I nearly choke on my coffee. "They'rewhat?"
"Taking bets. Whether you'll kill each other, if you'll actually win the competition, whether you'll…" She pauses, waving her hands in the air. "Well, let's just say there are a lot of theories floating around."
"Holy lord," I groan, dropping my face into my hands. "This is mortifying."
"It's hilarious! Come on, you have to admit it's pretty entertaining. The great Gallagher-Dalton feud suddenly on hold? For a competition where you have to bepartners,no less? It's like the plot of a romantic comedy, or the setup of a murder mystery. Nobody is quite sure which."
"It's not romantic," I say quickly, pointing a finger at her. "Believe me when I say, Wyatt and I are only doing this because they forced our hand. Otherwise I’d be stomping his ornery ass into the ground."
"Uh-huh." Heather doesn't look convinced. "So how's it going? I take it you haven’t killed him yet."
"Nope." I take a bite of my cinnamon roll and practically moan. "Wyatt's been surprisingly decent. He keeps this little nerdy notebook in his pocket and takes notes like some kind of brewing geek. If it were anyone else, it'd actually be kind of cute." I pause. "He even helped clean the back room yesterday. Which is exactly why I don't trust it."
Heather looks at me like I've grown a second head. "Nice? Wyatt Dalton is being nice toyou?" She shakes her head. "Did the world flip upside down?"
"Right? It's bizarre." Thank god someone else gets how weird this is. "But the beer we're making is actually incredible. We’re testing it again this afternoon to check the coffee infusion."
"And?" Heather’s grin turns wicked.
"And what?"
She levels me with a deadpan stare. "After the tasting this afternoon? What else?"
I hesitate, then decide what the hell. Heather's gonna find out anyway. If she’s right about the grapevine, the whole town will probably be buzzing about it. "We're having dinner to discuss business."
Heather nearly spits out her coffee, her eyes bulging. "Holy shit! I knew it! You're going on adatewith Wyatt Dalton."
The word "date" lands like a punch. "No! It's just research for the competition, that’s all."
"Riiiiiight. Research." Heather grins so wide I'm worried her face might split. "Merri, it’s absolutely a date."
"It's not?—"
"Does it involve the two of you, food, and conversation?"
"Well, yes, but?—"
"Then it's a date." She leans forward, lowering her voice. "And honestly? Good for you. Wyatt Dalton is ridiculously hot. If I wasn't head over heels for Logan and planning a wedding, I'd be all over that."
My face burns. Is there a hole nearby I can crawl into? "You know it's not like that. We can barely stand each other most of the time."
"Maybe not yet. But come on. The man looks like he was chiseled from marble and any guy who knows his way around a coffee roaster has to be great in bed. Why not have some fun?"
I scoff. "Because he's spent the last twenty years being an insufferable ass?"
"Exactly!" She throws her hands up. "That’s decades of unresolved tension, textbook enemies-to-lovers scenario. You should just sleep with him and get it over with."
I gasp. "Heather Winslow! Have you lost your mind?"
"What? I'm just saying, you've got this opportunity. Don't waste it." She takes another bite of cinnamon roll, waggling her brows. "Besides, from what I hear, military guys are very thorough."
I'm fairly certain my face is now the color of a fire truck. "We are not having this conversation."
"Fine." But she's still grinning. "Just promise me you'll actually enjoy yourself tonight. Stop thinking of him as your enemy for five minutes and see what happens."
"I'll try." I check my watch and realize I've been here longer than intended. Grocery shopping will have to wait. "I should get going. I need to prep for this afternoon."
"Go. Have fun. And Merri?" Heather's expression turns genuine. "I really am happy for you. About the brewery, thecompetition, all of it. You've worked so hard, and you deserve good things. You’re gonna win."
