“How would you feel about doing some video promotion for O’Connor’s chocolate beers, Vinnie?” Alice asked as he filled the glasses with wine. “You’d be a natural on camera.”
Hank started laughing, and Vinnie joined in. “If you want to do that, I’ll need to bring in some more beers. You want to help with that, Vinnie?”
“What’s so funny?” Alice asked.
“I’m not a beer drinker,” he said, rolling his eyes. “At all. As this guy can attest.”
“Vinnie always orders wine, even at Irish pubs,” Hank said. “It used to embarrass the hell out of me. Almost got us beaten up in Yonkers one night.”
“You and beer,” Vinnie shot back. “You kept telling my mama she should add beer to the menu at Two Sisters. She wanted to smack you sometimes even though she knew you were only teasing her. Sorry, Alice, Hank’s your guy for beer. Have fun, you two.”
He took off with the tray and they lowered their masks again. Alice sipped her wine.
“It’s a lovely Chianti, right?”
Hank barked out a laugh. “Vinnie’s favorite vintage. He made it a condition of me hiring him. Along with the prosecco on my menu.” That wasn’t completely true. Hank had done it willingly enough. He wanted to do whatever he could to make sure his best friend was okay.
“Well, if Vinnie doesn’t feel comfortable talking beer, maybe you…”
The thought of him being front and center gave him hives. “I’m not sure I’m your guy for videos.”
“You’d be a natural! I mean, you’re so compelling. And you have the sexiest voice ever. Women are going to go crazy for it. And that dimple. Oh, goodness! Listen to me. I hope I didn’t embarrass you.”
Their eyes met, and that frosty night over a year ago loomed large in his mind. “You didn’t. Not. One. Bit.”
The full flash he’d been waiting for surged into her eyes then. And this time it stayed there.
She blew out a breath before saying, “Great! Good! I’m totally blabbing, but it’s like I can’t stop. Vinnie was right. Maybe we should talk about the moment we shared last fall. I’m living here now, and we’re going to run into each other.”
“We are,” he said, looking at her naked mouth before lifting his gaze to hers. “So let’s talk.”
“Me first?” She released another giant breath that could have blown the colorful leaves off the trees. “Okay… I thought about it a lot afterward. It was a wonderful night, and I never thanked you.”
He didn’t want her thanks. Suddenly all he wanted was another night like that with her. “It was a magical night, Alice. One I won’t ever forget.”
She swallowed thickly before saying, “You were so present. I mean…I did most of the talking. I usually do. But I didn’t have to nudge you to talk back. You shared your dreams for the pub, and they were beautiful. What you said about bringing people together at the pub, creating community…it stayed with me. That’s what I want for our shop.”
Those dreams seemed to be on the other side of the moon right now, and he had a moment of deep sadness at the thought.
“Then there was the way you looked at me.”
The image of her in a white parka came to mind. She’d stayed past closing, and they’d agreed to a late-night walk up Main Street. They’d spent the whole time looking into each other’s eyes, nearly stumbling because of it.
“The snow was falling softly. You took my hand to make sure I wouldn’t fall on the slick pavement.”
He still remembered how her warmth had reached out to him, even in the frosty cold. “The tips of your hair were wet from the snow, and your face was all dewy pink. I’d always thought you were beautiful, but that night you took my breath away. Hard to imagine a better night with a woman. You in the snow. Talking about life and our dreams for the future. Kissing on that bench.”
She set her wine down and reached her hand out, but it stopped short before reaching him. He could tell she’d remembered at the last moment they weren’t supposed to touch. Shit, he wished he could hold her hand too.
“Honestly, I never talk that much. Except with Vinnie.” Which was why his connection with Alice had felt so significant. “If you’d been local, I would have asked you out again.”
“But my job was elsewhere,” she said softly, “and we both knew that.”
“We did. Didn’t stop me from thinking about you, though… Hell, I almost pandemic emailed you.”
“You did?” She lifted a hand to her heart.
“Yeah.” His shoulder lifted. “You were my last kiss before everything went south, and I found myself thinking that if I got the virus, your taste would be the last one I’d had.”
“My taste…” She blinked rapidly. “That’s really hot.”
Damn straight it was. His gaze dipped to her mouth again.
“It was my last kiss too,” she admitted. “I can still feel how hot your mouth was against the coolness of your face. I couldn’t open my eyes after you pulled away, and that had never happened to me before.”
His control was ebbing away, but he couldn’t stop her. Couldn’t even imagine stopping her. “What else do you remember?”
She blinked and put her hands to her blushing cheeks. “Oh goodness! I’m probably saying too much, but heck, I was thinking I need more carpe diem and Walt Whitman yawps in my life. Hank, if I ask you to go out with me, would you say yes?”
He had no idea what she meant by “yawps,” but his attention was fully focused on what she’d said last. All the reasons he should say no tried to assert themselves. The timing was bad, wasn’t it? Really bad. But it didn’t matter—none of the possible drawbacks or pitfalls could find purchase against the thought of kissing her again and having another night like that one. They hadn’t had a chance then. They did now. “You bet I would.”
She picked up her wine and held out her glass. “Great! I know we both have a lot going on, and while I have no idea what a date looks like in these times, I know we’re going to rock it.”
A smile drifted across his face. “Alice Bailey, you are full of surprises. Here I was thinking you had too much on your plate, and I had way too much weight in my own world.”
“We can’t ignore carpe diem anymore. Not after what we’ve been through. I say it’s time to take the bull by the horns. Damn the torpedoes and full steam ahead.”
He started laughing. “This is part of why I’ve never forgotten that night. Alice, beyond the talking, you also made me laugh. The only person who usually does that is Vinnie.”
“Then I’ll pull out all my best jokes for our date,” she said, making a funny face that somehow only made her cuter.
“And no lip gloss,” he said softly.
She gulped but nodded.
“I’ll figure out some ideas for us. How about this Saturday? The way things have been going, the pub will be pretty much dead by eight. Vinnie would be happy to close in the interest of romance. We could meet at seven thirty if that’s not too late.”
“That’s perfect. I’ll also text you some ideas if you give me your number. Maybe a funny meme or two.” She smiled at him. “To cheer you up.”