“You just fell into it?”
“Yes.” She’d fallen into it, all right. Helped by the steady push of her husband’s hand. She tried not to sigh. “But it’s a subject I love. My parents were investors and entrepreneurs. There’s a lot of specialized knowledge that goes into the business side of food service. Stuff a restaurateur wouldn’t necessarily know. I like helping with that.”
He stared intently at her. “Yeah?”
“It’s a tough field. Starting a restaurant is risky and stressful and time-consuming. I like the idea of helping people with it.” In fact, she’d meant to become a consultant, not a teacher. She opened her mouth to say that, but then let the words fade away, unable to form them in a way that didn’t sound pitiful. She’d fallen in love with Victor. He’d wanted her time and energy invested in his career. And so that’s what she’d done. She’d taken a low-paying job at the university, because his career was important. Of course it was. Who could’ve argued with that?
Jamie stared at her, his eyes narrowed as if he were trying to puzzle something out. Olivia wanted to shrink down and protest that she’d done what she’d thought best at the time. Yes, she’d been an idiotic twenty-three-year-old, marrying a man who’d played her perfectly, but she’d meant well. He’d been recently tenured, after all. He’d had a career to build.
“It’s not a bad job,” she said quietly.
“I have an idea.” He didn’t sound disapproving. He sounded…excited?
Olivia had trouble adjusting to this unexpected turn. “What kind of idea?”
“Maybe we could help each other.”
She cocked her head in question.
“You want to learn how to have fun…?.”
“Yes…?”
He smiled, but it didn’t hold quite his normal level of confidence. “And I want to learn how to turn the tasting room into a real brewpub.”
His plan wasn’t exactly a shock. She’d assumed he was heading in that direction. But it was a shock to hear him present their problems as an equal exchange. Was he proposing that she work for him in exchange for sex?
“Jamie, I…I don’t know.”
“What do we have to lose?”
“If I’m going to be working with your family, I’m not sure it would be appropriate to—”
“You won’t be working with my family. My family doesn’t know anything about this.”
“I don’t understand,” she murmured, reaching for her glass, grateful he’d refilled it.
Jamie leaned back and held his own glass loosely between his fingers, turning it as he stared down at the tilting liquid. “My brother doesn’t have a lot of confidence in me. Hell, nobody does. I guess I’ve brought that on myself. Let’s just say there’ve been some instances of questionable judgement.”
“With the business?”
“No, not exactly. Years ago, I sowed my oats fairly widely. And once you’ve cast yourself in the role of black sheep, it’s hard to shake it off.”
“Were there drugs involved? Anything illegal?”
“No, nothing like that. It’s just that…my brother and I are nothing alike. He’s a paragon of responsibility. I could never compete with that, so I didn’t bother trying.” He shrugged. “It’s complicated. But in the end, it comes down to this. We’re equal partners in the brewery, so whatever I propose, I’ll have to convince both my sister and my brother that it’s a good idea. So I need help. All the help I can get.”
“Well, of course I’d be happy to help. But I don’t need you to—”
“No, that’s not true. You need help, too. And I happen to be a lot of good at fun. I cut my teeth on it.”
Her face was so hot it prickled as if she’d just fallen into a field of stinging nettle. “But sex? I can’t just—”
“I didn’t say anything about sex.”
Oh, Jesus. She pressed a cool hand to her cheek. “I don’t understand.”
“I mean fun. Staying up later than ten, for instance.”