The contractors didn’t look up from the baseboards as she walked through the store. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in the mirror behind the cash desk, her cheeks were pink, and her mussed hair stuck out from underneath Charlie’s wool hat.

  The door to the store opened and a man stepped inside. The light was behind him and she could only make out his silhouette.

  The sign installers weren’t due to arrive until noon, she glanced at the clock on the computer and it wasn’t even ten in the morning. “Can I help you?”

  The man stepped out of the shadows and Emma’s breath caught in her throat.

  For the second time that day the world went into slow motion, but this time it wasn’t from pleasure, it was from shock.

  “Jason?” she stammered and took a step back.

  The man squinted at her and she saw the moment when the recognition hit him. “Emma? What the hell are you doing here?”

  She was frozen in place, unable to respond. Her ex-fiancé’s best friend had just stepped into her flower shop.

  Twelve

  From Emma’s bright, almost finished store, Charlie’s brewpub seemed like a wasteland. He wished that he could afford to hire a whole crew that could come in and finish it off as Emma could. At this pace, he wasn’t going to be ready for his scheduled grand opening. Hell, he wasn’t even on pace to be ready for the end of the summer.

  Wrapped up in a whirlwind romance, the brewpub had been put on the backburner. He spent a morning screwing in bed when he should have been screwing in drywall. This morning, he should’ve been mudding and taping instead of banging Emma in a storage room. The plastic vapor barrier had become loose by the front door and it flapped in the wind as he surveyed his life’s work. Why had he agreed to go on a hike? Why had he spent that night building walls for her?

  She was an amazing woman, but the reality of the skeletal brewpub renovation brought him down from cloud nine. What good was having a relationship if he was going to lose everything else he had worked so hard for?

  He could hear the hammering next door, and as much as he hated to admit it, he felt resentment.

  ‘Stop it,’ he told himself. ‘Just roll up your shirtsleeves and get this done.’ He shook the dust off his toolbelt and buckled it around his waist. When he pulled out his tape measure and bent to take a measurement a strand of hair that didn’t reach his elastic fell to his cheeks. He glanced around for his wool hat.

  “Dammit.” He muttered and tried to pull all the hair into his man bun and reached for his hand saw.

  Thirty minutes later all of his doubts had been pushed aside as he surveyed his progress. It was a messy job, but hanging drywall was kind of fun.

  He heard a bang on the front door and then looked up to see Freddie walking in.

  “Hi, Fred.” He kept sawing.

  “Hey, buddy.” Freddie walked around the castoff pieces of drywall and leaned against one of the sawhorses. “How are things going?”

  Charlie stood up and swept his hair out of his face. “Good. I mean, I’m a little behind.”

  “A little?” Freddie surveyed the room. “What have you been doing?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Pulling my damn brother out of the drunk tank, working until three in the morning, that kind of stuff.” He didn’t want to add, kissing a pretty blond girl – Freddie knew.

  “I’ve got a few hours before my next job. Let me give you a hand with the big pieces.” Freddie brushed off his hands and stood up.

  “Thanks, man,” Charlie said. “The full sheets are a little hard to do on my own.”

  The two of them set to work, and with the help, they were able to get the dining and bar area all ready for mudding and taping. As they held up the last piece and Charlie screwed in the nails, the light from outside poured into the room as the door opened. Neither man could let go of the piece that they were holding.

  “Who’s there?” Charlie shouted.

  “It’s me. Jay,” Jason shouted.

  Charlie heard footsteps as Jason jogged to where they were working and grabbed his end.

  “Thanks,” Charlie said. He installed the last screws in the board. “Jason, do you remember Freddie?”

  “I don’t know if we’ve met.” Jason shook Freddie’s hand. “I’m the good-looking Jones.”

  Charlie rolled his eyes. “You’re going to need a new line there, chubs.” He poked Jason in the side. “My big brother finished the lumberjack breakfast at the G-Spot this morning.”

  “Don’t fat shame me,” Jason grinned and pretended to grasp his side like he’d been stabbed by Charlie’s finger. “Hey Freddie, I’m throwing a bachelor party here in town. You want to come?”

