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“What?” she asks innocently. “Might as well ask them outright.”
“Nope, not a rat,” Austin laughs. He smiles at me like this is a normal thing to be asked. “And I’m also rather fond of your girl, too.”
I smile, heart melting like butter on toast.
“Professional athlete,” Evelyn muses, undeterred. “Bet you’ve sowed a lot of wild oats around this town.”
I gasp. “Evelyn.”
“Mind your business,” she snips back at me. Absolutely shocking that she can be so brazen while not dropping a single stitch.
“It’s okay,” Austin tells me, clearly amused. “You’re not wrong, Evelyn. But I’m well past those days. I’m thirty-five, and I’m focused on my career and future now.”
Evelyn gives him another long stare, then nods. “Well, then. Please join us for a drink.”
On cue, ice clatters as Roxy brings out the cocktail shaker she brought from home. She shakes up lemonade from next door with a dash of bitters, some vodka, and garnishes the whole thing with a sprig of thyme. “It’s one of my new recipes,” she says, pouring through a strainer into an elegant champagne coupe. “I’m going to call it… knit one, pearl one.”
Austin gamely takes a sip. His expression changes. “Hey, it’s really good.”
“You don’t need to sound so surprised.” Roxy jokes.
“No, it’s just… My buddy Seb is a snob about liquor,” he explains, drinking more. “He’s sort of corrupted the rest of us, too. But this is great.”
“I’m here all week, ladies and gentlemen,” Roxy says drolly. She flips the shaker, spinning it around the back of her neck before whisking the lid off and pouring another with nimble hands.
“Nice moves, you should go pro,” Austin says.
“I am a pro,” Roxy announces. “But I’m in-between gigs, so these guys get the pleasure of all my many skills.”
“She’s the best bartender in Manhattan,” I tell Austin. “But her last boss was a rat bastard, as Evelyn would say.”
“If you’re looking for a new gig, we always need good people at Mavericks,” Austin says, pulling a business card from his wallet and handing it over.
“Hey, I’ve heard good things about this place,” Roxy says, looking interested. “You’re hiring?”
“Not my department,” Austin admits. “But tell them I sent you,”
“Maybe I will,” Roxy replies, smiling. “And just for that, you get a refill.”
“Never mind him. I’m fading over here. Someone hold a straw up to my mouth,” Evelyn barks, her knitting needs still clacking away.
“Allow me,” Austin winks, going to tend to Evelyn.
Roxy gives me a smirk. “He knows which side his bread is buttered on.”
“You mean, schmeared?” I laugh. But she’s right. Austin seamlessly blends into our motley crew: chatting sports with Arthur, admiring Lottie’s new grandbaby pics, and keeping everyone refreshed and supplied with yarn until my shift is up.
“Now, you get out of here,” Evelyn tells me with a smile. “I’m sure you have more important things to do.”
“Love you!” I grab my things, and Austin’s hand. “Where to?” I ask him.
He smiles back. “Well… I’ve met your people. Now, you can meet mine.”
