Page 4 of Temporarily in Love

This expense report wasn’t getting done until later. I saved my document and shut down my computer. “I’ll handle it.”

“You sure, man?” Felix asked.

I waved him off. “I got it.”

“Tell my girl she looks hot!”

I shook my head at him. “Ew, I’m not telling Gemma that!”

He smirked at me and walked off. I thought Felix and Gemma were great together, but since they were still so new, they were kind of annoying. Like my brother and his wife. I knew they weren’t trying to shove their happiness in my face, but sometimes it was too much to deal with.

I smoothed my shirt down as I stood up from my desk. I grabbed my wallet and keys, and walked out of the office, shutting the door behind me. It was a short walk from the brewery to the town square where the Arts Fest was being held.

I didn’t mind picking up the slack for my employees when I needed to. That was what the boss was supposed to do. Nolan and I both did that because we wanted our brewery to succeed. Also, because we were both workaholics. That probably stemmed from our parents dying when I was twelve and Nolan was eighteen. Growing up, I watched my older brother struggle to keep a roof over our heads. He worked his fingers to the bone until I went to Penn State on a scholarship.

Booths from all the local businesses lined the town square as I walked up and found ours. I saw Gemma talking to Kelsey Sullivan, who had one kid on her hip and the other hugging onto her leg. Kelsey always reminded me of Lila, the girl who broke my heart when I was eighteen. She went to college in California and never came back, leaving me shattered. It was the reason I stayed away from Sullivan’s Bar in town. There were too many memories there.

I spied Nolan and Avery talking to a brunette woman, who I couldn’t place because she had her back to me. All I could see was that she had a fantastic ass. The kind I’d love to spank while I had her pressed face-down on my bed.

Damn, I needed to get laid.

Kelsey called her over, and when I heard the name on her lips, I wanted to back away slowly. Lila rarely showed her face in town since she left. She visited for holidays, but we did a good job avoiding each other.

Kelsey handed Lila a beer, but Lila shook her head. “No, thanks,” she said.

“It’s a pumpkin beer. You love pumpkin,” I blurted out.

Lila spun on her heel and stared at me, her mouth ajar.

I should have walked away when I noticed her. I should have told Felix to go to the booth while I handled being behind the bar. I didn’t want to be staring into the golden-flecked eyes of the woman I was still deeply in love with.

“Hey, Declan,” she said, looking as uncomfortable as I felt.

My eyes roamed down her body. She looked so seasonal in her purple sweater and black skirt with a red plaid jacket. Despite being the end of September, it wasn’t that cold yet, but she was dressed like someone who hadn’t lived in Pennsylvania in a long time. Or at least someone who didn’t bother to check the weather. Her hair looked about the same. Her flowing dark locks looked like the kind you wanted to bury your face in or grab into a fist while you fucked her into submission.

Don’t think about fucking your ex. Do not do it.

“Hey, Lila,” I said flatly.

“Here, take the beer,” Kelsey urged, shoving the plastic cup into her sister’s face.

Lila rolled her eyes, but took the drink from her sister. She sipped on it slowly, and her eyes lit up. She turned back to my brother. “Oh my god, Nolan, this is amazing.”

Avery beamed. “Isn’t it good?”

“It’s like a pumpkin spice latte in beer form!” Lila cheered and took another sip.

I took that as my leave to slip past her and get behind the booth. Annie was managing the booth alone, and she gave me a look of relief. “Oh, thank god, it’s been nuts today.”

I checked the lines on the keg we had in the booth and made sure we were okay. “That’s good for business.”

She beamed at me and tossed her blonde hair over her shoulder. “Definitely.”

I pretended to ignore that flirtatious gesture. Annie made it known she was interested, but I didn’t date employees. I hooked up with one of the servers a couple of years ago, and it ended badly when she realized I was only looking for a few nights.

Gemma was supposed to talk to Annie about that, but I wasn’t sure if it had helped. Or if Annie had listened.

Lila laughed with Avery as they gushed over The Drake Pumpkin Ale. Nolan made that pumpkin beer last year for Avery and knocked her up almost immediately. I hadn’t been a fan of doing that beer, but Nolan wanted to branch out and try something different. The numbers didn’t lie; it had been a hit. Then when he made the hefeweizen beer this past summer, the numbers hadn’t lied either. Maybe it was okay to do stuff other than typical IPAs and pale ales.