Page 71 of Love Is Brewing

“Not directly,” she said. “The next person I ran into was Chief Morrison. He said nothing more than he liked I was shopping local and that he appreciated the growth of the community and hoped it continued.”

Elias snorted. “I’m sure he does.”

“I heard the underlying message. I made a comment that I did too since I’m part of that growth and it would help my business too.”

“Good for you,” he said. “Who was the third person?”

“The cashier. I saw her name was Dottie. I didn’t even bother to ask how she knew I was dating you. She started by saying that she appreciated the help you gave her daughter at Christmas.”

He laughed. “It’s a small town thing.”

“I’m learning that.” She tossed the thinly sliced strips of meat into the pan to the sound of the sizzle, then stirred them around with a wooden spoon. The water was boiling for the rice, so she’d dumped that in too.

“Does it bother you that people are putting us together?”

“No,” she said. “Just something to get used to. I want to be known in the area, but not the way it’s happening. Talk is good. Gossip, hearsay, and rumors not so much.”

“Being with me is going to increase your exposure,” he said sarcastically.

She spun. “You don’t think I’m with you for that reason, do you?”

“Since you didn’t know who I was at first, the answer is no,” he said. “But I never thought it anyway.”

She wanted to believe it. She gave no reason for him to feel that way other than it was in her head now mixed with the narrow minds of the community.

“Good,” she said. “So I go home after to put everything away and call my mother.”

“Because you needed to tell her about your grocery trip?” he asked.

She smiled. “She’d find humor in it. Can you hand me the broccoli and snow peas?”

“Just dump them in?” he asked of the broccoli on the cutting board.

She nodded while he did that and she added the snow peas and stirred it all around. “When I was talking to my mother, she asked if I was going to invite you to Ben’s wedding.”

He laughed. “Really?”

“Yes. That is the ironic part of all of this and it took a long time to get there.”

“Are you going to invite me?” he asked, lifting an eyebrow.

His bright blue eyes were assessing her, one eyebrow raised higher than the other, a smirk on his handsome face. He had a close-cut beard she found extremely attractive when she wasn’t used to dating men with facial hair.

Her heart was thumping, her palms were dewy, and there was a fluttering going in her belly like a mini storm brewing.

What she’d been missing for so long in her life!

“You’re cute when you do that.”

“And you’re avoiding again.”

“Legal 101,” she said. “And it’s called redirecting.”

“A pretty word for not answering a question,” he said, laughing. “This rice is done. Do you want me to take it off the burner?”

“Yes, please. If you could turn this burner off too. It’s done and I’m going to pour the sauce on it and let it sit and thicken for a few minutes.”

“Smells good. Am I invited to Ben’s wedding?”

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