“That’s us.” Charlie laughed. “I didn’t realize it had a name.”
“Yup.” The man grabbed the croissants from their tray. “Marv almost lost reelection over that eyesore.”
Will’s lips twitched as Charlie laughed again, albeit a bit more nervously. “Right. And Marv is…”
“The mayor.”
“Ah.” Charlie looked momentarily confused. “That’s such a coincidence. The landlord told us that there had been a guy named Marv taking care of the house in the off-season, so I thought—”
“Same guy.”
“Oh,” Charlie said, then offered a warm smile. “Well, I’m Charlie Pierce. This is my friend Will.”
The man nodded and then reached for the blueberry muffins. “Bob Bennet.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Bob,” Charlie said. It looked like he was about to try to shake hands before noticing that Bob had the pastry box in one hand and two muffins in the other. “Right. So, like I said, we just got in and my sister’s looking to go out tonight. Grab a drink. Can you recommend a place nearby?”
Bob leaned back and shouted toward the kitchen again. “Hey, kiddo!”
“Coming!” a woman’s voice called back. There was shuffling, the sound of a metal tray sliding into a rack, then the redheaded woman appeared in the doorway. Her hair was still piled on top of her head, but a few wisps had escaped, skimming her cheeks as she adjusted the apron over her overalls. When she finally looked up, Will’s attention snagged on her eyes. They were dark, so dark it was almost distracting.
“What’s up?” she asked.
Bob motioned to Charlie and Will. “These guys want to go out tonight and are looking for a bar.”
“Just a recommendation. If it’s not too much trouble,” Charlie added, his smile widening. He already had his phone out, ready to type the name in his Notes app.
She smiled back, leaning against the doorframe as she wiped her flour-covered hands on her apron. Whether she realized it was all over her cheeks and hair as well, Will had no idea.
“Well, there’s that new place over by the golf club. I think it’s called Almack’s?” she said. “I haven’t been there, but I hear it’s nice. Everybody’s been talking about all the palm trees they brought in, and I guess there’s a martini—”
Will scoffed before he could stop himself. He knew the kind of bar she was describing: sleek, stylish, and filled with people looking to be seen. There were enough of those in the city; he didn’t want to waste his time at one out here.
The woman’s smile flattened. “Do you have a problem with palm trees?”
“Not at all!” Charlie interjected. “We love palm trees.” He turned to Will, as if expecting his friend to affirm their shared love of tropical foliage.
Will chose not to. Instead, he brought his attention back to the woman’s eyes. “We’re looking for somewhere a bit more authentic.”
She stared at him for a moment, then her smile returned a bit sharper than before. “Ohhh. You want somewhereauthentic.”
Will frowned while Charlie stood with his phone poised and ready, completely missing the sarcasm laced in the woman’s tone.
“Well then, you should definitely check out Donato Lodge,” she continued.
“Donato Lodge,” Charlie repeated.
The woman nodded. “It’s just about as authentic as you can get.”
Bob coughed, though it sounded like a feeble attempt to disguise a laugh, and began ringing them up.
“Perfect!” Charlie said, typing out what Will could only assume was a verbatim transcription of the conversation so he could relay it to his sister later. “Thank you.”
“Sure thing,” the woman said to Charlie. She completely ignored Will.
He ignored her, too, handing Bob a twenty and waving off his change as he picked up his coffee.
“This has been great. Really great.” Charlie slipped his phone back into his pocket so he could pick up the pastry box in one hand and his coffee in the other. “I’m sure we’ll be in again soon.”
