“Well, here I am.” I smile at her and force out a laugh.
“I’m having an art show soon. Would you be around to make those amazing peanut butter chocolate squares? Of course, I would pay.” She beams.
I open my mouth, waiting for words to tumble out, then close it. My plan was tonotwork and pick up any type of baking tool. But everyone knows I can’t say no. I’m also living off my savings, which is not much, so extra money wouldn’t hurt.
“Sure, I’d love to. I can swing by in the next couple of days, and we can talk?”
Mrs. Anderson claps her hands once in delight before saying, “Wonderful! We’ll talk soon! It is so good having you back here, Ellie. Tell your parents I said hi,” she says cheerfully.
I smile and nod, waving goodbye as I start to drive away.
“Will do,” I mutter to myself and then sigh.
As I drive through downtown, I spot the brewery in the distance. My heart starts to speed up for a multitude of reasons.
For one, I’ve only let Riley know that I was coming home. She texted and called me a million times after I told her, but I didn’t pick up or respond because I wanted to wait until we were all together.
And second, Rowan. Our friendship has always been different, deeper, than with anyone else. We just get each other. He’s my best friend…and, well, my ex. When we broke up, it wasn’t messy—no hard feelings. We both knew it was for the best, and we wanted to salvage our friendship. Thankfully, we’ve done just that.
I love Charlie, and right now, I hate that I still do. But Rowan has always taken up a large part when it comes to my heart. He was my first teenage love. My first kiss. My first, well,everything.
Taking a deep breath, I turn into the lot connected to the brewery and turn off my car, needing to take a minute to myself before walking in there. I try to mentally prepare myself. Addie, Hailey, and Riley will freak out, but I don’t want to deal with their sympathy and pity.
I just want this to go as smoothly as possible—tell them what happened and move on to a relaxing, stress-free summer. I should have just told Riley over the phone and had her tell everyone else. I really don’t want to deal with this right now.
I’m tired and hungry, and I’m sure I’m getting my period because I am extremely moody. And it isn’t helping that Charlie was still contributing to that moodiness. I want to cry because all I want is a cupcake. That’s when I know my baby box is about to sabotage the hell out of me.
Pulling down the sun visor, I flip the cover to look into the mirror. I look at my eyes that have a purple hue due to lack of sleep. Reaching for my bag in the passenger seat, I dig through it, wondering if I left concealer in there. No luck.
“Dammit,” I murmur to myself.
Staring back in the mirror, my fingers trace the bags under my eyes. They’ve never been this bad before, and now my very close friends will get to see a side of me that they’ve never seen before.
I let out a breath, trying to hype myself up. “Just walk in there with your head held up high and tell them, ‘Hey guys, I don’t think I can handle my life anymore. Charlie cheated on me because I paid too much attention to work and not him. It’s all good.’”
I fill my lungs with a deep breath and hold it until they feel like they’re burning. The air leaves my lungs as I blow through pursed lips. My eyes close as I take in one more deep breath before getting out of the car.
five
ELLIE
Every timeI step into the brewery, I get a warm fuzzy feeling. Rowan and James made sure to make the environment welcoming for anyone who comes in. It was a shock when I saw the final set, and James ended up taking all the credit when I know most of it was Rowan’s idea.
The man has good taste.
I grab the brassy gold handle connected to the large wooden doors. I stand there for a second to takeanotherdeep breath.
Inside, high wooden beams stretch along the ceiling, making the space feel larger than it already is. Bright light pours in from the large floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook everything inside. The family-style wooden tables soaking in the rays the sun has to offer today.
The rich brown wooden floors and brick walls give the place a comfortable rustic feel. Amber-colored furniture is placed throughout the brewery, with some of it tucked in corners for more intimate gatherings. Wooden stairs lead up to the second floor, where there are more camel-leather furniture and wooden tables and chairs. String lights hang from the ceiling and cast a warm glow at night. Tall narrow windows line up across the back wall, displaying a wide view of the ocean.
Rowan’s pride and joy are all the vast brewing equipment that sits behind a glass display where he can highlight how to make the beer and how the machines work. I’ve asked him at least ten times to explain again how it all worked, and of course, he didn’t mind. He was always happy to re-explain it to me.
The sun cascades through the brewery during the day, but at night, that’s when it really comes to life. The ambient lighting throughout the space creates a relaxing atmosphere. The beer garden out back displays string lights that hang along the long wooden fence and wrap around tree trunks.
Addie came up with the genius idea to build a small stage outside for bands to play. The guys weren’t sure, considering how small the town is and there aren’t many bands around, but once Addie took over the marketing team, she created so much social media that bands would come to town to play.
“Ellie!” Riley gets up from a bar stool and runs to me with open arms.
