24

Alistair

“Go out with me,”I said to Liliana on the phone.

“Alistair, we’ve discussed this,” she answered, her voice shaking a little.

“Hear me out, Liliana. Killer Luck Brewery. They do a booming business and serve food in their taproom. I figure we can go and check it out. For business reasons, of course.”

“Business reasons,” Liliana said, her voice skeptical. “Well, let me see when Charity or Bethany can fit it into their schedules and—”

“That’s not going to work for me.”

“Why not?” Liliana cleared her throat. “Wouldn’t you want the team there to soak up the atmosphere and take notes? Offer suggestions?”

“Not really.” I knew my ploy risked being transparent, and I didn’t care. “I think you’re perfectly capable of handing it without help. And your input is really all I’m interested in.”

“The more people helping, the better. Let me check with them,” she said, sounding almost as if she was pleading.

“I’d like this meeting to be just us. I want to experience the place as a regular customer would. Not an agency analyzing every last detail. Know what I mean?” I held my breath and waited for her to answer.

“As old friends,” I added, when she didn’t reply.

She sighed and finally said, “Fine. But it’s a business meeting, even if it’s at night at a brewery, Alistair.”

“Of course. I’ll pick you up so we can talk more in the car.”

She started to protest, but I turned on my ‘boss’ voice and said, “I just need your address, and I’ll be there tomorrow at five sharp.”

She caught the change in my tone—that of a client to the account manager working for his company—and gave me the address.

Maybe she thought I really did mean it to be all business after that. As long as she came, I didn’t care.

I just needed some time with her, just the two of us, so I could convince her to give us another try.

So I could remind her how right we were together.

The next day, I pulled up to Liliana’s place at five till. I was going to knock on her door, but she must have been watching for me. She came outside as soon as I pulled up.

My breath caught in my throat.

She looked gorgeous in dark skinny jeans that hugged every curve and a loose sweater that hung casually off one shoulder. I drank in the sight of her as she slid into my car, catching a whiff of her flowery perfume.

"Thanks for indulging me on this research outing," I said, flashing her a grin. "I think you'll really like this place, Killer Luck Brewery. Super hip vibe with amazing beers."

Liliana gave me a wry look. "Well, it is technically work related. And beneficial to check out the competition." But her lips twitched into a hint of a smile that gave me hope.

“Hands-on experience is best. And two heads are better than one.” I was a filthy liar.

Sure, I thought it was a good idea to see how some other owners ran their business. But it was really just an excuse to spend time with Liliana. If she didn’t already know that, she would soon enough.

At the brewery, I led Liliana inside the bustling taproom.

The space was crowded, forcing us to squeeze through crowds of drinkers to get to the bar. I’d picked the right one to research given how many people were there.

Maybe serving more food was a good idea after all. We walked around the place, then ended up back in the taproom.

We managed to order beers, although the noise made it hard to hear each other. I leaned down close to Liliana's ear to ask if she wanted food too.

She looked over the menu and ordered a few things.

A big group moved past us, and Liliana stepped back to get out of the way. She stumbled and caught herself against my chest. I steadied her with my hands on her hips.

"You okay?" I asked, wrapping my arm around her waist and turning her away from the crowd.

Even though she’d regained her balance, I didn’t let go.

She nodded, cheeks flushing. "Yeah, sorry. It's just so packed in here!"

Liliana held on to me, even though she wasn’t in any danger of getting knocked around between me and the bar.

I felt another group of people passing behind me, so I took a step forward, pressing my body against hers.

“Just letting the group pass,” I said, nodding my head toward the crowd when she looked up at me with a startled expression.

I smiled down at her, grateful that the place was a little crowded.

And in that moment, I felt it. She clung to me in the same way I did to her. I knew there was a chance because she still obviously felt something for me too.

We stood there for a while until our beers were served and moved toward the tables.

We managed to find a small high-top table in the corner to claim. I hopped up on the tall stool, aware of Liliana's knees between mine as she situated herself.

"So what do you think so far?" I asked. “Living up to the hype?"

Liliana took a thoughtful sip of her beer. "It's really nice. Trendy space, quality beers. Definitely some tough competition."

"But no one can beat Hard Rock," I said with a wink.

Liliana laughed. "Obviously I'm partial, but yes your brewery has its own unique charm and personality." Her eyes softened. "You and Benedict have really built something special there."

"And we’re excited to see where it goes with your brilliant marketing plans," I said sincerely.

