First drinks said a lot about a person, and he’d made sure hers was a shot of whiskey.

A girl shooting whiskey, he’d pointed out, could take care of herself. Mandy might have rolled her eyes and laughed a bit, but she’d knocked it back like a champ and followed it up with more. A good time from way back when, and it was funny that it came to both their minds as they caught sight of each other again.

If he’d expected anything, that sure wasn’t it. Tim’s wasn’t exactly the best place then and it wasn’t any better now, nostalgia its prime saving grace. Jack liked it because it was quiet and out of the way, not on anyone’s radar. He could come here for a drink and not have to talk it up to Louis at the Blackjack or Jeff at Mahoney’s, wouldn’t run into any of the usual suspects. His own little island where he could drink and relax and not have to put up front for a while.

An island with company, apparently.

For a second he didn’t believe it—just another bombshell blonde slumming it—but the more she looked the more he looked and that was that. Realization went off like a hand grenade and he was smiling all of a sudden for the first time in a long time. Who would have thought that Amanda Sellers, of all people, would have come back to Timothy’s of all places.

On the other hand, if she was excited to see him, she’d have said something.

It wasn’t the kind of thing you just ignored so he found himself making his way over to her, slowly, as if afraid she might bolt. Which was ridiculous, but…

“Been a while, Mandy.” A grin, now, was evident in his voice. Since when did he grin? He tapped the side of her drink. “Not drinking whiskey anymore. Mind if I sit? I mean, if you’re not waiting for anyone.”

Might as well give her an out if she wanted it.