Finding Sunshine (27 page)

“You too,” I say, half standing to shake his hand, before carefully sitting back down. The rickety chair groans in protest.

“We were just telling Mr. Masters more about the position, and what his role would be in managing the pub and helping to promote your beers,” Mr. Royal fills in his son.

“Great,” David says with a bright smile. “I really want to be able to focus on the brewery and establishing the brand. You wouldn’t think it, but there’s a lot of competition in the area. Vermont has around thirty craft breweries, and the next town over, Middlebury, is home to the popular
Otter Creek Brewery
. Which means we have a lot of work to do to prove ourselves.”

“I hadn’t realized that Vermont had such a craft beer industry.”

“Vermont is the home of craft beer and cheese—the prefect combination,” David quips with an easy bright smile.
Very
unlike his brother.

“I’d want to learn more about the other breweries, especially if they have pubs as well,” I say, thinking that learning about the competition is the best way to get started on any new endeavor.

“Of course,” David states. “We’d want to go scouting at all of the breweries and pubs in the area. To see what we like—and more importantly—what we can do even better.”

“It seems to me that your location, being so close to the center of town, is already in line for some great foot traffic.” I observe.

“Exactly,” David says enthusiastically.

“Excuse me,” a woman says, opening the door and popping her head in. “Honey, where did you put the extra lines for the kegs? One of them has a puncture.”

“Anna, this is Aaron. He’s thinking coming on board to get the pub started,” he says with a smile. “Aaron, this is my wife, Anna.”

“Hello, it’s good to meet you,” she says, turning her blue eyes on me, and smiling.

“You, too.”

“I’m not sure where I put them. I’ll be right there.”

“Go on, son. Franklin and I will finish up here,” Mr. Royal says.

“Thank you,” he says to his dad, before turning to me and adding, “it was great to finally meet you, Aaron. We’ll talk more later, but I think we could work well together here.”

“I’m glad I could make it out here,” I say honestly. His passion and excitement for starting the brewery is contagious.

“Do you have any other questions?” Franklin asks.

“We know this is a risk for you, so we’re willing to offer you a one year contract. You come, establish the pub and get it running, and then if afterwards you decide Pinetree isn’t the place for you, you’ll leave with a hefty severance package. Or, you are welcome to stay on. To make relocating easier, we’ll also give you use of an apartment in a building we own on Main street,” Mr. Royal says.

The offer seems almost too good to be true!

“If you decide to take the position, how quickly do you think you could relocate?” Franklin asks.

“I have commitments at the shelter until the end of September, but after that—
if
Nina agrees—we’d be able to move up immediately.”

“I know it’s none of my business, but I take that to mean you’re serious about that sweet young lady of yours?” Mr. Royal asks.

“You’re right, it’s not any of your business,” I answer evenly. “But yes, Nina is my future.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Every man needs a good and sensible woman to keep him on track. I wish my son, here, would get that through his thick skull.”

“Dad, you just married one of us off. Isn’t that enough?” Franklin rolls his eyes and leans his head back in exasperation. Mr. Royal ignores the question.

“Now that you know what the job entails, we’ll give you a few weeks before I need a definite answer, one way or the other.” Mr. Royal stands, ending the interview. Franklin and I follow his lead.

“Thank you. I need to discuss things with Nina before I can decide.”

“Of course,” he says with a smile, opening the door and leading us back out into the pub.

Nina and I stayed at the pub for another hour, and during that time, Mr. Royal took us around, introducing us to practically everyone there. There’s no way I could have remembered all of their names, so I did a lot of smiling and nodding. We were introduced to a retired veterinarian, the town Sherriff, and a local dairy farmer, to name just a few. Some tasters were extended family members, while others were people from the community. Mr. Royal seemed determined to make us feel welcome. It worked—by the end, I realized that these were good people, and that this was a family business I actually wanted to be a part of.

Now I only need to convince Nina to move here.

~:~:~:~:~

“How do I look?” I groan silently as I hear Nina’s voice from behind, asking me the dreaded question.

Why do women do this to men?

I never want to lie to her, so I’ve developed a strategy when faced with this particular situation. So far, I've only had to employ it twice—once, when she was wearing this hideous pant-skirt thing that made her gorgeous legs look like they were drowning in fabric, and then again when she had on a brightly colored floral jumpsuit. I simply avoid answering the question directly, by
honestly
telling her that I preferred her naked—which is true!

I slowly turn around to see Nina wearing a short, full navy blue polka-dotted
dress. Its V-neck is hinting at just the right amount of cleavage, and her hair is piled on top of her head with several tuggable pieces falling down her neck and around her face.

“You look gorgeous,” I state truthfully, taking several steps towards her and placing my hands on her hips.

“Thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself, handsome.” She straightens my collar, and then runs her hands down my chest, smoothing my shirt.

I pull her in closer. Nuzzling her neck, I smell the sweetness that is my Sunshine and whisper, “Are you sure you want to go to dinner?”

“Yes,” she giggles, pulling away and stepping out of my arms. “I didn’t spend an hour getting ready just for you to tear my clothes off.”

Taking a quick step forward, I hook Nina’s waist with my arm and pull her possessively into my arms. She continues to laugh as she attempts to push me away.

“I definitely plan on getting you out of this dress later.” I state definitively, running my hands down to squeeze her ass before giving her a none too gentle swat. The unexpected contact makes her gasp and melt into me. “But, I promised my woman a nice dinner, and that’s what she’s going to get.”

