I tug on my arm, but he doesn’t let go. If anything, he steps toward me, and I can feel the warmth of his body along my outstretched arm. “Look at me,” he demands.
I turn my head and lift my eyes to his but remain silent.
His grip tightens, but it doesn’t hurt. I’m too surprised by the look in his eye. “I don’t want any strange men here.”
I shake my head, not understanding. “Strange men?”
He grits his teeth. “Any men. You’re here to do a job.”
Oh God, I have no clue what he’s thinking. Wait, he’s obviously not thinking. “The only friend over is Carlotta, and your grandmother loves to have her visit.”
He lets out a breath and finally releases me. “Okay.”
Okay? That’s it? What is even happening here? Is he afraid I’m going to bring someone in to steal the family’s whiskey recipe secrets or what? I search his eyes, trying to read what he’s thinking, but now he’s looking back at me with a guarded look on his face. “I would never bring anyone questionable around G... or any of you, for that matter.”
He shakes his head. “It’s not that... forget it. Forget I said anything. Thank you for taking care of my grandmother and for playing along when she insists on dancing to that music.”
My mouth falls open. “You knew?”
He’s still holding on to my arm, and his thumb is running in circles around my wrist. “Did I know that my grandmother’s favorite music was rap? Yes, I did. I’ve danced to it with her way more times than I care to admit.”
I smile at him as he smiles at me. For once, it feels like we’re on the same side and sharing a secret together. It would be so easy to lean into him and ask him to tell me more, but I refuse to embarrass myself more than I already have today. I gently pull my arm from his hold. “Have a good day at work.”
Before he can answer, I’m walking out of the kitchen and putting much-needed distance between Lucas and me. It’s something I need to do before my mind starts going crazy and thinking that maybe, just maybe, there could be something between Lucas Blaze and me.
Lucas
I can’t get this morning out of my head. As soon as I get to the office, my day turns crazy. I have appointments, meetings, phone calls, emails to answer, and the list goes on. But the whole day, thoughts of Isabella are in the back of my mind.
At the end of the day, I have a meeting scheduled with my brothers. We do this every week, and it’s just a time to get caught up. Ford, as the CEO, gets us started and talks about the big picture, as he likes to call it. Beau comes in next with a bunch of numbers, and I always try my best to not fall asleep as he goes over diagrams and spreadsheets. Austin’s turn is always the most fun. He talks about how the distillery is doing, what’s working and what’s not, but he always has stories about some mishap or gossip with the employees. Then it’s my turn, and I talk about how I’m expanding the brand into new markets and where I’m at with whatever companies I’m talking to. We always get the business out of the way first, and today isn’t any different.
As soon as I finish my spiel, Beau asks the rest of us, “Anyone heard from Huddy?”
Hudson is our brother, but instead of joining the family business, he went into the military. He’s served for twenty years, and the talk recently is that he’s going to be retiring soon, and we need to make a position for him with the company. “No, I haven’t,” I answer.
The rest of the guys chime in with the same answer.
“He’s not going to want to wear a suit and tie. You know that, right?” Austin chimes in.
Ford, the oldest, always takes charge of any situation, and he shrugs his shoulders. “He doesn’t have to, but it’s going to be hard for him getting out, and we need to have a place for him if he does want it. The choice is his, though.”
We talk about a few other things, and after Ford ends the meeting, everyone gets up to leave. I stop Beau as he’s piling his charts and papers together. “Hey, heads up. Granny saw in the paper the quote about us being the five most eligible bachelors. Is there a reason people don’t know you’re married?”
He grits his teeth but doesn’t look at me. “They know I’m married, for fuck's sake. I don’t know what their problem is.”
“Well, Granny is taking care of it. She’s calling the paper today, so I’m sure heads are going to roll.”