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Cal beamed. “It’s nice to meet you, Alana.” He eyed Tess with a look of admiration and pride. “I’m really glad the two of you talked things out.”

Tess squeezed her arm. “Me too.”

Alana’s chest swelled. “Agreed.”

Leo reached their trio, holding out a hand to Cal.

“Leo!” Cal slapped a hand in his, shaking once. “Good to see you, brother.”

“Likewise.” Leo grasped Tess’s hands and kissed her on both cheeks. “You look radiant as always,” he told her.

Tess tipped her shoulder toward her cheek. “Aw, Leo. You’re too kind.”

Cal clapped Leo’s back with his wide palm. “Did you get them cold?”

Leo pointed to the cooler. “Which one should I start with?”

“The Frothy Hopsicle, obviously. It’s seven percent but I swear it drinks like a five. And that one has Mosaic hops, which I know you love.”

Leo nodded with a genuine smile as the two of them stepped away. “Then that’s what I’ll start with.”

Tess rested her head on Alana’s shoulder as they watched the men head for the cooler. “Cal is a brewer at White Tail. He’s very proud of his beer.”

“I caught on to that.” She bit her bottom lip. “I hear that’s where Chris works.”

“Yep. That’s how we met.”

Alana shifted so she could see her best friend. “Really?”

Tess shrugged. “I kept up with him after you left, made sure he was okay. I found myself at the brewery from time to time, and Cal was always there.”

“He is—” Alana whistled.

Tess raised a brow conspiratorially. “I know.”

“Women have wet dreams about men like that.”

“It’s the girls,” Tess teased, squeezing her biceps at her chest to make a deeper line of cleavage with her black tank top. “Gets them every time.”

“The wild red curls probably help.”

“Possibly my personality too.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself.”

Tess laughed out loud. Cal peered at her from across the room, and the smile on that man’s face could certainly melt Alana’s cold heart.

Sophie approached them with Penny and Chelsea close at her heels. She was holding a bottle of Blanc de Blancs sparkling, twirling a wine key in her other hand. “Is it time?”

“We should wait for Freya,” Alana protested.

“I’m right here,” Freya replied, appearing on her other side. She wore a short-sleeved button-down and a slim silk skirt with a sensible pair of sneakers. “No need to wait.”

Sophie beamed at her sisters, handing the bottle and opener to Alana.

Alana sighed with a smile, then flipped open the knife on the wine key and cut off the bottle wrapper. She winked at Sophie.

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