Page 20 of Paradise West
“That’s cool,” Jack offered. He slowly took a sip of his drink, then scrunched his face.
“What?” Charli asked, then took another drink of the best mojito she’d ever had.
He continued to stare at her thoughtfully, and then offered, “She sounds like a handful, a real force of nature.”
Charli snorted, nearly spewing her drink. “She totally is! She’s also the sweetest person you’ll ever meet—and she wants to meet you, by the way. Practically insisted on it.”
He grinned. “I look forward to it.”
Charli smiled, thoroughly enjoying Jack’s easy nature. It was a refreshing change of pace from the sharks she’d worked with and known in Boston—men who always had an agenda behind every move they made. Jack was definitely different, but there was something about this guy she couldn’t figure out. In her experience, men just weren’t this nice, they werechauvinistic, or calculating and scheming, or narcissistic and self-absorbed. Something didn’t quite add up...
“Well, okay then.” She held up her glass. “Here’s to our partnership, Jack.”
Jack’s grin widened, and he held up his drink. “To our partnership.” He paused for a moment, and then with a twinkle in his eye, added, “May it be as fruitful as we hope, and then some.” He clinked his glass to hers and took a gulp.
Charli’s brows shot up.
Fruitful? That’s an interesting word.
Did she dare to imagine? Surely she was reading too much into it. Or was it just wishful thinking?
She mentally shook her head and took another sip of her mojito, glancing around the dim, old bar. The walls were covered with photos of various sizes and ages, a small stage on the back wall, and the numerous signs that warned against whining or complaints of any kind.
“The Spent Pickle is Key West’s oldest bar, right?” she asked Steve as he cleaned a glass with the towel he carried over his shoulder. He arched a brow at her and gave her a nod.
“I’m sure you get this all the time, but did Hemingway ever visit?”
Jack groaned at her question, seeming to hold his breath. Steve blinked several times. “Well, of course he did.”
Charli looked at Jack. “What? Did I say something wrong?”
Jack’s lips curled up in the corner and then he gestured toward the far corner of the bar. “See that table over there? That’s where Elvis arm wrestled Hemingway.”
“What?” Charli’s eyes bulged. “Are you serious?”
Jack bobbed his head. “Yeah. It’s a well-documented event that was witnessed by an entire crowd.”
“Wow. That’s incredible!” Charli breathed.
“Yeah,” Jack responded lightly. “I told you. The shit gets real down here...always has.”
A scoff from Steve had both of them turning their heads toward the old barkeep. He gestured toward them with the glass and towel in his hands. “The stories from the old place you two just inherited are way wilder than anything that happened here or at any other bar on the island.”
Charli’s jaw dropped. Her gaze moved to Jack and then back to Steve. “Really?”
Steve nodded. “It was the hotbed for hedonism down here for a while. Don’t know if Hemingway stayed there—I doubt it since his house was rightaround the corner. But I’d bet he visited a time or two. The list of movie stars and other celebrities is pretty impressive. And,” he stressed, “once you two get it cleaned up, you can bet you’ll be getting tons of requests from the historical societies and ghost tour groups to showcase it.”
Charli looked down at the bar as she thought about that and then glanced back at Steve, narrowing her eyes. “How did you know that we inherited it?”
Steve snorted. “Can’t fart around here without somebody knowing about it. Everyone knows about Dottie leaving the place to you two.” He gave her an evil grin. “Now we’re all gonna sit back and watch what you do.”
“We’re gonna honor Dottie’s wishes and fix it up,” Jack answered in a sharp tone, a determined look on his face. “Everyone can count on that. And you can pass the word around that we’re not selling either.”
Steve held his hands up in surrender. “Never suggested that you should.”
“You didn’t,” Jack answered, a fierce gleam in his eye. “But I know what the others will be saying.”
Steve pressed his lips together, an air of pride flashed briefly on his face. “Well, all right then.” Then his face sobered slightly and he turned his gaze to Charli. “I know I said this before, but your aunt was quite a lady. We all miss her.”
