Page 24 of Feels Like the First Time
Chapter 5
It was Double Tap Tuesday at the Penalty Box. Drinks were two for one, the San Jose Sharks were on the big screen playing Hawk’s old team, the Chicago Blackhawks, and there wasn’t a person in town who hadn’t dropped by for part of the festivities.
Except Ali.
She’d been avoiding him since Friday, and Hawk had played his part in their little game. He’d pretended not to notice her sneaking past his bar to go talk to Kennedy next door. And when she’d done a cute little duck and cover maneuver behind the cantaloupe selection at Kline’s Fine Foods, Hawk didn’t ask if he could sample the melons. He’d even pretended not to stare at her ass while she unloaded the driftwood from her car as if she knew he was watching.
But he was tired of playing pretend and wanted to engage in a new game. One that included some more face-to-face time. Because it was becoming harder and harder to pretend he didn’t miss seeing her at his bar. So when his best friend, and business partner, Luke, walked through the door, he had a hard time not looking to see if Luke was alone.
“Where have you been?” Hawk asked, pouring a mug of their new Spring Cider and setting it on the bar.
Luke plopped down on one of the few empty bar stools. “Delivering a new shipment of apples to Kennedy.”
“That’s what you were doing this morning when you left me to stock the storage room. Alone.”
“Her apples take some finessing,” Luke said with a grin that had thatjust been laidsmugness to it.
“Yeah yeah,” Hawk said, snatching Luke’s cider back because while Hawk had been running their business, Luke had been playing house with his lady friend.
With a shrug, Luke reached over the counter and filled up his own mug. “You’re just pissy because Bridget came back to town and you were cock-blocked.”
“Trust me, when it comes to Bridget, there is no blocking necessary.” Not anymore.
Sure, once upon a time, Hawk would have given his left testicle for a chance with Bridget again. But that dream had sailed the second she left to find her happiness somewhere else, and no matter how much he wished he could go back and change things, he knew it could never be the same. That’s what happened when people walked out; they could never really go back. No, Hawk knew all too well that everything changed the second love came into question.
“Glad to hear it.” Luke patted him on the shoulder. “But I was talking about how you finally got the balls to make a move on Ali and Bridget shows up so she dumps you. Tough break, man.”
“She didn’t dump me, we’re just friends. And I didn’t make a move. Ali was being, well…Ali.” Spontaneous, big-hearted, and a never-ending pain in his ass. Which, sick bastard that he was, Hawk was growing to enjoy. “Thankfully, Bridget is gone, I have my town back, I mean, she’s here now but it’s only temporary, and in a few months I won’t have to pay alimony anymore.”
“There’s that,” Luke said, taking a swig. “So tell me, what does one get their ex-wife for a wedding present?”
“How the hell would I know?”
“I mean, are you going strictly by the registry or maybe something a little more out of the box?” Hawk sent Luke a look. “What? It’s proper party etiquette to show up with a gift, and between the engagement shower, the wedding shower, the wedding itself…You don’t want to show up empty-handed.”
“I’m not going to any shower and I doubt I’ll make the wedding guest list.” And if he did, he’d be conveniently busy that weekend. It was one thing to wish his ex well in her future. He wasn’t about to go have his past shoved down his throat. “And since when do you care about party etiquette?”
“Since we’ve been talking about renting out the bar for private events,” Luke said and Hawk grimaced.
He was a bar owner and a brewmaster, not some fucking caterer. He liked that locals knew they could drop by and grab a cold one, catch a game, and shoot the shit. That’s why Hawk had opened a bar in the first place. He’d added food to the menu because he was there so much, he needed to eat, too.
So he’d hired a cook to serve up all of his favorite foods.
Only now, their small town of Destiny Bay was having some growing pains. Besides the Moose Lodge, the Penalty Box was the largest venue in town. And the only one with a license to serve liquor. Several businesses in the area, including Kline’s Fine Foods, had approached them about hosting private events.
Cosmo Kline wanted to hire the Penalty Box to host his yearly Fine Food Enforcers retreat, in which a group of independent retail food store owners got together to fish, eat, and talk shop.
Destiny Bay had some of the best coastal fishing spots in the Pacific Northwest, and it was also surrounded by incredible views. The FFE was comprised of the exact kind of people Hawk and Luke needed to network with if they wanted to expand Two Bad Apples Hard Cider into more stores.
It seemed like a perfect opportunity.
Until Luke decided that they needed to do a trial run first. Something low-key, which if they screwed up, wouldn’t hurt business. And even though Hawk hated the idea of private parties, he begrudgingly saw his point. This was a great opportunity, and sure, they’d had plenty of parties there for their own cider label, but hosting an event for grocery store owners was a different ball game.
Cosmo, a supporter of local businesses, was on board. Unfortunately, there was another fishing spot up the coast that some of the other FFE members favored—and it was up to Two Bad Apples to get them to commit to Destiny Bay.
“I put a call in to the local university’s hockey coach, offering to hold their end-of-season party here,” Hawk said. Because if he was going to cater a freaking event, it would be with a bunch of guys who expected hot wings, sports on the flat screen, and knew how to throw one back.
“That’s still a few months out, so I found us a better offer,” Luke said with a smile.