Entering the rustic dinning room of the inn’s restaurant,
Chester’s
, I notice that there are at least a half a dozen colorful quilts hanging on the walls and draping down from the exposed beams on the ceiling. All are displayed like pieces of artwork.

The hostess leads us across the room and seats us at a small, candlelit table, near the empty stone hearth.

“These are beautiful quilts,” Nina observes as I pull out her chair and she takes a seat.

“They’re all for sale,” the hostess replies with a smile, handing Nina a menu as I take my seat.

“Really? They seem like they’re pieces of art.”

“Yes, every couple of months or so we hang a new artist’s work here in the dinning room.”

“Do you ever have photographs?” I ask.

“Yes, we’ve had several Vermont photographers feature their work here before,” she says, handing me a menu. “Lori will be your server this evening, and she’ll be right over with some water and to take your order. Enjoy your meal.”

“Thank you,” I answer for us. After the hostess has walked away, I turn to Nina. “You know, you could do that.”

“Do what?”

“Get businesses to feature your photographs.”

“You think?” she asks, smiling brightly.

Nodding my head, I smile as I reach out and take her hand. I’ll never understand why Nina lacks confidence in her work. Her parents have made it clear that they support her and praise her abilities.

“Yes. Why not?” I ask her, squeezing her hand.

Just then, a waitress comes over to our table, interrupting us as she fills our water glasses from the pitcher she’s carrying.

“Good evening and welcome to
Chester’s
. My name is Lori, and I’ll be taking care of you this evening. Can I start you two off with something to drink?” she asks with a friendly smile.

“What local beers do you have on tap?” I ask, looking forward to beginning my ‘research.’

“We have
Magic Hat’s
number nine,
Switchback’s
brown ale, and
Otter Creek’s
seasonal, Fresh Slice, which is a white IPA.”

“You’d like that last one, Sunshine,” I comment, knowing she prefers hoppier beers. “I’ll have the
Switchback
,
please.”

Once Nina’s ordered her beer—taking my advice—the waitress leaves and we both pick up our menus. The waitress quickly returns with our drinks, and takes our order for the cheese plate appetizer to share.

“What are you thinking?” Nina asks, looking at me from over the top of her menu.

“The maple glazed buffalo steak,” I answer, placing my menu down on the corner of the table.

“That does sound good. But I’m going to go with the stuffed ravioli,” she declares, picking up her beer.

“Are you going to let me try some?”

“Depends. Are you going to share with me?” she asks with a coy smile.

“Always.”

“You seem so happy,” she says, her green eyes sparkling with equal joy.

“I am.” I take hold of her hand and squeeze it gently. “You know everything about me, and I don’t have to hide anymore. There’s nothing left between us.”

The moment is interrupted by the shadow of the waitress as she returns. “Have you decided what you’d like?” she asks, setting down the delicious-looking cheese platter and fresh bread.

We quickly order, handing the waitress our menus as she disappears, leaving me alone again with my Sunshine.
This weekend away together has been perfect.

Absolutely fucking perfect.

“Did you have fun today?” I ask, handing her a piece of bread and then putting what looks like cheddar on a piece for myself.
I really hope she’s having as great a time as I am.

“
Yes
,” she mumbles around her mouthful before swallowing. “Did you know there’s supposedly a sea monster named Champ
living in Lake Champlain?”

“Really, like the Loch Ness Monster?” I ask, shaking my head at the absurdity of it.

“Yes. Father O’Neill was telling me about it while you were in your meeting. There’s even supposed to be a video of Champ on YouTube,” she giggles.

“That explains the décor of the diner this afternoon,” I laugh.

“It does. I can’t wait to drive around tomorrow and see more of the area,” she says excitedly. My heart lightens at how much she’s enjoyed our visit so far.

“You mean, you want to take more pictures,” I tease.

“Yes,” she giggles happily, not even trying to deny it. “There are just so many beautiful sights here.”

“I thought we’d take the covered bridge tour, and maybe even stop by that farm and see the herd of buffalo,” I say, taking a sip of my beer and washing down the delicious bread and cheese.

“I’m not sure I want to go see the buffalo. I’d feel bad for how delicious I thought our burgers were today,” she answers, scrunching up her nose adorably before popping another piece of cheese into her mouth. Nina had only ever eaten veggie or turkey burgers before, since she doesn’t eat beef, but I convinced her to try the buffalo at lunch, and she was surprised at how much she enjoyed it.

“They were tasty,” I agree, smiling at her. “But you eat lamb, and buffalos aren’t exactly cute and cuddly, like they are.”

“Maybe not, but they are kind of adorable in their own way. All of that shaggy fur and those big heads,” she says. “If it’s nice out, maybe we can have a picnic near the creek?”

“Anything you want.”

“Anything?” she asks, as I feel her toes rubbing against my ankle.

“Nina,” I growl, “behave.”

“Or what?”

“Or, you’ll get a spanking.”

“That’s not exactly a deterrent,” she giggles, slouching in her chair and stretching out her leg to run her foot further up mine. My body jerks uncontrollably and my pants instantly tighten.
Fuck.

Reaching below the table, I catch her ankle in my grasp, causing her to squirm.

“Aaron,” she hisses, struggling not to laugh as she attempts to shake off my hold. “Let go!”

“Behave yourself,” I growl at her again, gently releasing her foot.

Nina sits back up in her chair properly, as if nothing has happened, except for the mischievously glint in her eyes that I’ve grown to love.

I wiggle in my seat, attempting to get comfortable and relieve the tightness that my stiffening cock has caused.