Any Luck at All

by Denise Grover Swank

  He checked the flights from New York to Asheville and found only one seat left on a three p.m. flight connecting through Charlotte. He should probably check with Georgie before doing anything, but the next flight wasn’t until Saturday night, and he figured that would be a stressful situation for the sisters. Better for them to have time to connect before the closing parties. So he took a chance and booked the flight, using his own credit card. Hopefully it would be one less thing for Georgie to worry about.

  He’d gone to his office to make the calls, not wanting to wake her, but he returned to the chair he’d vacated—the one he’d chosen because he would have been tempted to scoop her into his lap if he’d sat next to her—and watched her for a moment. She looked so peaceful, Hops snuggled up next to her, and although he knew he should wake her, he wasn’t quite ready. He liked seeing her here in his home, at rest, as if she belonged here. Because it felt like she did, and if he woke her up, she might feel the need to leave.

  But she mumbled a little in her sleep, as if restless with bad dreams, and he told himself it was time. He went to her and crouched beside the couch. Touching her arm gently, he said, “Georgie.”

  “Hm,” she said, stirring. “River.” She reached for him, as if the last two weeks hadn’t happened and they were still in bed together. As if he hadn’t signed those forms. And although he loved the partnership of working with her, a deep part of him wished that were true. If not being with her was the cost of working at Buchanan, it wasn’t worth it.

  He took her in his arms because he couldn’t not do it, when she was reaching for him like that, but then he pulled away.

  A painful awareness had surfaced in her eyes, the dreaminess of moments ago drifting away.

  “Adalia?”

  “I found someone who’ll help,” he said. “He’ll be there in the morning. He seems confident it’ll work out. I told him you’d be in touch with your payment information between 7:00 and 8:00.” He paused, wondering if he’d overstepped, then added, “I checked the flights from New York to Asheville. The only seat available before Saturday night is on a three p.m. flight tomorrow evening—or tonight, depending on how you look at it. I went ahead and booked it. I realize it might not end up working out, but I figured it was worth doing.” He paused, hesitating to reveal he’d bought it, but he also didn’t want her to think he’d rummaged through her things to find her card. “I used my card.”

  She sat up abruptly, looking at him in a way he struggled to interpret, and Hops squeaked a small complaint that might have been a bark from a bigger dog and walked off, curling up on what River had dubbed his special sandal. River went to sit in the chair again, but Georgie stopped him, her hand wrapping around his bicep.

  “Sit with me,” she said.

  And he did, sitting close enough that their thighs touched, every point of contact searing into him. She took his hand and looked into his eyes.

  “Thank you for doing that for Adalia.”

  “I did it for you,” he said honestly.

  “I know,” she said.

  They stayed like that for a moment, the silence between them intense but somehow not uncomfortable. In that silence, there was a universe of possibilities. Of different paths they could take, but his heart only led him down one.

  She spoke first. “I have a lot of regrets about the past, River.” Another pause, but the fact that she didn’t pull away kept him from wondering—or asking—if he was one of them. “My father might not have been a good husband, but my mother grounded him in some way. He became a hundred times worse after she died. It was horrible to live in that house. He was so judgmental. Cold. Cutting. And I left Adalia there with him. I could have gone to college in New York, but Harvard was my top pick, and I was so happy I got in.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, keeping her other hand entwined with his. “Truthfully, I think it was my top pick because I wanted to leave, although I didn’t think of it that way at the time. Adalia begged me to stay, but I told myself that she didn’t need me. That Lee would look after her until I got out of school.”

  “This isn’t your fault,” he said, turning a little to face her. Needing her to see that he meant it. “You’re not to blame for whatever’s happening with her.”

  “But I left her, River,” she said, her voice thick, “and things haven’t been the same between us since. If anything, they keep getting worse. When she got into art school, she called me before she told my father, and I messed up. I knew what he was going to say, how cruel he would be, and I warned her that he probably wouldn’t pay for it. That he would never consider art a career. My mother taught art history, and he always treated it like a hobby. Like it was something cute that she did.” She lowered her face as if she couldn’t bear to look at him. “And, to be honest, I kind of felt the same way about Adalia. I figured it was just a phase. So I have no right to be surprised that she’s kept her distance. That she hasn’t told me about her shows, her life. It’s my fault.”

  He reached over and tipped her chin up slightly, so their eyes met. Hers were brimming with tears.

  “I’m telling you it’s not,” he said firmly. “The only way of fixing something you feel you did wrong in the past is by acting differently in the future. By being there for her now. By owning up to how you feel.”

  “How can you be so understanding?” she asked. “I left her.”

  He understood what she wasn’t saying. His mother had left him like she thought she’d left Adalia, except it was a false equivalence.

  “If you’re talking about Esmerelda…my mother,” he clarified, in case Dottie hadn’t confided his mother’s name along with the rest of his personal history, “then you need to understand the situation was completely different. She was an adult, and you were still a child when you left home. A grieving child. You can’t beat yourself up about decisions you made before you had the perspective to understand what you were doing. Besides, it’s not like you disappeared off the face of the earth. I’m sure you called and texted.” He felt himself grin a little at that. “Probably more than she would have liked.”

