Chapter Three
The brewery was called Hazel Nut’s, and as they walked in the air was warm and humid from damp rain jackets and, presumably, beer brewing. They settled at a table so roughhewn her dad could have built it.
The available beers were listed on a chalkboard along with a menu of local breads, cheeses, and charcuterie. Their main brew seemed to be, not surprisingly, a hazelnut-flavored beer.
“What do you think?” Matt asked, also perusing the menu. “You could get a flight of beers and try out three. They all seem to be honey, nut, or chocolate flavored.”
“I’ll go with a pint of hazelnut. I’m not sure I could stomach a flight of nut beers.”
“Sounds good.” And without another word he headed for the bar and ordered them a couple of pints. There was a waitress taking a large order at a big corner table, but Matt was obviously not a person who liked to wait around for something he could get himself.
When he returned with two tall, cold glasses of hazelnut brew, she felt a moment of awkwardness. The only thing they had in common was work, and now that they were away from the hospital she didn’t want to talk about the hospital. Intuitively, she knew that Matt didn’t either.
He took a sip of his beer, contemplated it the way a sommelier would taste a 1948 Château Lafite Rothschild, and then nodded.
“Does it meet with your approval?”
“Yeah. It’s pretty good. You?”
“It tastes like beer.” She settled back in her chair and eased her feet inside the killer pumps. “Well? Will this place do as one of the stops in your beer crawl?”
“Yeah.” He glanced around. “Plenty of places to sit, good vibe, good beer. What more do you want?”
She didn’t hesitate. “Drivers. You want a team of designated drivers.”
He seemed impressed at her suggestion. “Good point. Hadn’t really thought that through.”
“How many guys will be attending this stag?”
He shrugged. Something else she suspected he hadn’t thought through. She watched him do the mental math. “Twenty, give or take. My buddy Harvey has a lot of friends locally.”
Her eyes widened slightly at mention of the groom’s name. “Maybe you should rent a minibus with a driver.”
A gleam of respect shone in his eyes. “That’s a fantastic idea.” He pulled out his smart phone and made a note, then glanced up at her. “I don’t suppose you know any minibuses and drivers do you?”
She couldn’t help the amusement that bubbled up, as it had been doing since he mentioned the first name of the groom. “As a matter fact, I do. I recently hired one for the hen party I’m organizing.” She leaned back and sipped her beer. It was supposed to taste like the hazelnuts that grew so abundantly in Oregon.
Matt might dress like a schlep, but his brain was as sharp as the creases in an Armani suit. His eyes were the color of good dark chocolate. “You’re organizing a hen party?”
“Quite a coincidence.”
He tipped back in his chair, looking amused. “It’s the same wedding, isn’t it?”
“Is your buddy Harvey marrying a woman named Theresa?” When he nodded, she put up her hands, fingers spread open.
“Small world. How do you know Theresa?”
“We’re from the same town. Hidden Falls, Oregon. We were friends through school, went our separate ways for college and then bumped into each other one day in Powell’s. Turned out we were reading the same book for our book clubs.” She smiled at the memory. “Theresa had barely changed at all. And, when you’ve known someone your whole life, it’s like you can not see each other for years and then you bump into each other and pick right up again.
“It’s strange we haven’t run into each other socially with them.”
“I know. But when two people become a couple they usually socialize with other couples.” Even as she said the words, she realized that they made her sound like a sad, lonely woman with no social life.
The truth was she wasn’t sad or lonely, but she had just let Matt know she was single. Crap. She’d run through a deep mud puddle in her new shoes before she’d let him think she was interested in him.
With a display of tact she wouldn’t have thought he stocked, he didn’t comment.
Of course, if he was socializing with Harvey and Theresa, then he was likely in a relationship.
