A smile breaks free. Auntie looks at me. “You should, anak. Live a little.”
“Yeah. Live a little,” Liam says, grinning.
I laugh. “Okay, I’ll do a mimosa too.”
Minutes later, the server drops off our drinks and takes our food order. Liam takes a sip and makes a satisfied noise. I laugh into my glass.
“What? I can’t enjoy my drink?” he teases.
I shake my head, still chuckling. “You’re right. Enjoy your mimosa.”
He turns to my aunt and offers his glass. “You sure you don’t want to have some? I’m happy to share.”
“You’re so sweet, but I’d better not. Drinking alcohol often isn’t good for me since I have MS.”
“Oh…” Liam’s cheeks turn red. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pressure you.”
Auntie waves her hand like it’s no big deal. “Oh goodness, no need to apologize. Honestly, it’s been nice talking to you. You’re not treating me with kid gloves like some people do when they see me.” She gestures to her wheelchair. “It feels nice to chat about normal, silly things. Sometimes people try to be so careful with their words around me that conversation can be a bit stilted.”
Liam flashes an easy smile and shrugs. “I’m kind of an idiot, so I don’t even know how to think that far ahead when I talk.”
Auntie laughs so hard, she hunches over. She pats his hand. “You’re perfect. Don’t even worry.”
Auntie asks him what he does for a living. When he says he plays for Nashville’s professional hockey team, her eyes go wide.
“Oh wow! How impressive!”
Liam blushes and tells her thanks.
“That explains why you’re so tall and in such good shape.”
He laughs. She asks how long we’ve known each other, and I tell her we’ve known each other since freshman year of college.
When our food arrives, I look at Auntie when she takes the first bite of her biscuit. “How is it? Best biscuit you’ve ever had?”
She frowns like she’s deep in thought. When she finishes her bite, she leans forward and whispers, “I’ve had better.”
Both Liam and I burst out laughing.
“Remember the biscuits we had at that drag queen brunch in Charleston over spring break during your senior year of high school?” she says. “Those were better.”
I catch Liam looking between us.
“Drag queen brunch, huh? That sounds fun,” he says with a smile.
“It was a blast. Kendall was too young to attend, but I lied to the doorman and said that she was eighteen so he’d let her in. I even let her have a few sips of my cocktail during brunch,” Auntie says. I chuckle and shake my head.
“Wow. Look at you two rule breakers,” Liam teases.
“I had a few too many cocktails and ended up dancing on the bar.” Auntie chuckles and shakes her head. “Remember that?”
I laugh. “How could I forget? I broke your fall when you lost your balance and fell off the bartop.”
“Damn. You two get wild on spring break,” Liam says.
Auntie waves a hand. “That was so long ago. You’ll never catch me dancing on a bar again.”
“How about for another one of those brunch biscuits?” Liam teases.
