Anita held out her hands. “It’s a small pantry.”
“Not that small. He’s been watching you all night, by the way.”
“Who?”
“Tanner.” Harper smirked.
“No, he hasn’t.”
“Yes, he has,” Harper said in a singsong voice. “You’ve been too busy to notice.”
“And you’re seeing things.”
Harper laughed. “I know what I see. Anyway, the partyhas been fantastic. A lot of these people are business contacts, and they’ve been raving about the food and the service. You two make a good team.”
“But—”
“Oh, there’s Robert Kasey. He’s always unfashionably late. I’m off to schmooze. Take a break and let Dylan make you a cosmo. He’s famous for them.”
“A what?” she asked, but Harper was heading over to a short, balding man with thick black glasses wearing a tweed jacket and a white scarf tucked into his red shirt.
Anita hesitated. It didn’t feel right to take a break while there were still guests to attend to. But she was thirsty, and she wouldn’t mind sitting down for a minute. She walked over to the bar. Dylan was alone and straightening up the liquor bottles on the shelves behind him.
“Hi,” she said, feeling the same shyness she had when Harper had introduced her to him. She wasn’t used to going up to guys and talking to them out of the blue. When he turned around, she said, “I’m, uh, Anita.”
“I know. We met earlier, remember?”
“Oh, right.” Way to make a good impression. He probably thought she was an idiot.
“I’m glad you came back.” He grinned. “Can I get you a drink?”
Water or a soft drink would be the wisest choice, since she couldn’t recall the last time she’d had alcohol. “Um, Harper said that your cosmos are good.”
“I try my best. One cosmopolitan for the pretty lady coming right up.”
Now it was her turn to smile. At least someone otherthan Harper thought she looked nice tonight. Then she frowned, thinking about Tanner criticizing her outfit. He hadn’t said anything else to her tonight, but his words still stung.
Stop thinking about Tanner. Focus on Dylan.
“Here you go.” Dylan set down a martini glass in front of her.
“Thank you.” She picked it up and examined the pinkish-orange drink. “What’s in it?”
“Vodka, triple sec, lime juice, and cranberry juice. I added a splash of peach schnapps to finish.”
That sounded yummy. She took a sip and made a face.
“Is it too tart? I can make you another one.”
She saw his concerned expression and shook her head. She didn’t want to insult his drink, even though it was tart and the vodka had a kick. “Perfect,” she said, taking a big swig.
Dylan chuckled. “I guess you do like it.” He leaned on the bar and smiled.
He really was a handsome man. Brown hair cut short in the back but long in the front and thick, straight eyebrows that hovered above heavy-lidded dark-brown eyes. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt and black bow tie. Strange that she wasn’t feeling any spark from him, though. “Do you live in Hot Springs?” she asked. Maybe if they talked a little more she’d start feeling something.
“I’m from there, but I live in Little Rock right now. I met Harper in high school. We managed to stay good friends despite going our separate ways after graduation, but lately I’ve been so busy with school we haven’t had time to hang out. I tended bar in college, so she called me earlier in the weekand asked if I could work her party. I jumped at the chance, not only to see her but to make a few bucks.” He grinned, his teeth as straight and white as Harper’s. “But enough about me. I want to hear about you.”
“Oh, there’s not much to tell.” She was a waitress, lived in Maple Falls, and had brunch every month with her family.Boring.There was her possible café business, but she wasn’t going to say anything about that. “Harper said you’re a resident.”