  She smiled back, but it had to be the saddest smile he’d ever seen. “I guess I did.” She paused, looking conflicted, then shook it off and added, “I’m so sorry that happened to you, River.”

  “I’m not,” he said, and to his surprise, he somewhat meant it. “The best thing she could have done was to leave me with Aunt Dottie. I think maybe she knew that. She’s not a very happy person. I don’t think she ever really wanted a child or knew what to do with me. She didn’t even know what to do with herself. We moved every few months, but I don’t think she ever found what she was looking for.”

  “I didn’t mean to make you talk about this,” she said, but he could tell it was because she worried about making him uncomfortable, not because she didn’t want to know. And he found himself surprisingly okay with letting Georgie in. With spilling his secrets to her.

  Because she’s already in your heart, a voice whispered.

  “It’s okay,” he said, squeezing her hand. “I’ll tell you anything you want to know, but I don’t want to shift the focus off you right now. This is about you and Adalia. And you should consider the fact that your sister called you when this happened. Not your father. Not your brother. You. That means everything in the world.”

  The look in her eyes changed then, something fierce flashing in them.

  “And I came to you,” she said.

  “You did,” he said, his soft tone belying the sudden pounding of his heart. “And you always can, Georgie. Always. But I have to know why.”

  She looked down again, and for a moment he was afraid she was going to pull away, but if anything she tightened her grip on his hand. When she looked up again, her eyes were full of purpose.

  “Because all the reasons we’re supposed to stay away from each other don’t feel so important anymore. When I’m around you, I can’t seem to remember them. I came here because when I’m with you, I feel like every
thing’s going to be okay, not in the sense that you’re going to fix it, but because you’re there with me.”

  Something bloomed inside of him, a warmth like he’d felt earlier at Beau’s grave. The sense of coming home. But he didn’t pull her into his lap like he wanted to, because he had to know for sure. His heart needed it.

  “Georgie, if you change your mind about us, I need you to mean it. It can’t just be for tonight, or because your sister is in trouble.”

  She spanned the short distance between them and kissed him. It was soft and exploratory at first, almost as if she were asking a question, but the passion between them—banked for days—ignited in an instant. He shifted the angle to take the kiss deeper, their tongues twining, teeth knocking together as they tried to get closer, to take it even deeper. Almost as if they wanted to consume each other. She started to tug on the bottom of his shirt, but he didn’t want this to happen here in the living room. Not tonight. He wanted her in his bed.

  So he pulled away and, in response to her soft complaint, lifted her off her feet and carried her into his room.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Georgie had a hard time concentrating at work in the morning. She’d only slept a few hours after receiving Adalia’s call, and despite having talked to her sister after she was released (she’d agreed to come straight to Asheville on the flight River had arranged), she was a mess of worry. Didn’t help that she couldn’t stop mooning over River. Dottie noticed something was off right away, and she barged into Georgie’s office midmorning with a sage stick, determined to drive the bad energy away because she sensed some really great energy radiating from Georgie.

  Was it obvious to everyone that Georgie had experienced the best sex of her life only hours earlier?

  It was hard seeing River in the office, where the current employee manual insisted they could not engage in any fraternization, when all she wanted to do was kiss him. He showed up in her doorway around noon, leaning his shoulder into the doorframe.

  “I think we should take a field trip for lunch,” he said with a sexy smile.

  Her stomach fluttered at the thought of eating lunch with him, but they’d agreed to keep their relationship on the down-low for the moment. She needed to find a way to tell her siblings, and she figured she’d start with Adalia first. But she hadn’t told her yet—it was a conversation best had in person, and her sister had just been released from jail, after all.

  “This is work-related,” River said with a glimmer in his eyes. “I thought we’d drop by Eye of the Tiger Brewery so you could try their porters. They make some of the best in Asheville. We might consider adding one to the winter line.”

  “Yeah,” she said, smiling at him, relieved that she wouldn’t have to turn him down. “Testing some out would be the responsible thing to do.”

  “How soon will you be able to leave?”

  She glanced at her computer, then back at River…

  It felt so good to be able to let her eyes linger, to know she had a right to look at him, even if she couldn’t make it obvious until their relationship went public.

  “I can go now,” she said.

  “I was hoping you’d say that.”

  They were the same words he’d said to her that first night in his apartment, before their shower. Which made her think about showering with him, their bodies slick against each other. He’d promised to learn every inch of her, and he had. He’d insisted on swiping the cloth over her from head to toe, slowly enough to drive her mad, and then…

  She was at the office, where she should absolutely not be thinking about any of this. She felt her face grow hot. The grin on his face told her he’d done it on purpose, and she scowled at him a little as she gathered her things.

  They left together, acting like it was no big deal, but as soon as River pulled his car into a parking space at Eye of the Tiger, he leaned over and kissed her.

  “I’ve been wanting to do that for hours,” he murmured against her lips.

