Chapter 6

Finn Four Months Later

" F or the love of God, please keep your sex life private." Ollie winked and shut his book. "Finn, I suspect you've made this mystery man up. You're all talk and no action."

"Can we please discuss something else?" I put my face in my hands and sighed. Ollie was one of my best customers, and over the last few weeks, he'd found plenty of holes in the story of my mystery man, Knox. First, it was highly unlikely that was his real name. I mean, come on, Knox Steele? Nobody names their kid that unless they're a porn producer who wants their child to go into the business one day. Plus, I'd scoured the internet looking for the guy, and had found nothing. Apparently, I was a vacation fling for the man, and I needed to forget about him. But no matter how hard I tried to stop, the man now lived rent free in my head.

"Agreed," Jude said with a grin. "Let's focus on celebrating Ryan's potential gallery show instead of Finn's mystery man."

Jude tended the bar for me, and his boyfriend, Ryan, also worked at the brewery.

"Now that is something I can get behind." Ollie grinned, and for once, it seemed genuine. "Where is this gallery show? Because I've seen your work, and it's wonderful."

"It's at Shockoe Galleries. You know the place, over by the Fountain Bookstore. But it's not definite yet. The gallery owner hasn't gotten back to me." Ryan smoothed back his hair with one hand while clicking on his phone with the other.

"Which series of prints did you show her?" Luna asked. "Hopefully it's the one about drag queens. That's my favorite."

"Mine too," Ollie remarked.

The gang thankfully peppered Ryan with questions about his upcoming show, and I went back to the kitchen for a moment to grab a bite to eat. "Daniel, are there any leftovers I can nibble on?"

He grinned, then handed me a plate with three tamales on it. "This is better than leftovers, because I made them from scratch at home." He started to scratch his upper arm, then forced himself to stop. "I don't know why this tattoo itches so bad."

Once we'd returned from the cruise, Daniel had joined the gym around the corner and had also begun getting tats. He'd had zero luck with the bears on the cruise ship, which he attributed to being scrawny. Now he was bulking up, and on more than one occasion I'd seen both men and women checking him out.

I was starving, so I unwrapped the tamales and instead of using a fork, I wolfed them down using my fingers. "Jesus, your tamales are out of this world."

"It's Mom's recipe," Daniel grinned. "It's the spices in the masa."

"As always, incredible. You should get your family to move here, because I'd hire your mother in a heartbeat." I walked over to the sink and rinsed the plate off. As I placed the clean plate on the drying rack, I heard a commotion coming from the dining room. "Ollie probably pissed everyone off again. I'd better head out there to make sure there isn't any trouble."

A moment later, I was standing next to Jude at the bar, and the bell over the front door chimed. When I glanced over to greet whoever it was, I thought I was seeing things. "Holy shit," I muttered, feeling my cheeks burn. "It can't be him."

Standing by the front door was Knox, or at least he looked a helluva lot like him.

"Oh God, the imaginary stud from the cruise again." Ollie's lips pursed. "Are you seeing visions now, Finn?"

I wanted to smack the shit out of Ollie, because this wasn't a joke. "No, he just walked in."

Everyone turned in their seats to get a good look at our visitor. The man looked so much like Knox, except he was wearing a gray striped suit, obviously very expensive.

"How do I look?" I whispered to Jude, who was busy staring at the man, too.

"Bitch please," Ollie rolled his eyes. "You look like a real life Tom of Finland character, all muscle and a suspicious lack of brains. But the fact of the matter is, you're making the guy up."

"I am not making this up," I muttered through gritted teeth. "Shit, he's heading this way."

The man strolled through the dining room like he owned the place, but when our eyes met, he froze for a moment. Then he ambled forward with his eyebrows raised.

"Wow, I think Finn really didn't make him up," Ollie whispered. "Fuck. This means I have to apologize for all the jokes."

"Are you Finn McKenna?" The man strolled up to me and a slow smile spread across his cheeks. He had a briefcase with him, and he laid it on the bar next to me and opened it. "When I met you on that cruise a few months ago, I never expected to see you again."

Ollie hit the bar with his fist and muttered something under his breath. The man cleared his throat, opened his briefcase, and pulled a folder out of it. "I'm actually here on business." His cheeks flushed. Then he handed me a business card. "Let me formally introduce myself. I'm Alex Harrington, with Ascend Hamilton Ventures."

I took the card and stared at it for a long moment. Jesus, the man had lied to me from the moment we first met. No wonder that name Knox Steele sounded fake. It really was. I glanced up and saw Alex extend his hand. I didn't want to shake it, but then the memory of our one night together flooded my mind. Jesus, I'd spent so many nights lying awake in bed, reliving those moments with him. Maybe he had good reasons for giving me a fake name? I shook his hand and said, "Since we've already met, it's good to finally know your actual name."

"It's about time," Ollie muttered, and I glared at him. God, Ollie was an obnoxious queen sometimes.

"Perhaps we can talk in private?" Alex licked his lips. "I have a business proposal I'd like to make to you."

"Yes, of course." I was about to take him back to my office, but right now it was a disaster, with files and papers scattered across the desk. "There's a quiet corner over there. Follow me. Jude, bring Alex a glass of the Blue Ridge Reserve. We just brewed it this week."

I led Alex across the dining room and we sat next to the windows overlooking the parking lot.

"You are a sight for sore eyes, Finn." Alex grinned, and his brilliant white teeth distracted me for a second. "I'm sorry about giving you a fake name on the ship. My now ex-wife was trying to take me to the cleaners, and I needed to keep a very low profile."

