Page 75 of Sunkissed Colorado
I held up the container with a grin. “Brownies.”
His face fell. “Brownies? Where are my nuggets? You know Sunday means nuggets.”
“Enough about the nuggets. I made these yesterday. Dark chocolate.”
“As long as they’re not health food,” he grumbled, but he was already reaching for the container. Of course, he nodded appreciatively after he took a bite. “Not bad. You made these?”
I decided not to reveal they were gluten free. “Don’t sound so surprised.”
“What inspired the baking? Was it Rosie’s idea?”
Callum’s smile appeared in my mind. The way we’d both laughed while splattering each other with brownie batter. How he’d stood behind me, holding my hand to show me how to fold the ingredients…
“I felt like trying something new,” I said, my heart squeezing.
So stupid.
For about five minutes there, Callum and I had actually been friends. AndIwas the one who ruined it by kissing him. Twice. Callum had been an active participant in us fooling around, but I doubted he would’ve crossed the line if not for me crossing it first.
Talk about a shocker. I had corruptedhim.
The craziest part was how much I missed him.
Grandpa took another bite. Chocolate crumbs gathered in hiswhiskers. “It’s been a month now. Halfway through your and Callum’s trial period.”
I brushed lint off my pants. “Yep. I’ve had my eye on the calendar.”
“Well, time for your unvarnished opinion. Off the record and confidential. What do you really think of Callum’s performance? What are his weaknesses? Go ahead, rip him to shreds.” Grandpa waved his hand impatiently, like he hadn’t just asked the impossible.
The muscle in my chest squeezed painfully again.
I chose my words carefully. “He’s very capable. Good with the employees and customers, and he’s quickly getting to know the business inside and out. He’s still less comfortable with the numbers part, but he’s learning.”
Grandpa’s eyes narrowed. “And that’s exactly the vague kind of drivel he said about you. How is that supposed to help me make my decision on which of you to hire?”
I sighed. “I don’t know, Grandpa.”
“Where’s your competitive fire? Where’s the passion?”
Where Callum was concerned,passionwas exactly what I needed to avoid.
Grandpa kept muttering about young people these days, but I managed to change the subject and talk about Russ’s next batch of beers. Then Grandpa got to ranting about his hatred for hop water, and the conversation was on far safer ground.
As I left my grandfather’s house, a text buzzed my phone. My breath caught when I saw it was from Callum.
Z, could you cover for me behind the bar tonight? Emergency came up and I can’t be there for bar manager duties
Of course. Hope everything’s okay
Thx!
I stood outside my car, tapping my phone on my palm andwondering if I should write something more. Should I ask if Callum needed anything else? Was the emergency about his family?
But I stopped myself.Professional distance. That’s what I needed.
At Hearthstone, Winnie was on the schedule tonight. She nodded to me when I arrived, heading straight for me after she finished serving a customer. “So you heard about the fire?”
“Fire?” My stomach swooped. “What fire?”
