CHAPTER ELEVEN
The grand opening of The Tipsy Twist could not have come at a better time. Without a job, Lizzie had been dying of boredom for the last few weeks. It had been a week since Ben asked her out, but she hadn’t heard from him. She’d invited him to stop by tonight and wondered if he would.
Kate and her mom had done a fabulous job planning the party. They’d only been open thirty minutes, and already the place was packed. Lizzie stood with Lucy and Jack, admiring Adam’s handy work.
“I love the openness,” Lucy said. “The high ceilings make such a difference, don’t you think?”
“Yeah,” Lizzie agreed. “The whole vibe is awesome.” Music played from the overhead sound system, and people were lined up to shoot pool and play darts. Most of the booths were full, and her bartenders were busy pouring drinks.
“Free booze is one way to have a well-attended opening,” Jack said, sliding his arm around Lucy.
“You get one free,” Lizzie said. “Then you pay.”
“Sure,” Jack said with a wink.
“I’m serious!”
Kate approached, wearing a pained look. “So, um, tiny hiccup,” she said to Lizzie. “Nana’s planning to play her banjo. Wanted you to give you a heads-up and assure you Mom and I had no idea.”
“Didn’t she just start lessons a month ago?” Lucy said. “How good could she be?”
“I’m going to go out on a limb and say not very,” Kate said. “But I’m sure she doesn’t care about that.”
Lizzie sighed and shook her head. “Tell her to wait until people have had a couple of drinks. If they’re buzzed, maybe they’ll think it’s funny. And she gets one song. That’s it.”
“How could she know any more than that?” Jack said.
Kate left to break the news. Nana always had something going on, some new hobby or interest. Rumor had it she’d taken up acrylic painting and was doing individual portraits for Christmas presents this year.
Adam replaced Kate in their little circle. “Heard you got the all-clear from the fire department and that insurance money should come in soon.”
“Yeah,” Lizzie said. “We need to talk about that. Can your crew handle the rebuild of the old bar?”
“You bet. In fact, now that we’re finished here, we can move right over to it. Have you decided what you want done?”
“Not exactly. I’ll need your help designing the space.”
“Okay, let’s plan to meet next week. Tonight,” he said, raising his glass, “we celebrate.”
She sipped her champagne and almost spit it back out when a tall, dark, and very handsome man walked in. “He came,” she whispered.
“Who?” Lucy said. Of course Lucy heard her. Lizzie could have just thought it, and Lucy would have heard. It was a twin thing. Sometimes, reading each other’s minds came in handy. Other times, it was a bother.
Lizzie pursed her lips toward the door. “The fire inspector. Ben.”
Lucy whipped her head around to check him out. “Oh, my.” She fanned her face. “I can see why you’re all worked up.”
“What?” Lizzie said. “No, I’m not.”
Lucy raised both eyebrows. “Maybe not on the outside, but you know you can’t get anything past me. Twin.”
There was no sense in denying it. Lucy was right. Seeing Ben caused a flutter in her tummy, which was something not many men managed. It made her curious to figure out, why Ben?
She watched him stop, shake hands, and talk to Daisy’s husband, Noah. After a minute, he made eye contact and started her way.
“Take Jack and Adam and beat it,” she said under her breath to Lucy, who laughed but did as she asked.
“Hey,” Ben said. “Looks like a great turnout.”
“Yeah. Thanks,” Lizzie said. “I wasn’t sure you’d come. Do you know Noah?”
“Oh, kind of. When he was a cop, and I was a firefighter, we’d see each other at accident scenes and stuff. Couple of years ago, we played against each other in a Fire and Ice game.”
“The charity basketball game where the police department plays the fire department?”
“That’s the one. My coworkers are bugging me to play with them this year.”
“Sure it’ll fit into your busy schedule?”
“Ha. Ha.” He smiled at her teasing. “Maybe it’ll get Maya off my back for a minute. I could use some exercise too.” He patted his stomach. It was flat, and she assumed, hard.
“You look pretty fit to me,” she said, suggestively eyeing him up and down and smiling when he blushed.
“Hardly. Hey, Maya is going with your parents and Bella to check out UNC this weekend. You wanna go out tomorrow?”
“You want to hide it from Maya?”
He nodded. “First of all, I don’t want her to think her mischievous matchmaking worked. It would be like rewarding bad behavior, which I try to avoid. But I also don’t want her putting too much stock into it.”
Lizzie’s eyebrows inched up curiously.
“Nothing against you,” he said quickly. “I just mean, I don’t want her jumping to conclusions or getting too excited. Next thing, she’ll be picking out a bridesmaid’s dress and calling you Mom. And that would be awkward.”
Lizzie laughed. “That would be weird. Normally, I’m pretty suspicious when a man wants to sneak around, but I get it.” She pulled her finger across her lips to zip her mouth.
“I’ll pick you up at seven?”
“Sure.”
“Great,” he said, heaving out a breath as if he could finally relax now that he’d talked to her. For some reason, Lizzie found it more charming than lame.
“Well, I better mingle,” she said. “Bar’s that way.”
“Ah, yes. I believe I was promised a drink on the house?”
“You were. But everyone gets the first one free tonight. You should wait to cash in your chit.”
“Even better,” he said. He moved toward the bar, leaving her to watch him walk away.
Lucy took his spot and caught her staring. “Yum.”
Lizzie smacked her on the arm. “Shhh.”
“Ah-ha,” Lucy said, pointing a finger in Lizzie’s face. “I knew it.”
“Woman,” Lizzie said. “Do not say a word to anyone. Promise me.”