The loud music and energetic crowd seemed to fade away as we lost ourselves in conversation. Liliana's knees remained between mine, our faces close together.

Just then the server arrived with our order of food Liliana had ordered for us. She flushed when she saw the heaping pile of appetizers.

"Sorry, I think I got carried away ordering," she said with an embarrassed laugh. "When I'm anxious I tend to overdo it on the food."

"I think it's adorable," I said sincerely. "Besides, it’s great for research. And I'm very happy to help you eat all this.”

Liliana rolled her eyes and laughed. "I'm sure Austin would not be thrilled if he saw me stress-eating like this. He doesn’t say it, but I know he must be thinking I don’t need any more junk in my trunk."

She glanced up at me as she noticed my beer glass stop halfway to my mouth. I put my glass back down and stared at her, frowning.

Her smile faded. “Alistair, I didn’t mean that you stress me out. It’s just that your brewery account is really important to me. I want to do a good job.”

I didn’t know she was stressed over our account, but that’s not what bothered me.

"Austin’s a fucking idiot,” I said, not meaning to sound as angry as it came out.

Liliana’s mouth dropped open, and her cheeks turned pink.

She busied herself arranging the plates between us.

"You're too much sometimes, you know that?" But she smiled and shook her head in amusement. I decided to press my luck.

"You didn’t really answer my question when I asked you if you loved him, so I know you don’t,” I said, taking a sip of my beer.

She gave me an exasperated look.

“Does he make you happy at least?” I asked.

A thoughtful look spread across her pretty face.

"Um, yeah.” She nodded, frowning like she was trying to convince herself more than me. “He's great, really. He’s sweet and very caring."

He didn’t make her happy either.

Shetold me everything I needed to know.

Liliana started talking about the food Killer Luck was serving, the things Benedict and I could adapt for Hard Rock that seemed to be working well for them, the ROI on various types of promotions.

She was all business even though she kept glancing up through her lashes at me. And I hadn’t missed the way her cheeks pinked up right before she pushed away from me earlier.

I let her do her job, and when she didn’t have anything business-like left to say, I put my hand over hers.

I didn’t want to waste any more time than the years we’d already been apart.

“I’ve wished so many times that I’d called you after you went to New York,” I said. “If I had it to do over again, I would.”

Liliana shook her head. “You wouldn’t, Alistair. Not when Julian needed you. And we can’t do it over again anyway. That’s the thing.” She put her other hand over mine and squeezed. “I should have called when Dave passed. I—”

“You sent a card. That let us know you were thinking of him, and us.”

“No, it wasn’t enough. But I was so afraid . . .” She looked down and blinked fast.

“Afraid of what, baby?”

“Don’t, Alistair.” Her watery gaze met mine. “Don’t call me that. We’re not—we’re not doing that. I told you. I have a boyfriend. You’re my client. I’m not going to break up with Austin, and you’re not going to fire me.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way,” I said. “Wecanhave more than a business relationship. Don’t you want that?”

She pulled her hands away and leaned back.

“It doesn’t matter what we want, Alistair. Too much has already happened. Julian asked me to marry him, for God’s sake. What happened between you and me later, that should never have happened.”

I often felt the stirrings of guilt about that too. But Julian and I had mostly mended our relationship. At least, we’d been on speaking terms for a while. And it wasn’t like he was still pining for Liliana.

I didn’t feel like what happened between us was that big of a deal anymore, but apparently Liliana still did.

“Julian’s okay, Liliana. He still thinks fondly of you, but he’s not hung up on you anymore. Andhecheated onyou, remember? Nothing happened between us when you were still together,” I pointed out.

“I know that,” she said sharply. “But jumping from one brother to another—”

“You didn’t. You know it wasn’t like that.” I leaned closer. “If anything, I think you jumped from me to him when you saw my wedding ring. God, I wish I’d explained that.”

She looked stunned that I’d brought that up, so I waited before saying anything else. I felt like I was in danger of pushing too hard, and I didn’t want to run her off for good.

To my surprise, she nodded. “You know, you’re right. When I gave you my number, I wanted you to call about something that had nothing to do with the car doors slamming together. Until I saw the ring. But Alistair, that’s all in the past.”

“It doesn’t have to be,” I whispered. “Haven’t you thought about me over the years? Did you think about me when you were in New York?”

Her beautiful blue eyes stared into mine as she said, “Yes. I thought about you constantly. And yet here we are. You’re still Julian’s brother. You’re still my client. And I’m dating Austin.”