"Ex-wife?"

"Yeah, Sheila." Alex shrugged. "We married as soon as we graduated college, and before I came to terms with being gay. She wasn't thrilled to learn I preferred men, and decided to take out her anger on my bank accounts."

You know, I totally understood that some people take longer than others to come out. But I was wondering if Alex was allergic to telling the truth. He'd already lied to me once about his name, and there was an excellent chance he'd spent a lot of time lying to his ex-wife. Talk about a fantasy killer. Did his sister actually have a miscarriage? Or was that just another tall tale?

A slight smile played on Alex's lips as he spoke. "It's a wonderful coincidence that you're the Finn I've been wanting to talk to," he said, his voice honeyed and smooth. "When I saw your name on the financial statements for Fireside Forge Brewery, I couldn't help but wonder if it might be you."

My brows furrowed in confusion. "Financial statements? Why are you looking at those?"

Alex let out a heavy sigh and leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers under his chin. "That's precisely why I'm here," he explained. "I want to buy your brewery."

My heart skipped a beat, and I jumped from my seat. "You're here to buy my fucking brewery?" I exclaimed, my emotions ranging from disbelief to anger. "I thought you were here for another reason... never mind." My words trailed off as I realized they no longer mattered. Alex wasn't here to rekindle a shipboard romance, and the thought of selling my beloved brewery was enough to make me shake with rage. "It's not for sale."

Alex frowned. "I expected you to react this way, Finn. You're fiercely protective of Fireside Forge Brewery, and that's exactly why I want to buy it." He leaned forward, his expression turning serious. "I believe in the potential of your brewery, but I also know the financial challenges you're facing. With Ascend Hamilton Ventures behind Fireside Forge, we could take it to new heights." Alex tapped his fingers on the table. "Together."

I stood there, grappling with a whirlwind of emotions. The idea of letting go of something I'd poured my heart and soul into was gut-wrenching.

"Excuse me," Jude placed a pint of beer in front of Alex. "Is everything okay, boss?"

I grabbed the pint glass from in front of Alex and drank half of it. "Yes, everything's peachy. Mr. Hamilton is leaving."

"It's Harrington, Finn." Alex sighed. "My real name is Alex Harrington. Please, just give me a few minutes to explain how this acquisition will benefit you."

Jude shrugged and scampered back to the bar.

"Five minutes, Mr. Harrington." I sat down and drained the rest of the beer. "If that's your real name."

Alex shut his eyes for a long moment, then he opened them and said, "Look, I'm very sorry about, well, everything. When we were on that cruise ship, I'd just come out. Not only to my family, but to myself." Alex stared at his lap. "Sheila was rightfully pissed off at me, and my family wasn't much better," Alex said, reflecting on the moment.

"Do you really have a sister?"

"Pardon me?" Alex's brows drew together. "Yes, oh, oh. Summer, my twin sister, had a miscarriage while we were together on the cruise."

I glared at him, wondering if anything he said was even remotely true.

"I swear to you, I have a sister, and she's actually pregnant again, but this time she's at home on bedrest." Alex pulled his phone out of his coat pocket, pecked at the keyboard, then handed it to me. "That's me and her together just a week ago. We're at her horse farm at The Plains."

I glanced at the pic and handed him back his phone. "The Plains? Where or what is that?"

"It's in northern Virginia." Alex glanced at the picture, smiled, then slid the phone into his pocket. "Her and her husband breed horses, mostly for fox hunting."

"What is it about rich people?" I fumed aloud, and Alex frowned. "You think you can just waltz in here and take my business just because you want to?" Jesus, I'd been fantasizing about some rich fox hunting snob for the last few months. "You're just about out of time, so if you want to persuade me about anything, you'd better start talking now."

Alex pulled his phone out again, tapped on the screen, then handed it to me. It was an article in the Washingtonian magazine titled, "Unraveling Alliances; The Messy Divorce of Alex and Sheila Harrington."

"So what?" I handed him the phone back. "This changes nothing," I murmured, then realized I was lying. Maybe he is telling the truth, and he actually was going through hell when we met on the Bearacruz?

Alex opened his briefcase and pulled out a folder. "In the last two years, I've purchased Tidewater Tide Brewery, Pelican Point Aleworks, and James River Brew Company." He opened the file and slid it across the table. "Within six months of my taking control, every single one of them is solidly in the black."

"Fireside Forge is turning a profit too, so why should I care?" I locked my gaze with his. I don't care how rich he is, I'm not allowing Alex to intimidate me.

"You don't get the full picture, Finn." Alex leaned back in his chair, then he gave me a half-smile. "The owners of those breweries still have a stake in them. What we're doing together is almost impossible for a small business owner to do on his own. After building a successful franchise, we'll sell to the highest bidder, and you'll walk away a wealthy man."

"Wealthy, huh?" I barked out a laugh. "Jesus, you don't know me at all, do you?"

"You're telling me you aren't interested in being rich?" Alex raised a brow, and in that moment, I recalled what it was like when we first met. He was so freaking hot, and I remembered feeling fucking special, because out of all the hot guys on that cruise, he'd chosen me. Now he was choosing me for all the wrong reasons.

"Money doesn't motivate me, Alex." I got to my feet, prepared to show him the door.

"What does, Finn?" Alex didn't stand. Instead, he smiled that brilliant smile. "I really want to know. What gets Finn McKenna out of bed in the morning?"