  Freddie looked at Charlie. “Do I know the groom?”

  “No, but if you’re a friend of ours, you’re a friend of his. It’s more of a big party anyway. I just found out from the wedding planner that the strip club I booked has been closed down for health code violations. We’re moving it to the Last Chance Tavern.”

  “You know that it’s only a strip club on Tuesday’s, right?” Freddie grinned. He seemed entertained by Charlie’s brother.

  “Yeah, but not if you bring your own entertainment.” Jason laughed. “I saw that pole in there the other day and knew it wasn’t just for decoration.”

  Freddie checked his watch. “Charlie, I’ve got to get going. I’ll come back later and help you with this though.”

  “Are you going to come?” Jason said. “It’s going to be the party of the year.”

  “Sure. If I don’t have anything else going on,” Freddie replied.

  “Is Serena going to be okay with that?” Charlie asked.

  Freddie zipped up his jacket and brushed the chalky dust from his hands. “She doesn’t worry about stuff like that. And, she’s the only woman in the world I’m interested in touching anyway. Later guys.” Freddie turned and held his hand up in a wave as he headed out the door.

  The second it was closed behind him Jason turned to face Charlie. “We’ve got to talk.”

  “Can it wait?”

  “Nope,” Jason said. “It can’t.”

  “Fine.” Charlie blew air out between his lips, wondering what kind of stupid bachelor party emergency his brother needed to discuss. He crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows. “So…” he made a ‘let’s get on with it motion with his hand and returned to his crossed arm stance.

  Clearing his throat, Jason looked at the ground and then met his brother’s impatient gaze.

  “What?” Charlie asked. The look on his brother’s face told him this was serious, and not stripper related.

  “The girl that you’re seeing. Emma, that owns the flower shop…” his voiced trailed out.

  “Yeah,” Charlie raised his eyebrows. “What about her?”

  “You’re telling me you don’t know?” He squeezed his lips into a line.

  “Know what? Spit it out?” Charlie was losing his patience and put his fists on his hips.

  “How could you not know?”

  “Goddammit, Jason,” Charlie shouted. “What the fuck are you talking about? Enough with this cryptic shit. I’ve got way too much going on to play your games. What?”

  Jason reared back like Charlie was going to hit him, even though he was the hothead. “That’s Adam’s ex-fiancée.”

  “Adam. As in your best friend Adam?” This time it was Charlie’s turn. He took a step back and all of a sudden it made sense.

  “Our best friend Adam,” Jason emphasized the ‘our’. “The Adam whose wedding you’re crashing with his psycho ex-girlfriend.”

  “Are you sure?” The world started to spin, and Charlie leaned against the bar to steady himself. “I haven’t met any of Adam’s girlfriends since grade twelve so, how was I supposed to know? Charlie asked. But now, he knew exactly where he’d seem Emma before. Not in person, no there was no way he would ever forget meeting someone as gorgeous as her, but in Adam’s social media photos. He hadn’t paid too much attention back then but knew that Adam had been with a pretty blond woman and then he wasn’t.

  “You can’t bring her to the wedding, and you have to break it off with her now.”

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa.” Charlie held up his hands. “I can’t bring her to the wedding, but you can’t tell me that I have to break up with her. It’s over with them.”

  “Dude. She’s one of your best friend’s ex-girlfriends and you just don’t do that.” Jason shook his head like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “And that bitch is psycho.”

  Charlie’s face burned. “Don’t you dare speak about Emma like that.”

  Jason opened his arms. “I’m just trying to help you. Charlie. She’s a terrible person. I don’t even know where to start. You need to get as far away from her as possible. She will ruin your life.”

  Charlie turned away from his brother. The rage that was simmering inside him was about to boil over and he didn’t want to be close enough to punch him in the face. “I said, don’t speak about her like that,” Charlie spoke through clenched teeth.

  “I’m sorry Charlie.” Jason’s voice was softer now, placating. “You can call Adam if you want to get the whole story. He’ll tell you the truth.”

