Page 21 of Spades

I raise an eyebrow. “Indeed we do.”

Dudley places a martini in front of Alissa and DeeDee gives me my gin and tonic.

“I have to ask.” I lean in. “What makes a martini dirty?”

Alissa blushes. “You take a regular martini—gin or vodka with vermouth and garnished with an olive—but you add in a splash of olive juice.”

I smirk. “Sounds dirty indeed.”

Alissa shrugs. “I like them.” She takes a sip. “Oh, that’s lovely.” She swallows her sip and then purses her lips. “There’s something…distinctive about this.” She looks up at Dudley. “Is there something special in the vodka?”

Dudley squints at Alissa, cocking his head.

“Oh, sorry, right. You’re not allowed to speak.” She turns to me. “There’s an element of something…perfumelike in this.”

I smile. “That’s the other catch. All the drinks here have some kind of floral component.” I take a sip of my gin and tonic. “This, for instance, has a hint of elderflower liqueur, which really brings out the juniper taste of the gin.” I look at her martini. “May I?”

She pushes the drink toward me. “Have at it.”

I take a sip of her martini. I’m not a big fan of olives, but the splash of olive juice does add a little complexity to this normally simple drink. I try to ignore it and focus on the vodka.

I place the martini back down on the bar. “Yeah. It’s rose petals, I think. They’ve infused the vodka with rose petals.” I look up at DeeDee. “Am I right?”

DeeDee nods slowly before turning away and focusing on another patron.

Alissa takes another sip. “Rose and olive.” She chuckles. “That sounds like the name of a pub back home. The Rose and Olive.”

“Do you like it?”

She lifts an eyebrow. “The drink? Or the fictitious pub?”

I chuckle. “The former.”

She nods. “It’s quite tasty. Not a combination you’d think of on your own.”

I grin. “That’s kind of the whole thing here at Aces. They think outside of the box.”

Alissa wrinkles her forehead and looks around. “I’m not even sure if we’re on the sameplanetas the box here.” She turns back to me. “How did you find this place?”

I press my lips together. “I inherited the membership. From my father.”

“Your father must have been quite an important person to have gotten a membership here.” She takes another sip of her martini.

I scratch the side of my arm. “He was.”

But I don’t want to talk about my father right now. I’ll change the subject.

“So, first impressions of the place?”

She looks around once more. “It’s certainly matchless. I’ve never seen a place like this before.” She looks uneasily at DeeDee and Dudley. “I’m not sure how I feel about the no-speaking thing.”

“It’s a little odd,” I admit, “but you’ll get used to it.”

Alissa removes the olive from her drink and pops it in her mouth. “Oh, so you’re planning on bringing me here a second time? Long enough for me to getusedto it?”

I lean in, inches from her gorgeous lips. “Yes, if you’d like that.”

She finishes off her martini and smiles at me.

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