“I was a fool to let you go, Liliana. I won’t make that mistake again.”

“Alistair, it took me a long time to get past everything and move on. From you. From Julian. I don’t want to go back to the past. We need to face it. You and I were just never meant to be.”

It felt like someone took a battering ram to my chest.

I didn’t think about how hard it might have been for Liliana after she’d left. I always imagined that she moved on happily with her new life.

She sniffed, and I realized how emotional she suddenly was.

Liliana put her hand over mine this time. I used my thumb to brush a tear from her cheek as she said, “Our timing has just always been horrible. Haven’t you ever noticed that? We’re like some kind of star-crossed lovers, never quite getting to the same place at the same time.”

I did notice it, but I also noticed how we always found our back way to each other.

I shook my head. “I don’t believe that.”

“Julian happened to show up right when I saw your ring. And I move away after… after that night. Now you show up again, and I have a boyfriend.”

“I don’t believe in fate, Liliana. I think we choose what we want and who we want to be with,” I replied softly. “But if you do believe in fate, let’s talk about the times it brought us together too. Haven’t you thought about how we met? We happened to park next to each other and get out at the same time. How about the time I had a date at the same restaurant you were at? And how we ran into each other again the day before you moved. And we’re here now… together.”

Liliana stared at me, processing all the times that we saw each other.

She bit her lower lip, brows drawn together like she was torn on what to believe.

“It still doesn’t change our circumstances, Alistair.” Liliana sighed, eyes downcast. “I think we should just be friends.”

Just friends? I shook my head, trying not to look wounded.

"I don’t want to be your friend,” I replied bluntly.

Liliana shifted in her seat, conflict plain on her lovely face. "Alistair..."

A server came to our table then, but Liliana shook her head and said she was ready to leave.

She was quiet in the car, and I didn’t feel like pushing the issue was going to help while she was still upset.

But I thought I’d see if I could get her to invite me in when I dropped her off so we could talk more in private. I wanted to get to the bottom of thisnot meant to benonsense and convince her otherwise.

A car I didn’t recognize sat in the driveway. Obviously, her boyfriend was there waiting for her.

I’m still not giving up on you, baby.

She thought we’d been star-crossed lovers, and maybe we were. But that didn’t mean things couldn’t change.

When I pulled up behind the car, a man got out. The Austin she’d spoken about. Before I could say anything, Liliana got out and headed toward him after a quick goodbye.

I watched them walk in together, his arm around her waist. He glanced back at me, recognizing me seconds after I recognized him.

I couldn’t believe my eyes. Of all people, she was dating that asshole.

I hadn’t given up on having Liliana in my arms again. But I knew that even if she never looked at me again, there was no way that bastard was ever going to win her heart.

Not if I had anything to say about it.

The restaurant wasn’t too packed for a Saturday, which was a relief. I spotted Julian as soon as I walked in, so I brushed past the hostess and sat down. Julian and I did the usual catch-ups and chatted about the sales he’d made over the last few weeks. He asked about Benedict and the brewery, and I told him about the ad agency.

I didn’t mention Liliana. I didn’t think he knew she was back in Everbrook. If he did, he hadn’t mentioned her, and I didn’t want to be the one to bring it up.

Shortly after our food came, Julian handed me his phone. A pretty woman with a bright smile and incredible green eyes was on the screen.

“Felicity,” he said. “We met at the dealership. I asked her out, and after a few dates, we realized we had something special.”

“Felicity,” I repeated. “She’s gorgeous.”

“Isn’t she?” he said, beaming.

It was nice to see him so happy about it, but only a few dates . . . Julian tended to fall fast and hard, a lesson we learned from him being with Liliana. He gushed about Felicity, telling me so much I almost felt like I knew her.

Felicity apparently had some issues with alcohol too, but she’d been sober for years. I was a little concerned, but I did my best to be a supportive big brother and offer as much encouragement as I could.

“But remember, you’ve got plenty of time. Time to go slow.”

“I know, I know,” he said, waving his fork at me.

The reason for my warning, his relationship with Liliana, was behind his eyes, but he didn’t bring her up. He had occasionally mentioned her since she went to New York, but it was usually in relation to our grandfathers or something casual.

After he gushed about Felicity some more, I almost told him that Liliana was back, to warn him if nothing else. Something stopped me.

Maybe the fact that she was his ex, and I didn’t know how he’d react if he ever found out we’d spent the night together.

Or that I was determined to have her again.