Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,10

distiller, but he could leave production runs going, and Sienna would cut the tail before the distillation started to go weak.

“I got tied up. Family emergency. I wondered if you could stay on after your shift and set a few things up for me so I can hit the ground running when I get in, please.”

“Oh, no,” Sienna replied. “Nothing too serious, I hope. Was it Connor and Em? They only just left for their trip.”

“No. It’s not Liv or Em. Look, I’ll explain tomorrow. But could you set up for the Medallion run for me? Switch the bottling line over from Vintage to Medallion? Get Stan to help you out when he gets in.”

“Want me to get everything ready for macerating too? I’ve seen you do it often enough.”

“That’s the best offer I’ve heard all night.”

Sienna laughed. “If I told you I also know how to clean the stills, would you trust me to cut the tail and get everything cleaned down?”

Jake groaned. It would be the difference between getting in at six versus arriving at eight. And they’d need to put off the weekly debrief they had until Monday evening, but that was totally doable. “That really would secure your spot as my favorite person on the planet. If I don’t see you in the morning, I’ll stay late on Monday.”

“Don’t push yourself if you have a lot going on, though. Sounds like you might need to catch up on some sleep tomorrow night.”

“Yeah, that sounds heavenly right about now.” He glanced toward the hallway, the familiar creak of the old floorboards telling him Cassie was on her way toward him. “Look, I gotta go, Sienna. You really are the best. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Anytime, boss.”

Jake hung up.

“Sorry if I’m interrupting.”

Jake groaned internally. He’d been hoping his T-shirt would look more like a sack on her, perhaps reach her knees. But the butter-soft vintage Guns N’ Roses tee hung loose enough to not be too revealing and skimmed her thighs, which were tanned. And smooth. And . . .

“No. It’s fine. Here.” He pushed the plate toward her.

“You made me a PB&J without crusts?”

“You didn’t like crusts.”

“I don’t. But I’m surprised you remembered.”

Jake crossed his arms and leaned back against his fridge. “I think it’s because we were talking about Mom outside. She’d always make PB&Js . . . She said it would cure all ills.”

Cassie ran her fingertips over the edge of the plate. “It’s perfect.”

Silence fell between them, but it wasn’t an awkward one. If anything, it . . . crackled. He needed to go before his sleep-deprived body gave it another thought.

“Take it to your room, eat it here. Wine and milk are in the fridge. I really need to hit the sack so I get into work at a semi-reasonable time. You need anything before I go?”

Cassie shook her head. “I’m good. Thanks again, Jake. For picking me up, for getting me to the hospital. Even for something to sleep in. I don’t know how long I’m going to be here for . . .”

Unable to resist, he reached for her hand across the counter and squeezed it. “Cass. It’s fine. Stay as long as you need. Your family helped us when Dad died. Now let us help you.”

3

Watery light filtered in through the curtains, but with her head burrowed beneath the covers, Cassie could pretend her father wasn’t about to undergo major surgery, and that her boss wasn’t going to be pissed when she called him.

A million to-do list items whizzed through her brain along with a slight sense of panic she might forget one of them if she didn’t get up and write them down.

Shit. Had she missed her meeting with Brandon?

She slipped her arm from beneath the covers and reached for her phone. Urgh, it was barely past dawn. Six thirty was too early for a weekend, and she’d only been in bed a handful of hours. Phew. She’d not missed it. Instead, she fired off a simple message.

Brandon. Apologies. A family emergency has occurred. I’ll be in touch to reschedule but it won’t be today.

She sent an equally succinct one to her boss.

Now that her brain was on overtime, she threw the covers back and sat up before she could question her own judgment about leaving the bed. The previous evening, she’d not taken too much time to look around Jake’s spare room. Too exhausted from the shock of the accident, the flight, and her emotions