“I was just copying Theo.” He chuckled, draping his napkin over his lap. “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing here.”
“Glad I’m not the only one.” I laughed softly. Then to Theo, I asked, “Are you actually a wine connoisseur?”
“Definitely not.” He shook his head. “I just picked up a few things from the fancy people in my life through the years.”
“And who might these fancy friends of yours be?” Amanda asked, clearly intrigued.
“The Vanderbilts,” he said.
“The Vanderbilts?” Her brows lifted. “As in, the hotel Vanderbilts?”
“The very ones.” Theo nodded. “They’re Charlotte’s grandparents.”
“Oh. Wow.” Amanda blinked, clearly recalibrating. “I had no idea your ex was from such a well-known family. I hope the divorce wasn’t too rough. My ex has money, so I thought mine was bad, but yours must have been on another level.”
Theo’s posture stiffened, clearly taken aback at Amanda’s assumption that he’d gone through a nasty divorce.
Had Lia really not told Amanda that Theo was a widower? That he would still be married today if Alisha hadn’t been in that car accident?
Because that seemed like something a friend would give another friend a heads-up on when setting them up.
“Um…” Theo started, then stopped, like he was searching for the least awkward way to respond.
Something twisted in my chest as I watched him hesitate. Because no matter how much time passed, having to explain how he’d lost his wife couldn’t ever be easy.
His gaze flicked across the table to me briefly, and I wished that I could shield him from the moment altogether.
I was supposed to be his wingwoman tonight, wasn’t I?
But before I could think of the right way to explain it, Miles cleared his throat and gently said, “Theo isn’t actually divorced. His wife passed away a couple of years ago.”
“Oh my gosh.” Amanda’s face fell instantly. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” She shook her head, clearly mortified. “That was incredibly insensitive of me.”
“It’s okay,” Theo said quickly, covering her hand on the table with his. “You couldn’t have known.”
“Still.” She nodded, flustered. “I’m really sorry I assumed. I should have known a great guy like you wouldn’t have gotten divorced.”
The table went quiet as an awkward silence settled in. I lifted my glass and took a small sip, trying to think of something to say.
“So, what looks good to you guys?” Theo asked, clearly ready to change the subject as he glanced down at his menu. “Has anyone eaten wagyu before?”
We all shook our heads.
“But I’ve heard the wagyu here is unreal,” Miles offered. “That, and the chocolate soufflé.”
“You had me at chocolate,” I said with a laugh. “But… whatiswagyu exactly?”
“It’s this insanely high-quality Japanese beef,” Theo said, brow furrowing as he searched for the right words. “Super tender. Lots of marbling. Basically melts when you eat it.”
“Legend has it they even massage the cattle,” Miles said.
“So it’s extremely fancy,” I said, thinking it would be wild to massage a cow. “And very on theme for our spa day.”
“Exactly,” Miles said with a wink.
We decided to order the wagyu to share since it was over two-hundred dollars for five small pieces—and while Lia and Romeo had been very generous with their gift card, they clearly hadn’t intended for us to all be in the mood for royalty-level steak.
“I’ll do the filet mignon with the au gratin potatoes,” I told the server when it was my turn to order.