  “I guess good things come to those who wait,” she said, and kissed him again, letting it linger a little before she pulled away. “Are we really here to taste porters?”

  “No reason we can’t mix business and pleasure.”

  “I like the way you think,” she said, looking into his eyes. She liked what she saw there too. They were alight with pleasure, with happiness, something that had largely been missing the last couple of weeks, and she felt no small amount of wonder that he was happy because of her.

  Once inside, they ordered a flight along with some appetizers. They discussed what they liked and didn’t like about each of the beers, and what qualities they should reach for with their own version, River taking notes on his phone. She glanced at his screen, smiling at what she saw: Georgie plus chocolate=happy, in beer and in general; Georgie plus bitterness=only if balanced; Georgie plus coffee=not too heavy.

  “I’m okay with coffee in the morning,” she said in an undertone. “Plenty of coffee. Maybe you should add that to your list.”

  “Maybe I will,” he said, looking up at her. “I like to make my boss woman happy. Now, about that porter…”

  She was still such a beer novice, but he took her feedback and advice so seriously, as if it were as important as his own. She loved that, loved how excited he got over the whole process. It made work feel fun, which it never really had before, she realized. Fulfilling and rewarding, yes, but never fun.

  At the end of their lunch, a big burly man with a beard came out of the back to greet them, heading straight for River. He pumped his hand almost aggressively and thanked him for coming in. He was the owner, it turned out, and River introduced Georgie as one of the new owners of Buchanan Brewery.

  “She has great things planned for Buchanan’s future,” River said, beaming. “I’m excited to be part of it.”

  “I heard about Big Catch,” the owner said. “You did the right thing, jumping ship. Finn let us all down, inviting those sharks into town.”

  River looked a little conflicted about that, like maybe he thought he should defend Finn, but he just shrugged. “I was lucky the opportunity at Buchanan opened up when it did.”

  “Truth be told,” the owner said, running a hand over his beard, “I always figured you’d be the one to inherit Buchanan.” As if realizing what he’d said, or rather whom he’d said it in front of, he turned to Georgie. “No offense, it’s just common knowledge that Beau taught River the ropes about brewing—it’s kind of a local legend—and Beau never talked about his family much.”

  Georgie felt like she was going to throw up. She’d almost forgotten about the will, or maybe she’d let herself forget. River still didn’t know, but she’d have to tell him now. The sooner she did it, the less of a betrayal it would be.

  Not yet, she told herself. Not until you sort everything out with Adalia, Jack, and Lee.

  She forced a smile. “Grandpa Beau was full of surprises. All I know is we’re very lucky to have River.”

  “It was great seeing you, River,” the man said, clapping him on the back. “Glad to hear you’re staying in Asheville.”

  “Me too, man. I wouldn’t leave for the world.”

  Georgie’s guilt amplified. What if her brothers tried to enforce the no-fraternizing policy and the noncompete?

  But she was being weak, thinking like that. It was time for her to show her brothers that she was in charge of things.

  Georgie left the brewery at five to meet the contractor for her walk-through. Adalia would arrive at the airport at seven thirty, so she had a little time to move in and get settled before her new roommate arrived.

  It looked like a different house than the one she’d walked into two weeks prior. The living room had been fastidiously cleaned and freshly painted, and it looked great despite being completely empty. And the new granite counters, appliances, and freshly painted cabinets in the kitchen gave the house an updated look.

  After the contractor left, Georgie went upstairs to prep her sist
er’s room. She’d just started changing the bedding when she heard a knock on the front door. Jezebel was still missing, so she knew there was a possibility it could be one of the neighbors. She went down to answer the door with no small amount of trepidation.

  But it was River, standing there with a pizza box in hand, a bottle of wine under one arm and Hops squirming under the other. “Thought you might like some help putting the house back together.”

  With a grin, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him through the door. She’d told him her plans for the evening, so she hadn’t expected to see him until tomorrow. Was it crazy that she’d missed him?

  She took the pizza box from him, mostly because she wanted to kiss him, and she didn’t see it happening without something falling from his hands or out from under his arms. River was skilled in a lot of things, but as far as she knew, he didn’t know how to juggle. Pizza in hand, she leaned in and kissed him, inasmuch as they could manage with the box between them.

  When Hops released a mewl of protest, she stooped down and kissed his head.

  River grinned as he lowered the puppy to the floor.

  “I really am here to help,” he said, taking the box back from her and heading for the kitchen, “and I figured you probably hadn’t picked up anything for dinner.”

  “You know my habits all too well,” she said as she walked with him. “Although I admit I’m surprised by the wine.”

  “I remember you mentioning you drank wine before you got caught up in brewing beer. And I figured you might be in the mood for something different. Should be enough time for you to have a glass before you need to leave for the airport.”

  “Well, thank you.”

  “Are you hungry?” He set the pizza box on the counter and glanced around, his mouth parted. “Wow. This place looks great.”

  “But it doesn’t look like Beau’s house.” She wondered belatedly if that would bother him. Hops was wandering the floor as if doing his own walk-through, his little tail wagging.