Chapter 7

Levi

I took a sip of my coffee and leaned back in my chair, frustrated. The Black Mountain Brewery office was my oasis. At least, it was supposed to be. It occupied the two floors above the brewery, and the tangy smell of toasting hops perfumed the main floor offices and meeting rooms. The executive offices were on the top floor and were, for the most part, odor free.

Garrick and my dad and I each had a private space joined by a communal lounge.

I spent a lot of my time in the lounge. Its black leather couches and polished black marble floor made it feel like a volcanic cave. A couple of years ago we commissioned a local artist to paint a mural of the Cascade Mountains on the inside wall. Across from it, a wall of glass looked east toward the city, with Mount Saint Helens and Mount Hood in the distance. I met clients in my office but did my best work here, at the small glass desk propped in front of the window. Anytime I needed a break I could just look up and stare out at the craggy, snowy peaks. Just like I did now.

The sunlight gilded the young leaves of the maple trees below the window, and a gentle breeze urged them to stir and dance. The rippling leaves and fresh spring grass held the promise of a beautiful summer to come. But even this scene didn’t boost my mood.

I was distracted. My thoughts kept looping back from figures and spreadsheets to Val’s curvaceous wedding planner. With Dad and Garrick out at meetings all morning, by all rights, it should have been a productive, relaxing day. A quiet day. But one comment from Garrick this morning about how Frankie and Val had plans today was enough to steal my concentration.

I kept thinking about her lips, her long, silky hair and how it would feel wrapped around my fist. I didn’t understand it. I despised this woman—why couldn’t I get her out of my head?

I plunged back into work with a frustrated sigh and shoved Frankie far out of view.

Just as I was getting into a groove, I heard the elevator buzz up to the top level. Dad and Garrick’s boisterous conversation announced their arrival long before the doors slid open, and I turned my head to greet them as they walked into the lounge.

They stopped talking and smiled when they saw me.

“Hey bro,” said Garrick.

“How was the meeting?” I asked.

Garrick and Dad strode to the coffee pot and each poured a cup. Both added milk, and Dad stirred in some sugar, something he only did at work since he’d never get away with it in front of my mother.

“Boring,” Garrick replied, taking a tentative sip of his coffee. He sidled over to the far couch and sank down with a sigh. “You wouldn’t believe how eager the reps were to get our support. Apparently, nobody else will touch them. It’s a hard time for new music festivals at the moment.”

Dad followed and took the opposite side of the couch. He tossed his feet up on the glass coffee table and rested his cup on his round belly.

“No more talk of music festivals,” he declared. “I’m tired of being reminded how old and out of it I am.”

I chuckled. “You own a brewery. You’re about as in as they get.”

“Like you’d know,” Garrick said dryly.

I frowned. Dad and Garrick exchanged a cheeky, almost identical smile. It was easy to tell they were father and son. Their eyes always shone with humor, and now that Garrick was nearing thirty, his were beginning to crinkle in the same way. If my brother didn’t watch himself, he’d wind up looking exactly like my dad in thirty years—beer belly and all.

“Getting much done in here?” Dad asked.

I turned back to my computer and shrugged. “Could be worse.”

I thought they might go to their separate offices and leave me in peace, but that turned out to be wishful thinking. Dad and Garrick always talked fast and drank their coffee slow. I became childishly determined to wait them out. Their background chatter wasn’t that bad, anyway. I was used to tuning them out.

Only when they started talking about the wedding did it become impossible to do so.

“Where is Val today?” Dad asked. “Will she be stopping by?”

Val sometimes came by on Fridays to see Garrick, and anytime she did Dad liked to tease her about trying to steal our secrets.

“Probably not. She and Frankie are out doing a cake tasting.”

“And they didn’t invite me along?” Dad complained.

Garrick chuckled. “If your next slice of cake were at the wedding it would be too soon.”

“What kind are you thinking of getting?” Dad asked. “Give me something to look forward to.”

I stared hard at the mountains and tried to block out the conversation behind me. I did not succeed.

“Val wants red velvet, she thinks it’ll look good with all the pearl accents. I voted for fun-fetti, but she shot that down.”

Dad made a noise of contentment. “Your mother and I had vanilla with the most delicious buttercream icing I’ve ever tasted.”

“That’s funny that you say that, Val originally was leaning in the direction of something buttercream, but she saw a red velvet cake on Pinterest for a winter wedding and fell in love.”

I couldn’t take it anymore.

I whipped around and glared at them. “I am at work. In a brewery. If I can’t escape wedding talk here, where can I?”

Dad and Garrick were silent for a moment, then both burst into giggles.

“Come on, Levi, we’re just excited,” Dad said.

“I’m excited for Garrick too, but I manage to contain myself during the hours from nine to five.”

“Looking forward to the big day, are you?” Dad asked with a twinkle in his eye. “You bringing along a special lady?”

I rolled my eyes. “No.”

I turned my back to them to signal that the conversation was over.

Garrick lowered his voice just enough to make it sound like he was telling Dad a secret, but not enough to keep me from hearing it. “The only reason Levi isn’t bringing a date is that he’s got his eye on the wedding planner.”

I kept my eyes focused on my laptop screen, gritting my teeth. “I most certainly do not.”

My raised hackles were not enough to deter him. “Of course you do,” Garrick said. “You should have seen him last time we got drinks, Dad. He was smitten.”

“Smitten?” I snapped.

Okay, now I’d had enough. Garrick might not know it, but he was prodding a tender spot, and I was going to make damn sure he left well enough alone in the future.

“Let me make this clear,” I said, raising my voice but still not turning around. “The only thing I might feel for that girl is sorry for her. She couldn’t find anyone to marry herself so now she tricks luckier girls into thinking she likes them so she can lurk in the background of their wedding photos and dig a deep hole in their pockets. I wouldn’t take that girl out if I was the tide.”

Garrick and Dad made no reply. In fact, they’d gone so silent that I wondered if they’d left somewhere in the middle of my tirade. I thought I’d heard footsteps.

I turned around and my stomach clenched.

Val was standing just inside the room with her hands in fists at her sides. Beside her, Frankie clutched a cake box and stared at me like I was the most abominable person in the world. Hell, I felt like it.

I rose to my feet and picked up my laptop, heading straight past the two girls and to the fire stairs.

The worst part of the way Frankie looked at me wasn’t that she now hated me more than ever. I could have taken that in stride. No, the worst part was the raw hurt that darkened her eyes. Nothing I said or did in the past had visibly shaken her, and she always came back with fire and sass. This time I’d gone too far. All I’d wanted was to get Garrick off my back.

I took my laptop to the park near the brewery but didn’t get anything done. I considered going back to apologize no less than five times but always stopped myself before I did.

What did I care if I hurt her feelings? I meant what I said, so why should I have to apologize for it? It was better if she hated me. Then at least she might abandon all thoughts of trying to befriend me or establish some sort of camaraderie between us. If she hadn’t already. In the long run, this would be better for both of us.

After a couple hours of staring down at my computer my neck started to ache, and I figured it was safe to go back to the office.

It was quiet inside when I came back. My dad and Garrick were still sitting in the lounge, but they went silent as I left the elevator and darted into my office. Neither of them said a word to me. I doubt any of us knew what there was to say.