the bar. Aubree half rose from her seat as if she was about to go after him, but changed her mind and sunk back down in her chair with her shoulders slumped. Her lips quivered as she brushed a hand through her hair in a nervous gesture. After a few minutes, she collected her purse and stood. When she glanced his way, Matthew crooked a finger at her and pointed at the bar stool directly in front of him.
She hesitated so he repeated the motion more firmly. She finally came over and sat down.
“God that went over well,” she muttered sarcastically.
Matthew chuckled. “Okay, what happened this time?” He reached for an empty glass as she talked.
“Well for starters, I do not like gin and tonic. Totally confirmed that tonight. Ugh.” She made a face and Matthew laughed. He liked her animation. A lot of women didn’t like to make goofy faces or even act silly. Aubree didn’t seem to have that problem and he really enjoyed that. A playful girl was a happy girl.
“Okay, then what?”
“Well, he’s into academics, which I thought was very interesting. He’s a professor of linguistics. But when I told him what I do for a living…”
“Which is?” He prompted, hoping she would share more about herself.
“I’m the Director of Equities at the Chicago Board of Trade.”
Matthew nodded and she continued. “Well, he started talking about how it was cute that I had such powerful job.” She put air quotes around the word “cute” and her striking hazel eyes lit with an indignant fire. “And that when he marries, he wants his wife to feel good about staying at home. I mean I’m all for women staying at home if that’s what the woman wants. Not because some guy thinks it’s still 1950 and a woman should be waiting for her husband with a cocktail in hand and meatloaf on the table.”
“You don’t think a person should do nice things for someone they love?” Matthew asked curiously.
“No, that’s not it. Being nice and doing something out of love is different. Antiqueluvr78 thought that this was something to be expected on a daily basis. A gift like that should be a two-way street. I make you meatloaf one night, you give me the best foot rub ever or fresh cut flowers another night.”
Matthew started preparing a drink for her and then laid a twisted orange peel across the top of the glass. With a grin, he pushed the glass toward her.
“What’s this?” She accepted it, eyeing the brown liquid openly curious.
“An Old-Fashioned in honor of whatshisname?”
“Antiqueluvr78,” Aubree said with a giggle.
“This is bourbon, a sugar cube, bitters and a thick cube of ice.”
“Wow.” She took a sip. “Not bad at all.” Her smile was infectious, and he couldn’t resist his own grin.
“So Antiqueluvr78. Is that a screen name or something?” He leaned on the bar as she held up her phone so he could see the screen.
The bubbly words Meet Cute appeared on the screen and her profile popped up a second later.
“Sailorgurl18?” He looked at her profile name. There weren’t any pictures, just info about her life.
“I like to go sailing on Lake Michigan. I grew up in Maine around boats. My dad was a fisherman. He died two years ago and when I’m out sailing on the lake, it reminds me of him and I feel closer to him?” She blushed wildly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be pouring my heart out to a stranger.”
Fuck it, the woman was killing him. Matthew extended his hand. “Hello, I’m Matthew Lawson, born in Perth, attended school at Cambridge in England, then the London school of Economics. Now… I bartend and part of that is listening to customers.”
Aubree smiled, still embarrassed as she shook his hand. “Aubree Cole. I went to Princeton. Born in Maine and I love to sail.”
“There, now we aren’t strangers.” Matthew nodded at her nearly finished drink. “Want another?”
She thought about that for a minute. “Yeah, why not. Surprise me.” She settled deeper into the bar stool and watched him get to work.
Matthew muddled a strawberry in a shaker, added some strawberry and vanilla-infused vodka, a little St. Germaine, lemon juice, and some fancy habanero bitters before shaking and straining everything into a martini glass. He then topped the mixture with a splash of sprite and edible rose petals before sliding the glass toward her across the bar.
“Meet the Ms. Monroe cocktail.”
Aubree giggled as she picked up the bright reddish-pink drink and sipped. “Flirty with