Despite the crowd in the bar, the ladies’ bathroom was almost empty. One stall was taken, the other three empty. There was a girl putting lipstick on at the sink, smacking her lips together and blowing kisses at her reflection. Becca vaguely recognized her from high school.
After they’d both done what they needed to do, and were standing at the sinks, Naomi shot Becca a speculative look. “So, what happened in the barrel room?”
Becca frowned at her reflection. “What do you mean? I did the tasting, Daniel asked some questions, and then I headed straight here.”
Naomi shook her head. “No, something happened. You were normal when I saw you a few hours ago. Now you’re all breathy and shaky and hitting guys in the stomach. And I know it’s not the whiskey that did it. You do tastings all the time. So what gives?”
Becca turned to look at Naomi, a long sigh escaping her lips. “I made an idiot of myself there, too.” And if she thought about it, the same right hand was to blame. Would it hurt a lot if she chopped her arm off? “I went to touch his face and he caught my arm, then held it for too long.”
Naomi’s brows pinched together. “He held you? How?”
He curled his fingers around my wrist and made me wonder what it would be like to be naked in bed with him. “Like this,” Becca said, curling her fingers around Naomi’s wrist. “Except up in the air, so my elbow was bent and my hand was inches away from his jaw.”
“I don’t get it.” Naomi shook her glossy dark hair. “Why did you want to touch him?”
“Because I’m an idiot.”
Naomi laughed. “No you’re not. Come on, why did you want to touch him? Was he annoying you? Did you want to slap him?” She tipped her head to the side. “Oh my god, d
o you have a thing for him?”
Swallowing hard, Becca slowly nodded. A thing didn’t even cover it. She wasn’t sure when it had happened. When the dislike had fizzed into something stronger. More spectacular. But the fact was, she had a huge, unmissable yearning for Daniel Carter.
“But you hate him. And he’s been an asshole to you. Remember what he said about the blend?”
“I remember.” Becca’s voice was low. Rough. “And it doesn’t matter anyway, because I’m being stupid. He’s my boss, which is bad enough. But you’re right, he’s an asshole, too.” Except he hadn’t been an asshole to her tonight. He’d been different. He’d listened to her. Intensely. Yeah, that word summed Daniel up perfectly. He was intense in everything he did.
Would he be intense between the sheets, too?
“Becca? You zoned out again.”
She really needed to stop doing that. “Sorry. I was thinking.”
“About him?”
“About tonight. I’m sorry, I’m here talking to you about Daniel when I’m supposed to be on a double date with you and Alex.”
Naomi waved her hand. “Ah, Shawn’s a good guy, but he’s leaving next week. Daniel, on the other hand, is staying right here. How are you going to deal with seeing him on Monday?”
Becca bit into the fleshy skin of her bottom lip. “I don’t know. I might not even have a job when I go in on Monday. I touched him first. Or at least, I went to touch him first. If he complains about me, I’ll be gone.”
“He won’t complain about you.”
“What makes you think that?” Becca curled her fingers around the edge of the sink.
“Because he’s not that kind of guy. If he had a problem with you, he’ll say it to your face. Hell, he already has.” Naomi grinned.
“True.” Becca shook her head. “You know what? I want to forget about Daniel Carter for a while. And GSC. Let’s go talk to the guys and have some fun.”
“You know I’m always up for fun.” Naomi shook her hair out, flipping it behind her back before turning toward the door. “But if you ever need to talk, I’ll be there.”
Chapter Ten
“What are you doing in Charleston?” Eliana’s smooth voice echoed through the phone speaker as Daniel talked to her on Sunday. “Are you coming into work tomorrow?”
“You wanted me to meet with Lawrence and Nina, so I thought I’d strike while the iron’s hot.” Daniel leaned back on the soft cream leather sofa and looked out of the plate glass window of his hotel suite to the city below. He’d driven up this morning. Charleston was a two hour drive from Hartson’s Creek, and he’d played loud rock music for every mile of it, determined to chase the thought of Becca Hartson out of his mind.
He’d spend a few days in his family’s home city, get his half-siblings to agree to the new whiskey line he wanted to introduce, then go back to the distillery and forget anything ever happened between him and Becca.