  Charlie turned and thrust his hands into his pants pockets. “And what is the truth? There are two sides to every story Jason. Maybe I’ll just ask her for her side--”

  “She’s a compulsive liar,” Jason interrupted. “You won’t get the truth from her. She’ll manipulate you to get her way.”

  “I don’t believe this,” Charlie said.

  “And she’ll steal from you,” Jason added. “Adam could’ve pressed charges, but he decided just to move on with his life.”

  Charlie couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “That doesn’t sound like Emma.” But he thought back to Stacy’s warning and wondered where that had come from.

  “Charlie. You don’t know her. She’s evil,” Jason said. “And, after Karlie, I don’t think that you want to be with a serial cheater. She cheated on Adam the entire time they were engaged. She fucked some guy in his walk-in closet for god’s sake. Can you imagine, some guy banging your girlfriend surrounded by your golf shirts?”

  Charlie pulled the plastic cover off one of the barstools. “I think that I need a drink.” His heart was deep in the pit of his stomach as he processed this new information. Hours earlier he had fucked Emma in her storage closet. Maybe it was her thing. The storage room, that wasn’t a first-time thing for her.

  “Where do you think she got the money for her business?” Jason kept going. “She stole the ring he gave her. She took the diamond out of it, cashed it, and left the rest of it on his front porch.” He shook his head. “I’m telling you, man. Evil.”

  “Are you sure?” Charlie narrowed his lips.

  “Absolutely. If you ask her, she’s gonna deny it. She lied about so many things. I can’t believe that Adam stayed with her as long as he did. He finally kicked her out when he found another man’s boxer shorts in the laundry hamper.”

  Suddenly Karlie and Emma seemed to share a lot in common. “I seem to have a type.” He whispered. “I can’t believe I was so wrong about her.”

  Jason jangled the car keys inside his windbreaker pocket. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you all of this. I’m just glad I caught this at the beginning before she had the chance to do any real damage.”

  “Yeah. Thanks, Jay.” Charlie rubbed his beard. “I guess you never really know someone do you?”

  “Nope.” Jason shook his head. “That’s why I stick to the floozies. They just want one thing, and I’m prepared to give that away, and nothing else. He turned to leave. “Oh, shit. I almost forgot. She was sneaky and got her name on Adam’s townhome, so she stole half of that too.”

  “Where are you going now?” Charlie asked. “I could use some help here if you’re sticking around.”

  “Wish I could bro.” Jason stepped forward and threw an arm around his brother’s shoulder in a loose hug. “I’ve got to get back to the city before traffic gets too bad.”

  “Alright,” Charlie said. He wasn’t disappointed, his expectations were set extremely low when it came to his brother. “Drive safely. And let me know when you’ve got the date set for the bachelor party.” Charlie pulled the measuring tape from his pouch and started to measure out the next piece of drywall.

  “Friday!” Jason shouted as he disappeared out of the front entrance.

  Once he was out of sight, Charlie slumped down on the floor and rested his head in his hands. How did he miss it? To him, Emma was a sweet young woman who was working hard to get her new business established, but Jason wouldn’t lie to him.

  He stood up and brushed off the back of his pants. Even though Adam told him not to do it, he had to talk to Emma. He had to see for himself. He undid his tool pouch and set it down beside the huge stack of drywall. He didn’t have to go far for his answer, as he reached the door, he saw a shadow through the frosted glass – Emma was on the other side.

  He pushed the door open as she was about to knock. She had his hat in her hands. “I thought you might be looking for this,” she said and held it out.

  “Thanks,” Charlie took the hat and put it on his head.

  “I wanted to plan our hike,” she smiled.

  “Yeah, about that.” Charlie took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.”

  She looked up at him with her doe eyes, batting her lashes as her eyes searched his. “What about?”

  “Come in, Emma. I think we need to sit down for this conversation.”

