Liv wasn’t sure if Bridgette knew the difference between a bachelorette party and a rehearsal dinner.
“Is that…”
“That’s my cousin Bridgette.”
“She looks like she’s having…fun,” Chrissy observed.
“She sure does.”
“I need a drink.”
“Same!” Liv hadn’t planned on drinking tonight, but now that she was here, she’d decided one drink wouldn’t hurt.
Chrissy waved her arm at one of the servers.
A pretty, petite brunette arrived at the table within seconds looking a little nervous to be waiting on them. “Hi, Mrs. Caldwell.”
“I’ve told you Gemma, please call me Chrissy.”
Gemma smiled but didn’t look totally convinced that would be a good idea. “What can I get you both?”
Liv glanced down at the menu. The restaurant was Rapunzel themed and the drinks were named accordingly. Liv was waffling between the spiked lemonade drink Let Your Hair Down and the sparkling cran and vodka Mother Knows Best. She went with the spiked lemonade. “I’ll take a Let Your Hair Down.”
“I’ll take the same and can you also bring us two Flynn’s Fireball shots.”
Gemma nodded and hurried off.
“We’re doing shots?” Liv couldn’t remember the last time she’d had shots. It was probably in college.
Chrissy leaned forward, “You’re at your own rehearsal dinner celebrating your cousin’s wedding and I have a night off from four kids. We’re doing shots.”
Liv couldn’t argue with that.
After the drinks were delivered Chrissy lifted the shot containing red liquid and Liv followed suit.
“To old friends and new beginnings.”
“To old friends and new beginnings,” Liv repeated as they clinked their glasses together.
Liv lifted the small glass to her mouth, tilted her head back and downed the shot. The alcohol burned as it slid down her throat. The warmth continued to spread through her body and after a few seconds she realized she was alreadymore relaxed.
The two women caught up with each other as if no time had passed at all. Talking with Chrissy was like travelling back in a time machine. Liv felt like she was thirteen again. It was refreshing to feel young and free after the past couple of years.
Chrissy told her all about her divorce, her four kids, and how her ex had hidden his assets in overseas accounts leaving her trying to financially support herself and her kids which was why she’d taken a serving job at the Drawbridge Diner. The lunch shifts were short and during peak tourist season she made good money on tips.
Liv filled Chrissy in on her relationship with Jordan, her grandad’s health, and how her ex had given her an ultimatum. Either she put her grandad in a home or he wasn’t going to marry her.
It wasn’t that she was happy Chrissy had also gone through a life crisis of her own, but it was nice to talk to someone who had. It sort of felt like they were both life vets bonding over the shitty hands they’d been dealt.
Liv had just sucked down the final drops of her second Let Your Hair Down when something caught her attention and she choked. Hot Cop had just walked into the bar. But he wasn’t in uniform.
Tonight he was wearing a white T-shirt that showcased two black and gray tattoo sleeves on his arms. Liv had always found tattoos sexy but she’d never been with a man that had any. The T-shirt also highlighted what she’d suspected was under the polyester button down uniform last night. He had a chiseled chest, and broad muscular shoulders.
She’d always had a thing for a man with wide shoulders. There was something so…well…manly about it. Jordan didn’t have those. His frame was more thin than athletic.
“Are you okay?” Chrissy asked as she patted Liv’s back.
Liv nodded and wiped her mouth with her cocktail napkin.