stood and gestured to Eliza. “This is Eliza. I’ve just offered her the position of head hostess. Eliza, these are three of my siblings, Sophie, Mac and Blair.” He pointed to each of them as he spoke.
“Wow. Cool. Hi. Nice to meet you.” Sophie rushed forward, offered her hand to shake Eliza’s and then pulled out a seat at the table.
Mac and Blair also followed with handshakes and Lachlan couldn’t help noticing the way his younger brothers looked appreciatively over his new employee. Mac’s appreciation wasn’t surprising—he might not date much since splitting with his longtime girlfriend a year ago, but he wasn’t dead. And Lachlan had to concede you’d have to be dead not to notice how easy on the eye Eliza was.
But Blair’s interest surprised him—granted, he was divorced but most of the time he and his ex-wife, Claire, acted like newlyweds. It was very confusing for everyone.
Whatever, he made a mental note to warn them both off Eliza later—he didn’t want any flings with his brothers getting in the way of her doing her job.
“Hi, Auntie Sophie, Uncle Mac and Uncle Blair,” Hallie said through a mouthful of macaroni.
“Hey, short stuff.” Sophie ruffled Hallie’s hair. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”
Sophie half looked at Lachlan as she said this and he mouthed back, Linda.
Sophie nodded—he’d fill her in later—then she leaned in and sniffed Hallie’s lunch. “Mmm, that smell’s to die for.”
“Okay, okay.” Lachlan shook his head as his brothers also pulled up seats. “I’ll go get you all a serving.” He knew he wouldn’t get rid of them until he did so.
“So where are you from?” Sophie asked when they all had steaming bowls of the best mac’n’cheese in Oregon in front of them.
“New York,” Eliza replied.
“Long way from home,” Blair commented.
Eliza shrugged. “I’m looking for a change of scenery and a new adventure.”
Mac nodded. “I can relate. So where are you living?”
“Um...I actually came straight here from the airport,” she admitted, glancing over and meeting Lachlan’s gaze. “That’s one of those few things I need to organize.”
“Hey, why don’t you check out the apartment next door to us?” Sophie suggested. “The old tenants moved out last month, and the landlord is still looking for a new one. It’s nothing flashy, but it’s cozy and not far from here.”
“Us?” Eliza asked.
Sophie grinned. “Me and my twin sister, Annabel. She’s a firefighter, but I’m sure you’ll meet her soon enough. If you’re interested, I could call the landlord and see if she can show you round this afternoon.”
“That would be wonderful. Thank you. And then I’ll need to deliver my rental car back to the airport and work out more permanent transport.”
“We can probably help you with that, as well,” Blair said.
“I can draw some pictures to go on your new walls,” Hallie—never one to be left out—offered.
Everyone laughed.
“Thank you,” Eliza said, “that will be wonderful.” Then she looked to Mac. “So are you the genius behind this building?”
“Sure am.” As Mac’s face glowed with pride, Lachlan felt a pinch of something like jealousy inside him. It might have been Mac’s handiwork but much of the concept was Lachlan’s and he’d got his hands dirty a few times during the construction. But he bit down on the impulse to state these facts as he knew how uncharitable it would sound—besides, even when they egged him on, he’d never been the type to compete with his brothers, so the feeling was weird. Perhaps he was still unsettled after Linda’s dramatic arrival and departure.
Lachlan refilled his brother’s bowls and poured Hallie a glass of milk while conversation continued around him. Eliza got along well with his siblings, she showed lots of interest and asked lots of questions about the history of the distillery and the café that had been open until recently.
“We closed it a month ago—in April—so we could finish the construction and decorate the restaurant,” Lachlan explained. “It’s ideal to have somewhere to eat on the premises as customers tend to buy more whiskey when they can linger for a snack, hence why I want to open up as soon as possible.”
“Fantastic,” Eliza said, wiping a tiny smudge of cheese-and-whiskey sauce off her bottom lip. “I’m excited to be here at the ground level.”
Mac chuckled. “I hope you’re prepared to work hard because I can attest to the fact that Lachlan here is a slave driver. I’ve barely slept in a month.”
Lachlan glared at him but Eliza didn’t seem perturbed.
“Bring it on,” she said as she met his gaze. “Workaholic is my middle name.”
And something inside him fizzed at this declaration. Someone who wasn’t afraid of a little hard work was exactly who he needed in this position. Eliza’s good looks had absolutely no bearing on his decision whatsoever.
Everything was happening so fast, Eliza thought as she flopped back onto her bed in a cute little boutique hotel in Jewell Rock. Unlike the neighboring town of Bend, whose popularity was rising by the second, Jewell Rock was still a national secret and therefore there wasn’t an abundance of places to choose from to stay. The few options were all high-quality, rustic, mountain-lodge-type places. Lachlan’s sister Sophie was so very friendly that she’d offered Eliza the couch in her and Annabel’s apartment for the night, but Eliza had politely declined the generous invitation.
Once upon a time, she’d have accepted such an offer from near strangers—thought of it as an adventure—but things had changed and now she preferred to keep to herself and take new friendships slowly.
Her cell phone beeped and despite the fact that her limbs felt heavy from exhaustion, she rolled over and reached to grab it from the bedside table. Speaking of friends...a message from Lilly, her best one, popped up on the screen.
Just checking in. How was your day? Any news on the job yet? xx
While part of her felt too tired for a conversation, calling was easier than typing out what would inevitably be a long message. She pressed Dial and less than two seconds later, Lilly picked up.
“Tell me the interview was a disaster and you’re not moving halfway across the world.”
Eliza almost smiled as she snuggled back into the pillows. That was classic Lilly—no time for greetings and a tendency for theatrics. “Oregon is not halfway across the world.”
Lilly groaned. “Oh, no. You got the job, didn’t you?”
“Yes.