  Thirteen

  Emma glanced around the brewhouse. Half the drywall was hung, the floor was covered in sawdust, and electrical wires were dangling from the ceiling. She wasn’t an expert, and she knew that a bar was more complex than a flower shop, but the brewhouse looked like it needed some serious help.

  “The place looks…good,” she said.

  Charlie pulled a sheet of plastic off a barstool and motioned for Emma to sit. “No, it doesn’t, but thanks,” he said.

  Her brow knitted. “Is everything okay, Charlie?”

  “Not really, Emma,” Charlie said.

  The last time Emma saw Charlie was hours earlier, and he had been gasping behind her and kissing her earlobe. Her mind raced a mile a minute trying to figure out what the heck was going on.

  “What’s going on?” she asked. She took Charlie’s rough hands into her own. He wouldn’t meet her gaze, and then he pulled his hands from hers and stroked his beard with one and tucked the thumb of the other into the pocket of his canvas pants.

  “You’re spending a lot of money next door.”

  Emma was truly confused. “Is that a question, Charlie?”

  He sighed. She could see that he was having a hard time putting together whatever it was that he wanted to ask her. “Where did you get the money to buy your flower shop?”

  She jerked her head back. “I don’t know if that’s any of your business.” She crossed her legs and shoved her hands between her thighs. “Where is this coming from Charlie? I wouldn’t ask you that question.”

  “Savings,” Charlie said. “And a small business loan. And it’s barely enough to get everything done, let alone hiring help to do everything for me.” He looked at Emma and the warmth from his eyes was gone.

  “I had some money set aside.” Emma was so caught off guard by his line of questioning, and with his gruff attitude, she didn’t feel like being more forthcoming. He didn’t need to know that she hawked her diamond ring to get the down payment. “Charlie, what is this all about?”

  Charlie stood up and covered the barstool back up with plastic. “I need to focus on this project. I don’t have a whole crew at my disposal.”

  “We can go for the hike tomorrow,” Emma said and stood up. She reached for his hand. “Don’t worry Charlie, you’ll get everything done.”

  He shook her hand away like it was a pesky fly. “No Emma. I can’t go for a hike tomorrow. I need to get this done. You and me. I think that we need to take a step back and focus on what’s important right now – our businesses.”

  “What?” Emma stepped toward Charlie, but with every step she took towards him, he took one back until he was pressed against the plastic-covered bar. “Charlie, I thought we were going to try to make this work.” She could feel the tears burning in the corner of her eyes, but the shock she felt at being dumped was mixed with anger. None of this made any sense.

  “I can’t right now.” His voice was hard.

  “Charlie.” One tear escaped and she brushed at her face with the back of her hand. “No.”

  “You have to go, Emma. Please. Leave me alone.”

  “Charlie.” The reality of what was happening was setting in. He really was dumping her, hours after she almost told him that she loved him.

  “Go, Emma. Please.”

  “Char—”

  “Go.” He interrupted and pointed to the door.

  Emma felt like her feet were glued to the unfinished floor. She opened her mouth to protest, but nothing came out. She had come over to arrange a romantic hike with the man she thought was her boyfriend but was leaving freshly dumped for no real reason.

  “You need to explain why you’re doing this.” She tried to keep the waver out of her voice, but it was there. She put her hands on her hips and felt the second tear slip down her other cheek. This time she didn’t move to wipe it away.

  This time Charlie’s voice was softer. “Emma. Please. I’m asking you to leave. I don’t owe you an explanation.”

  Inside her heart, a battle had been raging between sadness and anger and at that moment, anger won. “Fuck you,” she said under her breath.

  Charlie’s eyes narrowed like he wasn’t quite sure what he had heard.

  “Fuck you, Charlie,” she shouted this time. The curse word felt foreign and aggressive on her lips. She turned on her heel and marched out of the unfinished brewpub, seething with anger. As she reached the door, she broke into a jog, the dusty air inside the building suffocating her. She burst into the fresh mountain air and doubled over, her hands on her knees, gasping for breath. She looked to the left and right, and then stood and straightened her overalls. She hoped that no one had seen her outburst. She wiped away the tears and stepped into her shop.