Only The Beginning

Chapter Two

A/N As Only the Beginning is now published, I had to take down the original story. Please enjoy these sample chapters. Don't forget the novel is available from all major retailers in ebook and paperback. As well, you can have your local library order it in for you. 

Craig took a slow sip of dark ale, watching her over the rim of his glass. She was nothing like he was expecting. Of course, all he had to go on was their shared exploits online. Hooking up with an avatar to make out on a make-believe beach wasn't exactly like filling out a Proust questionnaire.

The demure outfit and slight build coupled with the heart shaped face reminded him of a nostalgic innocence. It was hard to believe the woman sitting in the booth across from him was the reason he stayed up until four in the morning, sitting in front of his keyboard like some kind of...pervert.

A mix of heat and embarrassment crept up his neck. He hadn't thought out the ramifications of this meeting. It was a knee jerk reaction to his brother's phone call last week, a plea for him to return home, if only for a few days.

"It would mean a lot to Dad," Lance said.

"We both know that's not true." Craig had the phone cradled between his shoulder and cheek as he did the final wipe down of the kitchen stove. A terrific knot had been building between his shoulder blades all night, and now that the restaurant had closed all he wanted was to go home to a hot shower...and check in with Lovers' Oasis. Sometimes his girl was on, but there was a time zone discrepancy and if he didn't get home by three in the morning, he would miss her.

There was a long, frustrated sigh from Lance's end. "It's been too long. Don't you miss the ocean?"

"What's the point of going home when everyone comes out here to see me?"

"Because we'd never see you if we didn't." Lance yawned. "It's only a weekend. Someone else can cover the restaurant—"

"Impossible." The word came out sharper than he'd intended. Craig had taken out several loans and was beginning to think the place was cursed. No matter what he did to the menu or if he brought in new staff, the results were the same—no profits. No one ever stayed long enough to be properly trained to take his place.

He worked, lived, and breathed that restaurant. The last time he'd taken time off was a few years ago when he'd had walking pneumonia and couldn't even stand.

But giving up on the restaurant wasn't an option for Craig. That would mean failure—and having to listen to his father's pious speech about 'knowing how it was a foolish waste of money from the very beginning.'

Even though not one penny came from his father. 

Lance tried once more. "It's not just about Dad," he'd said carefully. "Sue Yin and I finally picked a date. It's going to be small, just immediate family. If you come home, I'd like you to be best man."

The cloth dropped from Craig's hand. He became a statue in the empty kitchen.

Sue Yin.

The name brought images of the glamourous girlfriend his brother met on a ski vacation in Banff last year while he was visiting. Craig noticed her first.

She'd breezed into the chalet in her jeans and parka looking like she'd come off a runway in Paris and simply made everyone disappear into the background.

Craig was building up the confidence to approach her when Lance simply walked over and started talking to her.

It was always like that, Craig carefully planning, and Lance diving in head first, but never hitting the bottom. The efficacious son who was part of the illustrious law firm in Halifax was now getting married.