Harlequin Romantic Suspense April 2021 by Karen Whiddon (good e books to read txt) 📗

damn special. It made perfect sense they’d want to make sure the person she chose to share her life with was on the up-and-up.

After the two-year absence, despite what had happened to him, he imagined the scrutiny would be even more intense. Eager to prove to them he would be there for her from now on, he was ready for whatever they dished out. He welcomed it even.

Even Jones, who’d always seemed low-key to Micha, had delivered a brotherly warning. Micha expected no less from the rest of the Colton clan.

Beyond that, he really was looking forward to touring the Lone Wolf Brewery. The idea of crafting and distributing beer interested him. He had to give props to Jones for following his passion.

“What do you think?” Carly asked, emerging from the bathroom wearing a formfitting black dress and sky-high heels. She wore her long blond hair down, a silky curtain swirling around her shoulders.

Stunned, he could only stare for a moment, his entire body zinging with desire. “You take my breath away,” he told her. “Now all I can think about is how badly I want to get that dress off you.”

She grinned, her bright blue eyes dancing. “Thanks. You don’t look too bad yourself. I like your jeans. And that button-down shirt looks great on you.”

Ridiculously relieved, he thanked her. Though he’d met and interacted with her entire family numerous times in the past, he felt as if he were meeting them for the first time again.

They took his new Jeep to West Loop. To Micha’s surprise, Lone Wolf Brewery was housed in quite a large building with ample parking. A large sign proclaimed the establishment was closed that evening for a private party. “Wow,” Micha commented. “This is not at all what I expected.”

Carly gave him a curious glance. “What did you expect exactly?”

“I don’t know. Something smaller. More on the scale of a first-time brew pub owner.”

This made her laugh. “Right. We’re Coltons. We don’t do anything halfway.”

She had a point. The family business—Colton Connections—was well-known in the entire Chicago area. It made sense that when any of the Colton offspring decided to start their own ventures, they’d be done with finesse and flair.

As they walked toward the entrance from the parking lot, Heath came out the back door and intercepted them. “Glad I caught you,” he said, sparing Micha a single hard glance. “Carly, I haven’t said anything to the family about the car bomb or the shooting. Jones hasn’t, either. Let’s keep that quiet for now. I don’t want to worry Mom, okay?”

“Sure.” Carly nodded. She squeezed Micha’s hand. “She’s got enough to stress about, so that’s perfectly fine with me.”

“Good.” Opening the door, Heath motioned them to go past him.

“Where’s Kylie?” Carly asked.

For a moment, Heath’s hard gaze softened. “She’ll be joining us later. She had a few things she wanted to do at work first.”

“Kylie is Heath’s fiancée,” Carly told Micha. “They met at Colton Connections. She’s one of the VPs working for Heath.” She flashed a mischievous grin. “It was a workplace romance.”

Heath rolled his eyes and strode away without responding.

Watching him go, Carly tugged on Micha’s arm. “Just ignore him. I’m guessing he’s got something else on his mind.”

Micha nodded. Inside, he took his time and looked around, pleasantly surprised again. The decor, while rustic, also managed to look hip. There was lots of dark wood and metal, with numerous large beer tanks located behind the bar. On the wall, a large sign hung with the Lone Wolf label—a gray, smiling wolf’s head on a bright red background.

“Nice,” Micha said, turning a slow circle to take it all in. Not huge, but not overly small, either. And he spotted a red exit sign, indicating the emergency exit, and made a mental note. Always good to know.

“Thanks.” Jones appeared, smiling from ear to ear. “Come. Let me give you both a private tour of the place. We’ll be doing a beer sampling later and then I have a big announcement for us all to celebrate.”

His enthusiasm had Carly grinning, too. “Sounds perfect,” she said. “I really like what you’ve done with the decor.”

“I had help with that,” Jones replied. “Tatum did most of it. You know how well she’s done with her restaurant. She took one look around and knew exactly how to decorate this place.”

“You remember my cousin Tatum, don’t you?” Carly asked Micha. “She owns a wildly successful restaurant called True. Not only that, but she’s also the chef.”

“We’ll have to go there sometime,” Micha said.

“You bet we will.” Carly glanced around. “Where’s the rest of the family? We ran into Heath on the way in but haven’t seen anyone else.”

Jones shrugged. “Heath has been running in and out. You know how he is. And everyone else hasn’t arrived yet. You are a bit early, aren’t you?”

“You said seven, right?” Carly checked her watch. “It’s five after.”

“Actually, I said eight.” Jones smiled to take the sting from his words. “But that’s okay. You two can be the first to have a private tour. I’ve got my waitstaff setting things up in the kitchen, so let me show you where the main magic happens.”

“Main magic?” Carly frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Where we make the beer!” Jones practically jumped up and down with excitement. “It’s a detailed process, so I’ll have to explain every step of it to you.”

“Maybe you should wait for everyone else so you only have to go over it once,” Carly pointed out. Though Jones appeared surprised by the notion, Micha had to admit it made sense. Even if he secretly wanted to see it all right now.

Plus, a tour with everyone would definitely keep the rest of the Coltons from focusing so much on him.

“What about you?” Jones asked Micha, clearly disappointed. “Would you like a quick look around before everyone else arrives?”

Micha shrugged. “Sure, why not. I’d really like to. We’ll see it again with the others, too.”

The door opened just as Jones was about to