He opened the door with chivalry and extended his arm to help her out. He pushed the door closed, hit the lock button, and pivoted in the direction of the restaurant without letting go of her arm. His hand slid intimately down her forearm to clasp her hand in his. A spike of sensation ran up Anna’s arm at the mere touch.
They were barely through the door when a large man caught sight of Matt and came running. He swallowed them both in a giant bear hug. His beefy arms held tight. When he pulled back, he dramatically bowed as if greeting royalty. “Welcome.”
Matt smiled. “Tony—”
“Ahh, Matt, I see you finally made it to our new restaurant and brought your lovely lady with you.” He turned directly to Anna, “Roberta and I have been badgering him to take an evening off work and bring you along.”
He stood back with careful appraisal and inspected Anna like she was one of his scrumptious desserts. “Matt, I see your wait paid off,” he said, as he slapped him on the back. “You held out all these years for the cream of the crop, the icing on the cake, and for that cherry on top—you got it all.” With a hearty laugh, his voice boomed throughout the restaurant.
Anna smiled, as he cracked up at his own brand of clever.
“How can you tell I love food?” He rubbed his well-pronounced girth with one hand and raised his fingertips to his lips with the other. He smacked out a loud kiss before his hand flew into the air. “Ahh … but the culinary arts, that glorious creation of exquisite dishes is truly my love—second love, of course.”
Matt shook his head. “Anna, this is the owner, Tony. He has a flare for the dramatics, but I put up with him because he has the best food in town.” Matt laughed as Tony’s eyes bulged in feigned offense at the teasing.
“Tony and his wife, Roberta, have had an Italian restaurant for years, but this is their newest venture—Tony’s love for steak and Roberta’s love for everything Italian—hence, the name Toberta’s.”
“Yeah, I only get two letters, and she has the rest.” Tony’s chubby jowls jiggled as his head bounced up and down in amusement, and his eyes twinkled with laughter. “Notice I said food is my second love. Roberta reminds me daily that she’s my first, and I dare not disagree.”
He threw his arm around Matt’s shoulder and chuckled. “Soon you’ll understand, young man.
“Now are you going to properly introduce me to this lovely woman or not?”
Matt rolled his eyes. “Well, if I could get a word in edgewise. Tony, this is my fiancée, Anna.”
Anna’s heart leaped at the declaration. In Matt’s mind, they were still engaged. The thought brought a smile to her soul.
Anna reached out to extend a handshake. Tony bowed gallantly and raised her fingers to lightly plant a kiss on the back of her hand.
“Tony, are you flirting with the pretty girls again?” A short, round woman with beautiful chocolate brown eyes far too large for her face came into view.
“Roberta darling,” he placed an arm affectionately around her shoulders and drew her close. “There is no other as lovely as you, but come meet Matt’s fiancée, Anna.”
Roberta squealed in delight, and the next thing Anna knew she was engulfed in a warm hug.
With a snap of her fingers, Roberta had the head maître d’ at her side. “That table with the view in the corner?”
“Reserved,” he said.
“Un-reserve it,” she said, “and bring me a bottle of our best Cabernet Sauvignon, please.”
The maître d’ moved swiftly away.
“Come, you love birds, we’ve just the spot for a romantic dinner.”
As if they were dignitaries, Anna and Matt were ushered into a secluded corner table that faced the lake. Roberta clucked and fussed until they were nicely settled with menus in hand, water in their glasses, the candle on the table lit and glowing romantically. She waved to a nearby bus boy who intuitively knew what that meant. A hot basket of fresh bread and flavored butters were placed on the table without a word being spoken.
“Now, we’ll leave you two to enjoy.” She giggled like a schoolgirl with a starry look in her eyes. “Ahh, I still remember the days when Tony and I were engaged. You sure don’t need my company or anyone’s for that matter.” She bustled off with a wave and a smile.
If only she knew, Anna thought. She turned toward the view. City lights shimmered off the lake and wisps of clouds scuttled across a full moon. She snuck a peek across the table at Matt. He, too, silently drank in the beauty. She assumed he felt the same as she did, neither of them wanted to ruin a perfect setting with difficult dialogue.
Anna felt Matt’s hand cover hers and her heart skipped a beat. The warmth of his thumb rhythmically traced a pattern back and forth on the inside of her wrist.
“I see you’re still wearing your engagement ring.”
Anna nodded. “No questions that way.”
His face dropped. A crestfallen look entered his eyes and he pulled his hand away. “Is that the only reason?”
“No, Matt.” She quickly admitted, “I thought we should talk, or better yet, I thought I should listen before breaking up with my best friend.”
Anna looked down at her ring and fiddled with it, unable to make eye contact.
“Matt, I can tell by the fact both Tony and Roberta were overjoyed to finally see you in their new restaurant that you haven’t been here before, and I know I didn’t handle that evening well. For that, I’m truly sorry. But there’s so much that doesn’t make sense. And when you hid
