Page 44 of Just One Spark

I stepped toward her."Which bath do you want?"

"Which one will you be in?"she asked.

I nearly groaned out loud."I'm supposed to be working tonight."

She scraped her nails over my chest."Maybe you'll have time in a bit to join me?"

I swallowed hard."I'd love to."

She grinned and walked toward the first bath.She hung her robe on the hook and dipped a toe in the water to test the temperature.

Callum stood next to me."You're not supposed to ogle the guests."

"She's not a guest.She's my fiancée."I was feeling very possessive of her.I didn't want my brothers or any other men seeing her in the bikini, which was ridiculous.Because she wasn't mine.Not really.

"I never thought I'd see the day when you'd settle down."

"You thought I'd be last?"I asked him, managing to pull my gaze away from Hattie, who was fully submerged in the bubbling water now.

He snorted."Of all of us, Malcolm will be last.I didn't think you'd be the first brother to fall.I didn't even know you were looking for a girlfriend."

"I wasn't.It just happened."And that made it that much better.Everything that happened between us felt natural.

He raised a brow."You're a lucky guy."

I frowned."Why do you say that?"

"Hattie's a great girl.She's grounded and sweet, obviously hardworking.You know how hard it is to start a business, and she's doing it on her own.I'm sure her father's addiction affected her too."

"I wish I could have been there for her."

He clasped my shoulder."You get to be there for her now."

The thing was, it wasn't really true.Hattie wasn't mine to protect or to support.When the brewery opened, there wouldn't be a need to pretend anymore.Her apartment would be fixed, and she'd move back.We'd break up.That was always the plan.

I only had a few more short weeks before the brewery opened.It wasn't enough time to win her over, but I was going to try."I am a lucky guy."

"Mom said you bought a ring and are going to ask her again to marry you."

"Yeah, I want to do it right this time," I said, a little surprised by the tenderness in my voice.

He tipped his head to the side."You could do it tonight."

"I already have something in mind."I wanted to declare to everyone how I felt about her but I also wanted it to be somewhat private.I didn’t want her to say that it was fake or that she wasn't feeling anything.This relationship was everything for me.Maybe it was unorthodox, but the feelings I was experiencing were real.

I couldn't help but imagine what it would be like if it was real, if we were engaged and she was part of my family.I'd get to come home to her every night.We'd talk about our business, and eventually we'd plan on expanding our family.Building onto my cabin and raising our kids on the property.We'd make our own memories that we could document in picture frames.

My chest tightened.

"You plan on working tonight?"Malcolm asked when he walked by.

He didn't bother to stick around, but I got the message and got to work.I was supposed to be serving the brews and talking to the guests about the ingredients and process.Tonight was a dry run, and I was not focused on the right things.Hattie would still be there when the night was over.She wasn't going anywhere yet.

14

Hattie

When my skin started to wrinkle, I got out of the bath, dried off, and changed into my clothes.Rowan seemed busy, and I wasn't sure he'd ever have time to join me.It was becoming clear that once the brewery opened, he wouldn't have time for me.