“Excellent choice,” the server said, jotting it down.
Once everything was settled, he said he’d be back shortly with some more bread before disappearing toward the kitchen.
“That was amazing,” Amanda said, leaning back in her chair once our plates had been cleared.
“I know,” Miles agreed. “I thought I’d have room for dessert, but those au gratin potatoes ruined me.”
“For real,” I said. “My mom went through an au-gratin-potato phase when I was in fourth grade, so I’ve eaten my fair share through the years. But the restaurant’s version was on an entirely different level.”
“Sounds like I’ll have to try those next time I come,”Theo said. Then lifting the dessert menu the server had dropped off, he asked, “Does anyone have room for dessert?”
“I honestly don’t think I could eat another bite,” Amanda said, glancing down at her plate. “But maybe we should get some to go? I’m pretty sure the gift cards cover dessert, too.”
“That chocolate soufflé sounded too good to pass up,” I said, nodding. “I vote yes to dessert.”
A chocolate soufflé was probably something that tasted best when hot, so maybe I could fit in a bite or two before we left, just so I could enjoy it as the chef intended.
When the server returned with the leftover food I’d asked him to box up for me—yes, there was no way I was letting the leftover half of my expensive steak go to waste—we each ordered dessert to go.
Theo and Miles took care of the check with the gift cards, and a short while later, we were walking out together, holding brown paper bags with the Serpent and Apple logo printed on the sides.
“Well, this was fun,” Theo said once we stepped onto the sidewalk, the evening air warm and soft as the sun dipped lower behind the buildings.
“It was,” Miles said, surprising me by reaching for my hand. His fingers laced easily with mine, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “We’ll have to do this again sometime.”
“Definitely,” Amanda said brightly.
I glanced at Theo, curious how he felt about that. About her.
Aside from that brief, awkward moment when Amanda had assumed he was divorced instead of widowed, the night had gone smoothly.
I hadn’t been paying close attention to their conversation during dinner, since I’d been enjoying my own conversation with Miles. But from what I’d noticed, Theo and Amandaseemed comfortable together—connecting over parenting, balancing kids with careers, and the rare chance at a social life.
At one point, Amanda had even asked him a legal question, which gave him the chance to show off just how much he was in his element where interpreting the law was concerned.
Did he like her? Was she someone he would have asked out on his own if this double date hadn’t already been arranged?
By his own description of what he was drawn to—dark hair, brown eyes, confident, independent—Amanda certainly fit the type.
“Guess we should go pick up our kids from Lia and Romeo,” Amanda said, breaking the thread of my thoughts.
“You’re probably right,” Theo replied, sighing. “Hopefully, they haven’t done too much damage in the last five hours.”
We said our goodbyes on the sidewalk, Amanda and Theo heading off toward Theo’s black Volvo as Miles slipped an arm lightly behind me.
A moment later, a valet pulled up in Miles’s Lexus, the engine purring softly as it came to a stop in front of us. Miles thanked him, then opened my door.
The inside of the car smelled faintly like his cologne—warm and familiar—lingering just enough to make me smile as I adjusted in my seat.
“Well, that was fun,” Miles said as he pulled onto the road, heading toward my apartment.
“It really was,” I said, smiling out the windshield as the streetlights blurred past.
“Now we just have to find a time for that hot air balloon ride.”
“Yeah.” I glanced at him. “Which means you should probably respond to the group text Amanda sent this morning.”
He frowned. “What group text?”