Page 49 of The Betrayer
She was also down-to-earth. After spending so many decades up there among the high offices in the skyscrapers, meeting with the same people and their too-rich partners, things got stale. At least for me, anyway.
Variety was the spice of life, after all.
The night was chilly, but it felt good after the warmth of my apartment. It felt good simply to walk lately, to feel the air on my skin, to hear and see the city all around me.
I felt more alive than I had been in years, and it was good.
A line waited outside the restaurant when I arrived, but I saw recognition light up the host’s face when I walked in.
“Mr. Finlay.” She smiled at me. “Welcome in tonight. I believe your regular table is ready if you’ll give me just a moment.”
I ignored the glares from the people in the entryway that had probably been waiting for an hour or more.
The young woman disappeared into the dim interior of the restaurant. If you wanted ambiance, this place was it. They kept the light levels low, the tables were far enough to award some privacy, and by some miracle of acoustics, it was never loud. All I could hear now were soft murmurs and the clinking of flatware and glass.
I turned away from the host stand, hands in my coat pockets, and found Rita waiting just inside the door.
She smiled, her green eyes glittering with the glimmer I had come to understand was omnipresent.
“Hey, Will.”
“Rita, hi.”
She moved closer, but there wasn’t time for anything more, however, as the host returned to take us to my usual table.
I had chosen this table for a reason—it was in a corner, away from everyone. The only light came from a glass lamp above, leaving the area around us in shadow. Which meant it was difficult to see whoever was sitting at the table.
In short, it was private. Just the way I liked it.
I took off my coat and turned around to help Rita do the same, but she was already slipping hers onto the back of her chair.
“No chivalry needed here,” I quipped, grinning to take the sting out of my words.
Rita shrugged. “You can push my chair in if you would like.”
I chuckled as she sat, and I pushed her chair in. “Thank you for deigning to allow me to be a gentleman.”
That won me a laugh.
Almost as soon as we had settled, a server was at our table, taking our drink orders. With a nod from Rita, I ordered a bottle of red for the table and my favorite appetizer while she started with the special for the night. But once the server was gone, an oddly awkward silence descended over the table.
I wasn’t sure why. I usually never ran out of things to say, especially when trying to charm the woman across the table from me. Something about tonight felt different. Maybe it was the fact it had taken me far longer to get Rita to agree to, well, if this wasn’t a date, then a friendly dinner, than with any of the women I had seen recently.
“You look beautiful tonight,” I finally said to break the awkwardness. The woman sitting across from me did look incredible—she was wearing a dress with a skirt that ended a hand’s length above her knees in a deep evergreen that set off her eyes, hair, and olive complexion. It also granted me a good look at long lengths of leg. It was the first time I had seen her without layers to ward against the autumn chill.
Rita smiled. “Thanks. You don’t look so bad yourself.”
“I wasn’t fishing for a compliment.” I chuckled.
Her smile grew into a grin. “Neither was I.”
The start of our banter broke the ice, and we chatted through our appetizers and our first pours from the bottle of wine.
Rita was pouring herself another glass when she peered at the label.
“A four-year-old Côtes du Rhône? That’s a good vintage.”
“You know wine?” I asked, faintly surprised, although I wasn’t sure why. Rita had been full of surprises, and I had the feeling that if she stuck around, I would be in for plenty more.
