asked. “Just tell us that.”
“The truth? I didn’t choose him. Did you choose Celia?” She pointed at Reid. “Did you choose Lila?” She stopped. “Wait. Is that what this is about? Do you think I’m choosing him over you guys?” Neither of her brothers looked at her, telling her that she might be right. She felt kind of sad for them. “Guys, I’m choosing to be happy. And Tom, whether he’s a Cain or not, makes me happy. It doesn’t have to be so black-and-white.”
“It’s not just black-and-white,” Quin said. “It’s what’s realistic. Where is your future going? He’s poised to take over Cain. Do you think he’s just going to drop everything and move down here to be with you?”
Hearing it out loud made her heart pound. Reid had echoed her own concerns. “I don’t know. I haven’t thought about it,” she lied. “We haven’t talked about it yet.”
“I mean, if you’re not looking for a future with him, if it’s casual and that’s all right with you, then fine. We just don’t want you to be hurt.”
She wouldn’t let on that their words hurt like knives driving into her heart. They were right, of course. But she straightened, looking firm and resolute for her brothers so they wouldn’t know she was crumbling inside. She needed to have a serious conversation with Tom—as soon as possible. “I won’t get hurt, Reid. I’m a grown woman. And I can look after myself.”
Reid nodded. “Okay. You know I trust you, Gem. And I’m sorry for freaking out a little there.”
“A little?”
“Okay, a lot. Lila’s already mad enough at me for butting into your life. I’m trying to ignore the part of me that wants to protect you.”
“You’re allowed to want to protect me. But you have to let me make my own decisions.”
“I will. I’m sorry. I’ll trust you when it comes to this. But please be careful. If you won’t listen to me about your relationship—”
“I won’t.”
“I know, but please listen to me about protecting the distillery. I know how it feels to be betrayed and sold out by someone I loved.”
She nodded and understood where Reid was coming from. Carolina had blindsided him—all of them—when she’d done what she did. “I’m sorry she did that to you. But it won’t happen this time.”
“Okay, I trust you,” he said, wrapping his arms around her, drawing her into a strong hug. “I’m sorry,” he said again.
“I’m sorry, too. I should have been honest,” she told him, and then hugged Quin. She loved her brothers. They’d had conversations about Tom before. But now she felt like they all understood each other and were on the same page.
Now she had to make sure she and Tom were, as well.