Page 21 of Loving Her

“Run on in, girls,” Elena instructed.

Ruby gripped Sasha’s hand and headed into the restaurant, making a beeline for the elegant, dark-haired woman at the host stand. “Hi there. The Fierelli party is here, we’re just waiting for the rest of us to arrive.”

The hostess looked down at her list, adjusting her gold wire-rimmed glasses to get a better look. “Fierelli, party of two. Yes, we have your table all ready, just follow me.” She picked up apair of black leather-bound menu folders and waited, looking at them expectantly.

“Two? No, no, that’s not right. It’s more like two dozen… it’s a rehearsal dinner.” Panic began to set in, making her heart flutter. “There should be a whole reservation.” Of course, this would happen when they sentherin to handle everything! Ruby swallowed and tried not to cry.

The hostess smiled reassuringly. “I assure you, it’s a party of two here. Domenic Fierelli called in the reservation three days ago. You’re lucky a table came available!”

Sasha squeezed and patted her hand. “I’ll go check with your dad, Rubes. Don’t worry. I’ll be right back.”

“Okay.” Blinking, Ruby sat down on a little black lacquered bench. The hostess shrugged and put her menus back in the bracket on her stand, circling back around to wait for another, less eccentric party to check in for their table.

How could this go so terribly wrong? Ruby knew her family, they would have double and triple checked this. This check-in should have been a cakewalk, a bit of nothing. She lifted her hand to her mouth and began to gently nibble at her thumbnail.

“Quit that.” Sasha swept in and pulled her hand back away. “Listen, your dad’s gone. Nobody from the family’s here.”

“What? Oh, my God.” Ruby felt dizzy. Just then, her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out.

Enjoy your romantic dinner, baby girl. We love you two!

“Oh,” she whispered, knowing her eyes were round as gumballs at the sight of her father’s message.

Sasha held her hand out. “Can I see?” Ruby handed it over, and Sasha read the screen. Then blinked and read it again. Her face went tomato red from neck to forehead. “Oh.Oh.”

“We’ve been had, Sash.” Heat was spreading across her own face at the realization. Her own parents had conspired to send her on a romantic date with Sasha. A romantic andveryexpensive date, she knew well. After all, as Jim had pointed out, they’d all been here several times for family occasions. The menu had often changed over the years, but the prices had always stayed… well, at a level Ruby could never afford even if she’d been a bestselling author ten times over.

Swallowing hard, she stood up and brushed her sweaty hands down her good black knee-length skirt. The hostess looked at her with interest as she approached, Sasha tagging close behind. “You said there was a table for two, for me?” Ruby asked, stomach in knots.

“Yes, indeed.” The hostess flashed them a quick smile and pulled out the menus again. “Follow me. I’ve got a great table for you, overlooking the water.”

“Oh, wow,” Sasha muttered in amazement, following behind. “Can we afford this place, Rubes?”

“Everything is taken care of, ladies,” the hostess informed them, leading them up to the second floor of the converted mansion. “You’re to order anything you want. Your waiter is going to bring you a complimentary bottle of wine.”

“Complimentary?” Ruby asked, knowing that the wine list was as exclusive and upscale as the menu.

“To you.” The hostess winked and led them to a table that did indeed overlook the water. “Jason will be your waiter this evening, and he’ll be with you in just a moment.”

As she vanished, Sasha pulled out a chair and held it. “Ruby?”

“Thank you.” She sat down and fiddled with the silver moon pendant around her neck as Sasha took her own seat. “This is crazy, Sash.”

“It is. Do I dare even look at the prices?” She opened her menu. “Never mind. They gave me the menu without them.”

Ruby checked hers. “Me too. Jesus. Pops can’treallyhave meant for us to get what we want?”

Sasha shrugged. “He hasn’t struck me as the kind of guy who’d lie about that.”

True enough. Dom was a straight shooter, as direct as they came. And Ruby was the baby of the family who’d brought a ‘significant other’ home at last. So yes, this was exactly what he’d intended.

She looked at Sasha. “I think we should start with the baked clams,” she announced. “I know I usually don’t eat seafood besides shrimp, but they’re so good, it’s my favorite appetizer here—onlyhere. And they have a crabmeat salad I think you’ll love, because you and Dante like a lot of the same foods and headoresthat.”

“And for dinner?” Sasha asked, an indulgent grin on her face as she leaned on the table, propping her chin in her hand.

“Let’s see… they have this fish they debone and grill right at the table. I’ve never had it but I think you’d really like that.” She scanned the menu. “I’ll have the Caesar salad and then their roast duck, it’s incredible. And then dessert…”

“We don’t have a dessert menu here yet,” Sasha pointed out.

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