Chapter 4

The days after Oktoberfest were a blur of activity.

I threw myself into Rockies Brew Co. with a renewed vigor.

New recipes, expansion plans, marketing strategies.

Things I' d let slide in my first life, too consumed by Olivia and the illusion of a perfect family.

Olivia tried calling. Multiple times a day.

I let them go to voicemail.

Her messages started confused, then pleading, then angry.

"Ethan, how could you humiliate me like that?"

"We need to talk. This is a mistake."

"My parents are furious! You owe me an explanation!"

I owed her nothing.

Chloe was my rock. She screened calls, ran interference.

"She' s not used to not getting her way," Chloe said, sipping a new IPA I was testing. "Especially when her family wants the match."

"Her family wants my brewery connected to their name," I corrected.

"That too," Chloe conceded. "So, what now? Besides becoming Denver' s beer king, I mean."

"Now, I live my life. For me."

I reconnected with old friends, went hiking in the Rockies, something I hadn' t done in years.

The weight of Olivia' s impending presence was gone.

It was liberating.

Chloe, however, had other plans for my social life.

"There's a food and wine festival next month," she announced one evening. "Rockies Brew Co. has a prime spot. And you, my dear brother, are going to mingle."

"Mingle?"

"Yes. Meet people. Normal people. People who don't have a secret agenda."

I laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll mingle."

The festival was vibrant. Denver' s culinary scene was booming.

Chloe dragged me from booth to booth.

Then, I saw her.

Across the aisle, a food truck. "Sophia's Stove."

A woman with intense, dark eyes was passionately explaining her dish to a customer.

Sophia Chen.

She moved with a confident grace, her hands shaping dumplings with an artist's precision.

There was an energy about her, a genuine passion for her craft.

Chloe noticed me watching. "Her Szechuan wontons are legendary. Go say hi."

"Maybe later," I said, suddenly hesitant.

But Chloe, ever the instigator, was already waving. "Sophia! Come meet Ethan Miller from Rockies Brew Co.!"

Sophia looked up, a smudge of flour on her cheek.

Her eyes met mine.

And for a moment, the noise of the festival faded.