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“That was an employee I fired, not a boyfriend,” Lizzie said defensively. “And he was frickin’ weird. One day he forgot the thing and had to go home for it before he would start his shift.”
“Can you wash something like that?” Kate asked. “I mean, if he’s rubbing it all the time and it never gets cleaned…”
“Leave it to my wife to think of the hygiene aspect,” Adam said, putting his arm around Kate.
“Wasn’t so lucky the day you fired him,” Noah said, and Daisy snickered.
“Anyway…” Lizzie said, dragging out the words. “Surely someone has something else on the docket. Bella? How about you? How’s the new school? You making friends?”
Bella, recently orphaned, had just come to live with Lizzie’s parents. Moving from Charlotte to New Bern meant starting from scratch at a brand-new high school.
“Pretty good, I guess,” Bella said, shrugging. “I made friends with a girl named Maya. She’s pretty cool. I’m sleeping over tonight since tomorrow’s Veteran’s Day, and there’s no school.”
Lizzie wondered if the thick, black eyeliner and over-sullen attitude had anything to do with her new friend. Or maybe the mourning of her father, who’d died of a heart attack less than six months ago. Either way, Lizzie wouldn’t judge. First, because she’d gone through a similar phase, and second, Bella had had a rough go the last few months and deserved some slack.
“That sounds fun. I’m sure it will get easier the longer you’re here,” Kate said, and everyone nodded in agreement.
Sophie Parker did not allow electronic devices at her table, so after dinner, there was a mad rush to the wicker basket that held phones. Lizzie had a desperate message from Justin at the bar, begging for assistance. Tricia had gone home sick, and the place was packed.
“Crap, I gotta go help out at work,” she said, grabbing her jacket. “Come on, boy. Later, y’all.” Charlie trotted over to her.
Since his adoption, Charlie had become a constant fixture at The Drop. It might be some kind of health code violation, but she’d purposely never looked into it so she could claim plausible deniability if anyone ever complained. Sometimes, he’d mosey around and greet patrons, but mostly, he just slept in Lizzie’s office. Especially at night. He’d gone straight to his bed after they arrived, and Lizzie jumped in to take over bartending.
Awhile later, a group of guys came in, obviously celebrating something. She recognized one of them as Dax, a firefighter she’d dated for a couple of weeks. From the look of his crew, he was with friends from work.
One guy stood out. He appeared to be a little older and a lot impatient with their obnoxious, rowdy antics—maybe he was their boss. As he approached the bar, Lizzie saw wariness in his soulful, coffee-brown eyes.
“Your best añejo, neat. Please,” he said.
Lizzie’s eyebrows inched upward. Sophisticated drink for a sophisticated man?
“You seem out of place with that crowd,” she said, reaching for the top-shelf tequila.
“Yeah, I probably am,” he said. He had some gray at his temples and a few creases in his forehead, but that didn’t detract from his commanding presence and handsome face.
“Lizzie, we want to do shots,” Dax said, sidling up beside the man. He nodded to the bottle in her hand.
Lizzie held up the bottle of Don Julio, her finest tequila. “This is añejo. It’s not for shots,” she said.
“Why not?” Dax asked. “What’s the difference?”
The man spoke before she could answer. “Añejo is for sipping. Reverently,” he said, a touch annoyed if she wasn’t mistaken. She passed him the drink. He took a small sip and hummed his appreciation.
“Oh, Ben,” Dax said. “We’re celebrating, not pondering the wonders of the world. Lighten up.”
“Heathen,” the man named Ben mumbled.
Lizzie lined up six shots on a tray, poured, and pushed them toward Dax.
“I miss you, Lizzie,” Dax said, clearly pushing past tipsy. He turned to his friend. “You don’t wanna get mixed up with her, Ben. She’ll break your heart.” Dax took the tray of drinks and returned to his booth.
“Boyfriend?” Ben asked.
“Not for long,” Lizzie said. “Can’t date someone who doesn’t appreciate fine liquor.”
He handed her thirty dollars. “No change.”
Hm. Generous paired nicely with tequila connoisseur. She stuffed the money into her bra, and he raised an eyebrow. She winked and turned away to take another order.