Lucy nodded but wouldn’t look her in the eye. Great. Jack would know within minutes, and the rest of the family by tomorrow. Just what she needed, more nitpicking into her love life.
Lizzie made the rounds, greeting the regulars she’d been serving for years, but also many new people. She had to ensure they came back and became repeat customers.
As soon as she could, she cornered Brett, one of her bartenders. He was the one she’d tapped to manage The Drop after The Tipsy Twist opened. After the fire, plans had changed, but he was still her go-to guy.
“Everything’s going great, Lizzie,” he said. “I can’t believe how many people showed up.”
“Glad to hear it,” she said. “’Cause I need you to run things tomorrow. Without me.”
“Already?” he said. “What if something goes wrong?”
“Call me. It’s not that different from the old place. You’ll be fine.”
Brett stood a little taller. “You’re right. I got this. What’s goin’ on?”
“Just somethin’ I gotta do. Right now, my grandma plans to treat us all to a banjo solo. Keep the drinks flowing. I need everyone nice and loose for whatever’s about to happen.”
“Aye, aye, Captain.” He laughed and gave her a salute before getting back to work.
Nana had made her way to the small stage in the corner, an addition Adam had recommended in case they ever decided to have live music. She tapped the mic and cleared her throat. Everyone slowly turned toward her. Nana was so gregarious and loveable that Lizzie didn’t worry about people walking out or getting mad. As long as it was just one song. And as long as she didn’t sing. Tone deaf would not pair well with banjo rookie.
Once Nana got everyone’s attention and introduced herself, she shed her sparkly blue blazer, revealing a T-shirt that read, “I have no idea what I’m doing, and you can’t stop me.” Her hair was dark auburn—probably the closest thing to normal in years—and braided. She introduced herself and strummed out a painful yet heartfelt version of “Cotton-Eyed Joe.” The crowd cheered graciously and returned to what they were doing.
“Can’t say I’ve ever heard a banjo at a bar,” Ben said, coming up beside Lizzie.
“Nana’s on the batshit side of crazy,” Lizzie said with a smile.
“In a good way,” he said. “She seems fun.”
“Definitely full of surprises. You never know what she’s gonna do. Hey, you should pick her brain about hobbies. She’s tried just about anything you can think of.”
He chuckled. “Maybe I will.”
“She’ll have you square dancing or hang gliding in no time.”
Lucy stood a few feet away, and Lizzie could feel her begging to be invited over. She sent a “fine” off into the air, which Lucy caught immediately. Pushing her way through two people, she landed by Lizzie’s side in seconds.
“Lucy,” Lizzie said, knowing there was no sense fighting it. If she didn’t introduce them, Lucy would take it upon herself to do so. “This is Ben. The guy who accused me of starting the bar fire.”
Ben offered a hand. “Water under the bridge. Nice to meet you, Lucy. I can’t believe how alike you two look.”
Kate, Emma, and Daisy showed up within seconds, eager looks on their faces. So, Lucy had blabbed already. Of course.
“Please tell me Mom and Dad aren’t headed this way too,” Lizzie muttered.
Her sisters introduced themselves. Ben was easygoing and gracious about the ribbing he took for thinking Lizzie was an arsonist.
“Is this circus about to end?” Lizzie asked. “Don’t y’all have kids to get home to?”
“Bella probably is overwhelmed with all the babies,” Emma said. “We should go.” She and Dirk said their goodbyes and left hand-in-hand.
One by one, the rest excused themselves, leaving her alone with Ben.
“Sorry about that,” Lizzie said. “It’s not only my grandma. The whole lot is nuts.”
“What about you?” He smiled, and her heart twitched. This palm-wetting nervousness whenever he was around was a foreign feeling, and it made her uncomfortable.
“Oh, I’m crazy too,” she admitted. “Just in a whole other way.”
“Well, who isn’t?” he said. “I came over to say goodbye. I’ll see you tomorrow?”
At her nod, he waved and turned to go. Lizzie stayed and helped close. She wanted to make sure they’d be able to do it without her the next day.
“I can’t believe you’re taking off on the second day we’re open,” Brett said. “That’s so not like you.”
He wasn’t wrong. Besides her family, and now Charlie, the bar was her life. And if asked a week ago if there was a man on the planet that could pull her away from it, she’d have said no way.
“I know,” she said. “I’m going out with a friend who has limited time on his hands.”
“He’s dying?” Brett gasped.
“No.” Lizzie laughed. “That’s not what I meant. He has a daughter, and it’s tough to get away.”
“Uh-huh. Interesting.” He dragged out all the syllables and waggled his eyebrows.
“Don’t.” She held up a finger. “I get enough of that from my family. Call if you need anything. See you Saturday.”
It was just another date. Ben was just another guy. Why was everyone making it a big deal? As far as Lizzie was concerned, her relationship with Ben would run its course just like all the others. She would make sure of that.
Eighteen-year-old Lizzie had vowed to never let a man have control over her again, and thirty-year-old Lizzie wasn’t about to break that oath. The pledge was made after she told her year-long, high school boyfriend she loved him, to which he’d said, “Thank you.” A week later, she caught him cheating and dumped him.
From that moment on, she promised herself no one would hurt her emotionally or make her feel as vulnerable as she had then. If she never got close to anyone and didn’t take any relationship too seriously, she could protect her heart.
Her MO was to always have the upper hand and never get too attached. It had worked like a charm for the last twelve years, and things with Ben would be no different. They’d have fun on a few dates, and by then, he’d give her some reason to end it. Easy peasy.