Hunter looked weirdly resistant while he focused on his beer. Before I could ask why, he finally nodded. “Sure, I’ll do it for you.”
I let out a happy squeal. “You’re the best!” I lowered my voice and added, “Next beer is on the house. Don’t tell anyone.”
“My ad guy will want to know who our primary customer target is,” Hunter said. “I can tell him we want to target anyone interested in gemstones, jewelry, and other stuff like that. Thinking out loud, we could even market to people who have recently deceased family members. Offering to have a diamond necklace made from a strand of grandma’s hair before she’s cremated.”
I made a face. “I didn’t think aboutdeadfamily members. I was picturing this being used for engagement rings and anniversary jewelry. Besides, it feels kind of predatory to target ads to people who are going through that.”
He winced. “Shit. Good point. I didn’t think about that. When my parents died, I got spammed by estate salesmen, mortgage refinancers, and a million other junk letters to that effect.”
“Me too.” I let out a bitter laugh. “It’s been over a month and I’m still getting ten letters a day. But I like the way you’re thinking. Maybe we could partner with funeral homes, who then offer it as a service for people who want a different way to memorialize their family.”
“A future expansion,” Hunter said. “Once we’ve got the market cornered on engagement rings.”
I smiled back at him. I liked the way he had been sayingwelately. It gave me more confidence in the business, and made me feel closer to Hunter than ever before.
“Erica, baby,” Ralph called a few barstools down. He tapped his glass against the bar. “I need another IPA.”
“The New England IPA, or the hazy?”
“Hazy,” he said with a sultry smile. “It has more head on it. You know how much I likehead.”
I turned away from him to draw his beer from the tap, which allowed me to roll my eyes without him seeing. Everyone who worked here was used to Ralph’s crap. He thought he was the most charming man in town, but in reality he was just an asshole.
But he was a harmless asshole, so I took it in stride like everyone else did.
“I don’t want a pint glass,” he complained while I drew his beer. “I want it in a tulip glass. One of the ones down on the bottom shelf.”
“We only use those glasses for the Scottish ale,” I replied over my shoulder, “and the sour.”
“Can you show me?” he insisted. “Go ahead and reach down and get one for me to look at.”
I realized what he meant. He wanted me to bend over to get the glass from the bottom shelf. This time I didn’t bother hiding it as I rolled my eyes. Ralph hacked a laugh at my reaction.
Two stools over, Hunter was watching me carefully. The look in his eyes held a question:are you okay?
I ignored him and handed Ralph his beer. “The onlytulipsyou’ll get to see are your wife’s,” I said.
“Hah!Two lips. That’s a good one. I’ll have to tell Lizzy that.” Ralph pulled a wadded five-dollar bill out of his pocket. “For you, honey.”
“Tip jar’s right there,” I pointed.
“That gets split up among all of y’all,” he replied. “I want to give this toyou.” He held it out.
All I wanted was to get Ralph off my case and go back to chatting with Hunter, so I reached out to take the five. As I did, Ralph’s other hand snatched my wrist. He bent down and kissed the back of my hand with lips that were cold and clammy.
I snatched my hand away, and then I did what most women in this position had to do: I laughed it off. Ralph was a regular. He spent a lot of money here. And he had a lot of friends.
I glanced over at Hunter. Fire was raging in his eyes, and he gripped his own beer so tightly his knuckles were turning red.
A flash of memory struck me: Hunter at the graduation party, running across the room and tackling Derek Offerman even though he was bigger than Hunter by every possible measurement. Hunter had the same look now as he had back then.
I gave him a warning look, then turned back to Ralph with a fake smile. “Do that again and I’m cutting you off, big guy.”
He spread his big hands on the bartop. “What’s the big deal? I’m just trying to be a nice guy. Don’t get your panties all in a twist.”
“Hey, pal,” Hunter said. “You’ve bothered her enough. Time to enjoy your beer.”
“Mind your business,” Ralph said without looking over. “Or I’ll mind it for you.”