I chuckled. “You must’ve heard us talking about you.”
“Imighthave.” Her blue eyes twinkled. “He’s a flirt. I’m sure you’ve noticed that by now?”
“Uh, little bit.”
She chuckled but then sobered. “There’s much more to him than that. Women just see a hot face, a guy willing to have a good time, a guy who’s in a biker club so he’s got that dangerous thing going on, and they never get to know him. They never stick around.”
“How do you know so much about him?” I asked, my curiosity spiking to new levels.
“I’ve gone to a few of the Blue Angels’ parties…at the clubhouse in Waco. I’ve seen him with other women. I see how they are with him.”
I wasn’t about to tell her that I wasn’t going to stick around. Even if what she said was true, I wasn’t the woman for Boxer. We were from two different worlds. I wasn’t slumming it, no matter what he thought, but neither did I expect to be picking out china patterns with him.
“You go all the way to Waco to party?” I asked in surprise.
She grinned. “Some parties are worth the drive.”
The door to Pinky’s opened and an elderly couple walked in, Boxer trailing behind them. Boxer said something to the older man who wore a navy–blue baseball hat with yellow writing that I couldn’t read from where I was sitting.
The couple went to a table on the other side of the room, and Freddy hopped up. “I gotta get back to work.”
“Thanks, Freddy,” I said. “For your insight.”
She beamed.
“We’ll take a slice of the banana cream pie,” I said to her. “Two forks.”
“You got it.”
Boxer was at the table talking to the older couple when Freddy joined him. A few moments later, Boxer had the elderly woman giggling like a teenager and the older gentleman shaking his hand.
I watched him interact with them and realized that he had a gift for making people feel comfortable.
He came back to the table and slid into the booth. “Sorry about that.”
I waved my hand in dismissal. “Not a problem.”
“You lost interest in pinball?”
“I wanted pie more. I ordered us a slice.”
“Thanks,” he said. My hand rested on the table in front of me, and he took it.
“What was that about?” I asked, gesturing with my chin to the couple. “Do you know them?”
Boxer shook his head. “Nah. Met them just now when I was holding the door open for them. Nice couple.”
Freddy arrived with our banana cream pie, and she set it down between us, along with another plate. “Lemon icebox,” she explained. “This one’s on the house. You’re gonna love it. Anything else?”
“Put Jed and Sylvie’s dinner on my tab,” Boxer said.
“Will do.” She swept away and headed back to the bar.
“That’s kind of you,” I said to Boxer. “Buying total strangers dinner.”
“Jed served in Vietnam,” he said. “It’s the least I can do.”
“Face value,” I murmured.