45

Alistair

“You sure don’t waste any time, do you?”

The sudden question startled me. I was knelt behind the bar installing a keg, but I stood to see Julian leaning on his hands against the other side.

“What?” I asked, confused.

But with a growing dread at the look in his eyes and the defensive way he stood.

“Is it true?” he asked. “About you and Liliana? Because if it is, you didn’t fucking tell me.”

I didn’t know what he’d heard or what he’d guessed, but I figured I’d bide myself at least a little more time.

“What about me and Liliana?” I asked.

“Don’t fuck with me, Alistair. Are you and Liliana together?” He glared at me, one eye narrower than the other.

There didn’t seem to be much point in denying it at that point. I didn’t want to have the conversation the day before the tasting, but it seemed like I didn’t have a choice.

“Liliana and I are together, Julian, yes. But you should know that—”

“Motherfucker!” he said, causing Benedict to glance over at us. “I should have known. So were you fucking her when we were together? Or did she just hop into your bed the minute we broke up?”

“Julian, it’s not like that. We weren’t together when you were dating her. But since she came back, we’ve gotten closer, and things just happened.”

I left out how we’d spent the night together before she left for New York. And I also left out how I’d been pursuing her like mad since she came back.

One step at a time.

Julian cursed and paced in a tight circle basically telling me what a terrible brother and human being I was. His rant was loud and long enough that everyone started paying attention.

Julian became aware of that and finally just called me a rotten son of a bitch before he stormed out, almost in tears he was so furious.

Perfect. Just what I needed the day before a business deal that could really put Hard Rock on the map.

I pulled out my phone to call Liliana and saw that she’d left a message. I didn’t listen but called her anyway.

“Did you talk to Julian?” she asked. “He’s so upset.”

“What the hell did you say to him?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended.

“Nothing. He asked if there wasn’t something going on between us . . .”

I heard her clear her throat as she sounded like she was fighting tears.

“I didn’t say anything, but he knew, Alistair. I think he could see it—”

“Damn it, Liliana. You couldn’t hide it for another day?” The words were out before I could stop them.

“Alistair, that’s not fair. I tried. I didn’t want to hurt him, so I was going to find a way to deny it, but he suddenly knew.” She sniffed. “I wasn’t prepared to tell him yet either.”

“I just don’t understand how you couldn’t hide it. Just another day, Liliana,” I raked my fingers through my hair. “Now I’ve got to worry about him going off and doing something stupid and self-destructive.”

“That’s not my fault!” she said. And I knew it wasn’t, but the frustration had gotten the better of me. “I’m not going to be held responsible if—”

“Of course not. I didn’t mean that you would be. I’m just—”

“That’s not how it sounded. Alistair,” she said angrily.

I blew out a breath. “Sorry. Liliana, I can’t talk right now. I’ve got to find Julian and calm him down.”

“Alistair, I—”

I hung up and dialed Julian. I had to get a hold of him and calm him down before he ruined all his progress by going off the deep end.

Voice mail.

Great. Not only did I have to worry about Julian making a terrible mistake while he was upset, but Liliana had been pissed off too.

All on the day before the Avalon Spirits and Hard Rock tasting.

What else could go wrong?