Love, Chocolate, and Beer (Cactus Creek #1)(54)

Looked like she really was her father’s daughter after all.

But being a second generation for this masochist affliction of the heart had its benefits. From here on out, she was going into this relationship with Luke with her eyes wide open, and her heart carefully guarded. The logical part of her knew that it was unlikely her heart would remain completely intact throughout this relationship, but at least she was fully prepared to protect it from the utter doom her father had gone through.

She just had to keep reminding herself that nothing lasted forever. Simple as that.

There wasn’t a rule that said she couldn’t enjoy the ride along the way, however.

Starting with a random act to show him just how she felt.

Unfortunately, the presence of a local news van parked right outside the front entrance of Ocotillos waylaid her mission before its launch. Puzzled, she walked over to the news reporter, Paul something-or-another from the funny hour-long news at five.

“Can I help you with something?” she asked him.

The reporter glanced from her to a piece of paper in his hand that had her photo and a bunch of notes on it. “Oh good, you’re Dani, the owner and brewmaster here right?” She nodded, and he flashed a perfect white grin at her. “I’m Paul Edison. I was just coming in to meet you. Our station heard about this throwdown between you and the chocolate shop next door so they sent me over to see if I could snag a human interest piece for our pre-Valentine’s segment tonight. Are you game? It’ll just be a few questions.”

“Sure,” she replied, joining him over by the cameras under the brewpub sign.

Paul had a quick word with his sound guys as a stack of papers got thrust in his face right before his cell phone rang from his pocket. He answered and hung up quickly. “Geez, they’re rushing us on this one. Sorry, Dani. You okay to get started?” At her nod, he swiftly explained, “Okay, we’ve been slotted a few minutes for the segment but keep your replies short just in case they need to cut things down when it airs—” His phone rang again and he silently motioned to her that they’d be ready to shoot in one minute. The equipment got set up in a blur around her and before she knew it, Paul had a wide smile pasted on his face as the cameraman stuck on a headset and gestured a silent countdown with his fingers. Three, two, one...

“Thanks, Jane,” said Paul on cue. “I’m here in Cactus Creek where some of you may have heard of the battle brewing in the world of romance. Two local businesses—the ever popular brewpub Ocotillos and the new chocolate shop on the block Desert Confections—have been going head-to-head with promotions and activities to encourage romance for the past month and a half. Now, I know what you’re all thinking. Chocolate has always been playing in this arena next to flowers, but beer? This Valentine season, Dani Dobson has been showing everyone why beer is now a contender.”

Dani waved at the camera.

“So, Dani, we’ve been hearing about these...let’s call ‘em atypical promotions you’ve been having at Ocotillos to inspire romance. Can you tell us a little about it?”

“Sure, Paul. We’ve set up what we call the ‘Meddling Cupids’ dating network through our website where friends set their friends up on blind dates.” Dani had started concocting the idea for the Meddling Cupids extravaganza at the start of the throwdown, reasoning that since people are always trying to hook up their friends, why not make it bigger, better...and throw in some beer? With the help of one of their regulars, a techie over at ASU, Ocotillos had launched the finished site a few weeks ago. Pulling out her smartphone, she showed the TV viewing audience the Meddling Cupids link off the Ocotillos website. “It’s like an online dating site but the actual single people don’t do any interacting—just their friends. So basically, if you have a friend you want to set-up, you log in and input your friend’s info and photo on the site. Then you search the postings and interact with other folks around the city who are also setting up their friends. The actual single people don’t talk to each other; everything is completely reliant upon the friends. If both sets of friends think it would be a good match, they arrange for the couple to meet for the first time tomorrow on Valentine’s Day for cupid-determined date.”

Paul glanced at the camera. “Now I know why both of my sisters and my mother know more about this brewpub than I do. They’re rabid fans of this Meddling Cupids network. Real shocker there,” he kidded. Dani laughed alongside him. “But it sounds like this isn’t the only winner you’ve had in this romance throwdown, Dani. I’ve also been hearing a lot about these singles mixers you’ve been having here on Sunday nights.”

“Oh gosh, those have been great. We’ve been having beer tastings and other fun activities that pretty much defy the traditional stuffy blind dates. It’s been a lot of fun. We love seeing what are essentially blind dates go so well.”

“You sure the beer isn’t playing a role in all that success?” he teased lightly.

She didn’t miss a beat. “Well, good beer and good dates do go hand in hand.”

“They usually do for me,” he winked. “Okay, so then what do you think about this whole two-part Valentine’s holiday your chocolate shop adversaries are promoting?”

“Actually—” she paused dramatically before flashing a comically reluctant grin. “I think it’s great; I love the idea of having two separate days. Plus, it’s genius to give guys a month to prepare to reciprocate on March 14th,” she chuckled. “Though it pains me to admit it, I think Desert Confections has a winner on their hands here.”