We walked in silence to Donatella’s, where he led the way to a table with a chair against the wall. A position that would let me sit and see the whole room.
How had he known? I would have walked out if I had to sit with my back to everyone else.
I can't even attribute that to Wolfgang. I'd always been that careful. On guard.
I offered him a smile as I slid into my seat and picked up a menu.
"This is a nice place." I berated myself for the small talk. Whatever though, we had to start somewhere, right? At least I didn't ask him if he came here often.
"It is," he agreed. "I come here often."
A laugh burst out of me before I could stop it.
He raised an eyebrow at me, but smiled back.
This, right here, was why I needed to get out more. I couldn't even hold a proper conversation with another person without making a complete idiot of myself.
"What do you recommend?" I asked, nodding toward the menu.
"The BLT here is very good," he said. "So is the coffee. Apparently they make a passible milkshake as well."
I wrinkled my nose.
"I'm a bit of a matcha girl myself," I said, but when the server came around, I ordered the BLT.
Forrest ordered the same, but with a coffee.
"This looks amazing," I said when she placed our food in front of us. She gave me a nod and hurried away.
"So, how have you been?" He picked up his coffee and watched me over the rim of his cup while he took a sip.
"I could ask you the same thing," I said.
He'd be a more interesting topic of conversation than I would. Wouldn't he?
He saw right through my diversion. I could tell from his expression, but he nodded. "Busy. But not too busy to have lunch with a beautiful woman."
I swallowed and picked up my sandwich. I didn't feel beautiful. I hadn't in a long time.
"That's very nice of you," I said politely.
"No, it's not," he replied. "I'm being honest; I was hoping to bump into you."
"You were?" Oh hell, what had I done? Did the cops realize I knew more than I told them? Why else would a judge want to speak to me? I thought, but couldn't come up with a single reason. Okay, one, but there was no way. Was there?
"I was," he agreed. "If you're ready to move on with your life, I'd like to get to know you better."
CHAPTER 2
SABLE
Had I heard right?
I was stunned into silence for a while. I stared at him before I managed to snap my gaze away. Somehow, I also didn't choke on my sandwich. Maybe there was hope for me after all.
"That's really…" I started slowly. "Something to think about." When my brain started working again.
"No pressure," he said as easily as if he was talking about a minor fluctuation in the stock market. "No deadline to make up your mind." He leaned forward and whispered, "I'm a patient man."
