Page 123 of Best Kind of Trouble
There’s also a quote from Steve, Liam’s former boss at Mountain Morning, who describes Liam as “unhinged and dangerous.”
“This is full of lies.” I peer at Dottie, my voice trembling with rage. I’m still upset by what happened between Liam and me, but the way Melly wrote about him…
It makes me want to retroactively steal all of her favorite toys and destroy them in front of her. It makes me want to shave her head. It makes me want to punch her, to be perfectly honest. How dare she…howdareshe…
She looked at him, she wanted him, and when he chose me instead of her, she did this.
Of course, I see my father’s Machiavellian hand behind all of it. He probably cut Bubba a fat check for his role in this mess.
“Dottie, what are we going to do? I think…I think maybe my dad’s trying to pressure me into firing Liam. Liam embarrassed him last week, and my dad doesn’t like being embarrassed.”
She sits up a little straighter. “Well, thereisthe jewelry idea. Crystals can be very transformative?—”
“I’m not making them any jewelry. I already got them what they wanted for the holidays.”
My family has the ridiculous tradition of making wish lists for items we could easily afford ourselves. It makes gift-giving easy—and joyless.
She taps the paper with her finger. “Did this woman talk to you, or anyone else who currently works at Silver Star, about the brewery?”
“No. I don’t think so.”
“Then we’ll be getting a retractionandan apology. Perhaps another writer at the paper would be inclined to tell the true story of the brewery. Afairstory.”
“You think we can convince them?”
She gives me a level look. “My dear Briar, we won’t give them a choice.”
“But, Dottie…” I take in a deep breath and say, “The truth is that the beer wasn’t organic. Ever. My father and Bubba were lying. That’s the truth, and if it gets out, our clients might demand restitution.”
She pushes her lips out in thought. “It’s always better to align yourself with the truth, my dear. It’ll come out anyway. You might as well get ahead of it and play a part in the telling.”
I nod, even though the thought sends chills through me. The cost might be enough to put us under…
“Now, why don’t you tell me all about what had you looking so blue when you walked in here.”
I’m tempted to keep my relationship problems to myself. We have more immediate hurdles to deal with than my love life. But I know it would be safe to spill my soul to her.
So I explain what happened over the last few days, leaving out the details that feel too personal.
Maybe I was expecting her to push me toward Liam, to tell me that I need to give it a shot because he and I are meant for each other.
Maybe that’s what Iwanted.
But she doesn’t do that.
She just gives me a level look and says, “Yes, of course you know what’s best. Love isn’t easy, my dear, and both people need to be ready for the timing to be right.”
When Dottieand I get to the brewery, Liam’s sitting in the tasting room, drinking a beer at one of the wooden guest tables. My pulse escalates at the sight of him. He lifts his chin to greetus as we walk in. He looks tired and wrung out, and his eyes are bloodshot.
He’d started to feel like the antidote to all of my bad dreams, and now we’re here. It seems incredibly unfair, even if it’s partly my own decisions that landed us here. I want to wrap my arms around him, and I also want to hit him. Both desires are equally strong. I’ve never felt this way aboutanyonebefore.
“I came to turn in my notice, boss,” he says, not meeting my eyes. He lifts the beer, which I can tell from the scent is a tropical IPA. HehatesBubba’s tropical IPA. We all do, honestly. That’s why it’s on ourdrink-us-drylist for the New Year’s party. “I saw the article. I’m even more of a liability than I was a few weeks ago. You should get rid of me.”
“You arenotquitting,” I say tartly, pushing the beer away.
His eyebrows wing up. “I was drinking that.”
“You were feeling sorry for yourself.”
