Love In Numbers
Love Distilled, Book One
Scarlett Cole
Copyright © 2020 by Scarlett Cole
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Published By: Kadelo Group Ltd.
Edited by Angela James
Cover design by Letitia Hasser at RBA Design
Photo by Wander Aguiar Photography
Formatting by DJW Formatting
E-book ISBN: 978-1-8382469-1-4
Paperback ISBN: 978-1-8382469-0-7
Contents
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Epilogue
About the Author
Also by Scarlett Cole
Dear You,
You made it.
You aren’t the you that you were.
But this you is joyful.
May this dedication always remind you of that.
Acknowledgments
To my readers. I’m sorry I took so long, and I’m beyond grateful that you waited while I took the time I needed. The fact you are all still here is a miracle. I hope you love Connor and Emerson as much as I do.
To the bloggers, reviewers, and influencers of the romance community. Thank you for showing up to support me. I keep saying don’t call this a comeback, but we all know it is. It would be impossible without each and every one of you.
To Angela James. This was the first time we worked together, and it was magic. I loved every moment of the process and this book is so much better for your input.
To Isabel Ngo. I know you are reading this at the start of the copy edits, but I want you to know how grateful I am for the care you’ve shown me and this book.
To Nicole Bailey and Olivia Kalb. Thank you for your keen eyes in making sure this book was perfect.
To Letitia Hasser and Wander Aguiar. Thank you so much for providing me with such a wonderful cover and inspiring photograph. Your creativity has no bounds. Thank you for sharing it with me.
To Lucas Loyola. Thank you for helping to bring Connor Finch to life!
To Claire and Wendy. Thank you for stepping in at the last minute and saving my butt. You are life savers.
To Cindy Kirk, Robin Covington, and Avery Flynn. Thank you as always for your friendship and words of wisdom. Writing can be a solitary occupation, but the three of you have never let me feel alone.
To Vi Keeland. For reminding me what it looks like when another woman helps you lift the weight of your crown.
To Antonia Aitken. Thank you for the joy you bring to my life, for being my opposite node, for being the Barbara to my Margo. I’ll meet you in the middle. With wine.
To Lola and Finley. A pandemic forced us all to sit at the same table every day . . . but your patience and focus gave me the space and quiet to write this. I love your faces.
To Tim. You remain my greatest cheerleader in work, life, and love. I love you.
Chapter One
Emerson Dyer reached the door of her father’s office in their family-run gin distillery. She ran her fingertips across the brass plate with his name on it. He’d regaled her a thousand times with the story of how her mother had hung it when they’d first bought the place. “I miss you, Dad,” she murmured before pushing the door open.
The office was still her father’s. His raincoat still hung on the back of the door. The Denver Broncos mug she’d gotten him for Father’s Day when she was fifteen sat on his desk. Her mind returned to those frantic moments of finding him on the floor two months earlier. Of screaming for her younger brother, Jake, who as master distiller had just started the next batch of Dyer’s Medallion gin for the day. She’d frantically dialed 911 and balanced her phone beneath her ear while trying her best to deliver CPR to the man who had loved them so fiercely—who had been there for them ever since the accident happened fifteen years ago, when their mother had died a week after Emerson’s fifteenth birthday.
It hadn’t been enough.
The doctors had tried to reassure her there was nothing she could have done that would have saved him.
It had been eight weeks yet thinking about that day still had the ability to take her breath away. She’d never get to hear another one of his ridiculous dad jokes, tease him for his vast collection of blue shirts, or plant seeds with him in his greenhouse.
She swallowed deeply and tried to shake the image from her head. She’d barely stepped into his office since then, beyond grabbing the occasional piece of paperwork. Piles of unopened envelopes sat on the desk, and her stomach lurched at the thought of dealing with them. While it was hard to admit it to others, she knew she was overwhelmed. But the letter in her father’s will left her with no choice but to step into his shoes, shoes that were impossible to fill.
My darling Emerson, he’d written.
If you are reading this letter, it means I’ve gone exactly when I was meant to and way sooner than I hoped. I hope you know how proud I am of you. You have been my rock since your mom died, and now I have to ask you to be the glue once more. Jake and Olivia are going to need you more than ever. They’ll drift without you. You’ll all drift without each other. You have to run the distillery and keep everyone together. You are all each other has got. I have faith in you, Emsie-bobs.
With all my love,
Dad xxx
Her father had never realized it, but his belief in not owing anybody anything had put the family-owned distillery at risk without any savings net or loans to pad their expenses. Ever since their mother had died, her father had been terrified that something unexpected
