The room was bustling. Dozens of judges sat at twenty round tables scattered around the room. Each judge had at least five small glasses in front of them, each one marked with numbers only and filled with a different beer or ale. They were in various stages of tasting and studying and Maggie couldn’t help being drawn into the process.
Each judge had a clipboard listing all of the categories used to judge the entries. Maggie knew them by heart. Appearance, aroma, flavor, balance, body and mouth feel, overall impression and flaws.
These judges took their job seriously, and the brewers who submitted their products to the competition were even more serious. Taking home these prizes could mean millions of dollars to the winner. The judges were trusted with making those critical decisions. And someone had destroyed that trust.
And they were blaming it on Maggie.
If Lucinda was to be believed, they’d already put her on trial and found her guilty.
But Lucinda was an idiot. Always had been. Would Connor actually take her word over Maggie’s? It wasn’t possible. She had to find Connor and hear the truth from him. After all this time they’d spent together, after all they’d shared, he had to realize that she would never do anything to hurt him. He had to know that she could be trusted with his heart.
She thought he already did. But now…was he still unsure of her feelings for him? Was he still holding on to the hurt he’d felt for so many years? They had talked about it over and over this week. How could he still believe she’d betrayed him back then?
She had to find him. But would he believe her? Would he trust her? Would he listen and believe it when she told him she’d never stopped loving him? That she loved him more than life itself?
She was confident that if she could just look into his eyes, she would see the answers and know that he truly believed her, trusted her, loved her.
So where was he? The room was filled with people, but she could’ve picked him out of any crowd. And he was nowhere to be found.
“Where are you, Connor?” she murmured anxiously.
At that very moment, as if he’d been summoned by telepathic command, Connor walked out of a smaller anteroom and into the larger judges’ room. He was followed by his brothers, the three of them looking like warriors marching into battle. All that was missing was the blue war paint and their clan tartans wrapped around them.
Johnny and two older men she didn’t recognize followed in the brothers’ wake. Their expressions were all severe and Maggie wouldn’t want to tangle with any of them. But it appeared that they were headed in her general direction.
Connor’s face was stern and ashen. Jake stared ahead with fierce intent, and Ian was fuming, as well.
Her heart went out to them. They looked angry and ready to fight. Maggie could completely understand their feelings, especially after overhearing Lucinda’s unfounded accusations in the bathroom.
Then Connor spotted her. He led the men straight to her, watching her the entire time as he walked closer. Maggie stared back at him, searching for that same spark of love she’d seen in his eyes the night before. But all she saw was…guilt?
Blame?
Censure?
She couldn’t tell, but she backed away instinctively as they got closer.
“Maggie, wait,” Connor said.