“I thought you might like it.”
“I do, so what’s good here?”
“Everything.Matteo, the owner, has an incredible chef that people keep trying to steal from him.”
“That they’ll never get,” an older man in a black suit walking up to them said.June looked up at him with her eyes wide.Rob wondered what was going through her mind seeing him.
“Matteo.”Rob held his hand out for Matteo to shake.
“Good to see you, Rob.I have to say, I was shocked when you made reservations and did not show up with the guys, but now, I see why.”Matteo looked warmly at June.If Matteo wasn’t several decades older than him and knew June’s heart belonged to him, Rob would be having choice words with the sly glances he was giving her.“You two enjoy your evening.”Matteo gave him a wink as he sauntered away.
“Sorry about him.”Rob felt he should apologize for Matteo.
“He’s sweet.”
“That man has been accused of many things.Sweet isn’t one of them.”
“He reminds me of the godfather like some Italian mafia boss or something.”Rob kept a straight face lest he give something away.She wasn’t far from the truth.
“Are you two ready to order?”a waiter asked, coming up to them and saving Rob from a lie.
Rob always got the same thing, so he hadn’t bothered to look at the menu.“Junem are you ready, or do you need a minute?”Matteo’s place served a little bit of everything, but they were considered an Italian restaurant.
June glanced down at the menu, her eyes quickly scanning it.“I’ll have the chicken parmesan.”She handed over her menu.
“And to drink?”
“A glass of the house prosecco.”
“Excellent,” the waiter said, jotting down her order.“And for you, sir, the usual?”
“Yes, but I’ll have a glass of wine as well.”Why not; they were celebrating.
“So, what is the usual?”June inquired when the waiter left.
“A grilled sirloin with a side of risotto.”
“That sounds good.”
“I had it once when I was on assignment in Italy, and it’s all I order now.”The meat had been so tender and flavorful, he had never bothered trying anything different after that.Rob had been happy to find someone else who could cook it as well as the chef in Italy.
“Italy; I bet you’ve been almost everywhere in the world,” she remarked, sounding wistful.
“Not quite, but several places.”Many he could never tell her about.It wasn’t like he had been sightseeing when he was on assignment.Most of the time, they were covert operations, and he was in and out.Every once in a while, he had some time to scope out the area.“What about you?”
“I’m not much of a traveler.Besides growing up on the east coast, California and here are all I’ve been to.”
“Do you want to travel?”Some people didn’t like going on vacations to different places.They were happy camping or staying close to home versus traveling around the world.
“I’d love to.”
“What’s top of your bucket list?”He would make sure they went someday.
“Australia, Italy, and France.”
“We’ll go,” he assured her.He had been to those places, but again, they had been for assignments and not for pleasure.
“We?”She cocked her head to the side in surprise.
