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"Hi, Matt."

"Lainey. Nice to meet you. Can I get you started with drinks?"

"Lainey?" I ask.

She turns her menu over and glances at it. "I'll take a glass of Chardonnay."

"House or top shelf?"

"Bring a bottle of Cakebread. And I'll have a Sopporo," I answer.

"I won't drink a bottle," Lainey fusses.

"It's fine. They'll cork it for us. Your mama can have the rest if she wants," I state.

"That's sweet of you to think of her," Lainey says.

"Coming right up. Did you want me to put in the appetizers?" Matt asks.

"Yes." I turn toward Lainey. "The chef does an amazing board with all of the apps. I always get it."

"Yummy."

"I'm on it," Matt declares and disappears.

A quick silence passes, and Lainey's tone turns serious again. "I'd be pissed if I were you."

Surprised, I ask, "You would?"

She nods. "Of course I would. So I just want you to be honest with me."

I put my hand on her thigh and take another moment before I speak. "Ok. Fair enough. I understand why you did what you did. But yeah, a small part of me is mad."

She puts her hand on top of mine and spins more toward me in the booth. "I'm sorry. I didn't know."

I rub my thumb over her thigh, adding more pressure. "I understand."

"But it still hurts."

I take a deep breath, looking at her. "What would hurt more would be if you ran once you found out. So yeah, it stings a bit, but I'm almost over it."

"Almost over it?"

"Yep. I'm not lingering on something that's going to put a wedge between us. We've had that all year. So the sting's almost gone, and I can assure you it's not going to scar me."

"Really?" she says as if she can't believe it.

I pick up her hand and kiss the back of it. "Yep. So let's move forward instead of getting stuck on details that happened due to town gossip and an unread receipt."

She takes a moment but eventually says, "Okay."

Matt appears. He sets down the beer, opens the bottle of wine, and pours a glass. He hands it to Lainey. "Chef's working. It'll be out soon."

"Great." I put my hand around the cold bottle.

He leaves.

I hold my drink in the air. "To our beautiful baby girl and us."