Ronan defers to me. “Are you okay with that?”

“Sure, of course. We can go live.” As if I’m going to pass up this opportunity.

“Great.” Tori motions for her crew to get set up and three women swoop in with makeup brushes and attack her face. “Can we touch you up, Blaire?”

“Um, sure?” One of the women flits down the length of the bar and makes her way to me, brushes and makeup case in hand.

Tori taps her lip. “I think you two should stay behind the bar. I like the lighting and the backdrop is fantastic. Are those your grandparents?” She points to the picture behind Ronan.

“That’s them.”

She looks from the framed photo to us and back again. “It’s like history repeating itself.” She does a little shimmy. “This is beyond perfect.”

Two minutes later I’m all touched up and when the girl moves in to get to Ronan he raises both hands in the air. “Is it okay if you don’t use that stuff on me?”

Tori waves her off and she takes a seat at the bar. I make her a pretty cocktail and we plate the lone Death by Chocolate cupcake for her. She’s all about product placement, making sure the coaster with The Knight Cap logo on it is situated so viewers can read it easily and that the cupcake box with the B&B sticker is equally visible and prominent.

“You two, nice and close, please.” Tori makes hand gestures until our shoulders are touching. “You can put your arm around Blaire, Ronan.”

He slings it over my shoulder and I wrap mine around his waist. I tip my chin up as he looks down and we both smile and laugh. He bends to press a kiss to my temple.

“Oh my God, cuteness overload,” Tori sighs.

“You ready?” the cameraman asks.

Tori gives him a thumbs-up. “Okay, we’re going live in, three, two, one.” The camera guy focuses on Tori and she squares her shoulders. “Tori Taylor here and tonight we’re celebrating Love Is in the Air with the Best Bar winner, The Knight Cap, but Ronan Knight, our designated winner, wanted to share the limelight with the rest of the family-owned businesses in the area, so they created this amazing Love Is in the Air event, and it has been outstanding! I’ve never had so much fun in my entire life! Ronan, tell me what inspired you to put together such an incredible day.”

“Alice in Wonderland,” Ronan blurts.

To her credit, Tori hardly misses a beat. “The Tim Burton remake?”

“That’s what he called me the first time he met me,” I supply.

“Oh? This is definitely a story. Do tell!”

Ronan and I look at each other. “Go ahead. I’m interested to hear your version of events.” I nudge him playfully.

His smile widens. “Are you sure you want me to share this story?”

“Just remember whose bed you’re sleeping in tonight.” I bat my lashes.

Ronan bites his lip, likely to prevent his grin from growing any wider. He tips my chin up and kisses me softly. I don’t think he’s even in tune with the fact that he’s being recorded anymore because he doesn’t look at the camera.

“I’ll never forget the moment I met you. God, you were just so angry and beautiful and righteous. And I never would have admitted it then, but now I can say that it was a total jerk move to start renovations and not come by and introduce myself first.”

“Tell us more about that.” Tori pulls his attention away from me.

Ronan blinks a couple of times and realizes he’s not talking just to me but a million plus subscribers. “Uh. I’d just agreed to help my grandfather with The Knight Cap. We lost my grandmother a while back and they were the epitome of soul mates. They did everything together, including run this place. After she passed, it was hard for him to run it on his own.”

Tori nods, her expression sympathetic. “You’re very close with your grandfather.”

“I am.” He goes on to explain the deal he made with his grandfather to get his brewery capital.

“You worked here before, though, right? It was your first job,” Tori adds, shifting away from the heavier topic of losing his grandmother.

“I washed dishes, bussed tables, served them—and sucked at that part—before I finally got to tend the bar. It’s all a lot different than running the place.”

“And you added some new features.”

“I did, and they weren’t particularly convenient for my neighbor.” He smiles down at me. “She came in here, all fired up about problems I was causing her.”

“He wasn’t very receptive at first,” I add.

“Oh, I was more than receptive, and that was the problem.”

I cock my head. This is the first I’ve heard of this.

“I didn’t need a distraction. I needed to take this bar from red to black and then I could move on. That was my plan, and then Blaire happened. I’ve never met someone so determined to succeed. She comes from a family of restaurateurs and she’s a baker. You might think it’s the same, but it’s not. We shouldn’t have been each other’s competition, but we were. Blaire is a force; she’s smart and beautiful and driven and uniquely herself. And I think it took me about two weeks to fall for her, but man I tried so hard not to.”

“You fell in love with your rival?” Tori presses her hand to her heart and I stare up at Ronan, trying to figure out what in the world is happening here.

His expression turns panicked, like he suddenly realizes what he’s said and where. He doesn’t address Tori, but he does address me. “I’m so in love with you,” he says softly, with conviction.

“And I’m so in love with you,” I whisper back. If I hadn’t made the decision to go out on my own I never would have met him, or had the chance to fall for him.

His smile is beautiful. He dips down and presses his lips to mine. “I can’t wait to take you home and show you how much I love you,” he murmurs.

I’m all for that, but I’m not sure all of Tori’s subscribers need to know about it. “There are cameras rolling,” I say against his lips, trying my best to keep his tongue from sliding between mine.

His gaze darts to Tori and the cameraman. “Damn it. Right. I keep forgetting this is a live thing.”

We all burst into laughter and Tori turns to face the camera. “I think we all know this one has a happy ending. So make sure to come visit The Knight Cap and Buttercream and Booze, and maybe you, too, will find your very own happily ever after.”

epilogue

I Love You More

than Cupcakes

Ronan

Three months later

Gramps hoists himself up onto one of the barstools and pulls a bottle of my homebrew out of the inside pocket of his coat and sets it on the bar. “Uncap that for me, Ronan.”

I shake my head but do as he asks, then retrieve a pint glass from the freezer.

“No, no. I want it out of the bottle.”

“You can’t drink this out of the bottle, Gramps.”

“I can do whatever the hell I want. It’s my damn bar.”

“This guy giving you a hard time?” Blaire sidles up beside me.

“He won’t let me drink my beer out of the bottle.” Gramps gives me the stink eye. “I’m not gonna start a bar fight with it.”