Yeah, she’s lucky, all right.
Me? Not so much.
Odette Chambers is the last person I want to see. Not because I don’t like her, but maybe because I notice her a bittoomuch, and I really fucking shouldn’t.
She and Izzy have been inseparable since high school, and I was already well into my hockey career then, so I’ve only truly gotten to know her since I moved back here. Sometimes I wish I hadn’t at all.
She’s twelve years younger than me and completely off-limits, but it’s hard as fuck to ignore how gorgeous she is with her soft-looking midnight waves and curves that go on for days, and the way she pushes all my buttons.
I bet she’s behind this. I’m willing to toss down a hundred bucks on them scheming this together, trying to get me to turn this place into a wedding venue. It has Odette written all over it, and not just because she’s a wedding planner. She came to me last year asking me to host a wedding here, and I told her no.
She didn’t ask again after telling me off—which is precisely what I expected from her since she’s been full of sass for as long as I’ve known her.
But now that Izzy’s getting married ... I’m certain this is the opportunity she was waiting for, and now she’s ready to pounce. And I played right into her hands.
“She’s going to be so happy. There’s so much to work with here.”
I drop my head back and groan, wondering just what it is I’ve gotten myself into.
Chapter Two
Odette
“He said yes!”
“Really?”
“Yes!” My best friend screeches into my ear so loudly that I have to pull my phone away for a moment. When I put it back, she’s jabbering on. “Ezra’s on board too. They said we could use the farm and cidery for the wedding.”
I was hoping we’d get the farm, but I didn’t think she’d be able to swing the cidery too. “Even inside the taproom?”
Please say yes. Please say yes.
It would be perfect to use for a cocktail hour after the ceremony. The booze is already there, so why not?
“Even inside.”Yes!“Though we aren’t allowed to change anything in here.”
That news ruins my excitement just a little, but I catch a certain word that’s important. “Here? Are you there now?”
“I am. Noah’s glaring at me.”
Of courseher brother is being a big grump. He usually is. I have no idea why he and Ezra, his business partner who is even grumpier than he is, opened a cidery where customer service is pretty essential.It makes no sense to me, but whatever. That’s their business. Mine is wedding planning.
Which is why I know that changing the interior is necessary if we’re going to use it for a cocktail hour.
I picture the layout of Stick Taps in my mind. As cozy as it is for its current purpose, it’s not ideal for such a large gathering. We’d need to remove the couches and chairs and rearrange the tables at the very least. Don’t even get me started on taking down the hockey memorabilia from the walls. Nobody wants that in their wedding photos. Plus, there are the neon signs and lighting behind the bar.
All simple fixes ... if we can get Noah on board.
“Tell him he’s being ridiculous.”
“Odette thinks you’re being ridiculous,” she says to him, and I have no doubt his glare just deepened. “I don’t think he liked that too much.”
I laugh. “Will you be hanging out there for a while? I can be there in ten minutes.” I push off my couch, the papers stacked on my lap falling to the floor. “Make that fifteen.”
“Yep. Craig has meetings all day, and I had no plans other than to bother Noah, so I’ll be here.”
“Go home, Izzy,” her cranky older brother tells her.
