Nora
“Thank you,” I said to Miles as he held the door at The Serpent and Apple open for me to step through on Sunday evening.
“Happy to be at your service, milady,” he said, dipping into an exaggerated bow as I stepped past him into the entryway of the upscale restaurant.
“Such a gentleman.”
He straightened, amusement flickering across his face. “Just trying to make up for making you eat that hot pepper the other night.”
“You say that as though you didn’t enjoy watching me suffer.” I glared playfully at him.
“I plead the fifth.” He grinned, lifting his hands in mock surrender. “Although, I suppose I can’t feel too bad about how that competition turned out, considering it led to us meeting up for this amazing dinner.”
“I suppose it did work out pretty well in the end,” I said, glancing up at him.
“It did.” He leaned in, his voice dropping as his hand rested at the small of my back, the faint scent of his cologne wrapping around me. “You look beautiful, by the way.”
“Thank you,” I said, feeling heat creep up my cheeks. Then, after taking in more of his appearance, I added, “You clean up pretty well yourself.”
And he really did.
Miles’s dark hair was neatly styled, and the fitted navy suit he wore did absolutely nothing to hide his broad shoulders and athletic frame.
The man could pull off a football uniform without trying. But this? This was a different kind of sexy.
We stepped through the second set of doors, and that was when I spotted Theo and Amanda near the hostess stand.
Theo was dressed in a charcoal suit, looking polished and charming as usual. Amanda stood beside him, her arm looped through his, wearing an off-the-shoulder red dress that looked incredible on her.
And just taking her in made me silently thankful that I’d gone with one of my dressier options tonight—a silky emerald-green dress that hit just above the knee.
I didn’t own many pieces meant for fancy nights out since most of my life rotated between jeans, T-shirts, and workout clothes, but tonight I’d made an extra effort.
Lucy had helped me pull my hair into a sleek updo, and I’d gone a little bolder than usual with my makeup.
Even adding false lashes for a touch more drama.
It wasn’t every day you went on a date with a famous quarterback.
“The hostess just went to check on our table,” Amanda said, turning toward us.
“Perfect,” I said.
“So, how’s everyone feeling after the massages this afternoon?” Miles asked, seemingly oblivious to the way a few nearby diners had started sneaking looks in our direction—heads tilted, whispers traded. “Pretty great, right?”
“It really was,” I agreed, doing my best to look unfazed for the benefit of anyone clocking the woman who’d just walked in with the town’s favorite quarterback. “My neck and shoulders haven’t felt this loose in way too long.”
“Seriously,” Amanda chimed in. “Every time I get a massage like that, I swear I’m going to start going at least once a month. But then I never actually do.”
“I always have the same intentions,” Theo said with a nod. “But it turns out I’m not great at planning things like that when I also have to line up childcare.”
Amanda patted Theo’s arm. “It’s hard to do anything indulgent without the single-parent guilt setting in, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Theo said, an understanding passing between them.
I’d only been taking care of Charlotte for a week—just long enough to know how all-consuming little kids could be.
But while I got to leave at the end of the day and not worry about how Charlotte was doing while I was away, since I knew Theo was a capable father, parents didn’t really get to clock out.
Even when they weren’t physically with their kids, the responsibility of caring for their well-being was always there.
“Meanwhile,” Miles cut in with a grin, “I get massages every week during football season.”
“Ah,” Amanda said, letting out a jealous sigh. “Lucky.”
He chuckled. “Trust me, they’re not nearly as relaxing as the one we had today. Feels more like being tortured.”
“I’ve been there,” I said, nodding. “Our gymnastics physical therapist definitely didn’t believe in five-star resort vibes.”
“Oh no!” Miles laughed. “More medieval?”
“Pretty sure she got special joy out of making us scream,” I said dryly.
The hostess appeared then. “Your table is ready. If you’ll follow me.”
Theo and Amanda led the way as we moved through the restaurant toward the back. As we passed softly lit tables and low conversations, I felt a subtle shift in the room—heads turning, voices dipping, a few not-so-subtle double takes.
Miles didn’t seem to notice any of it, or if he did, he gave no indication. But I caught a woman near the bar nudging her friend, as well as a man at a nearby table openly staring before quickly pretending to be very interested in his menu.
We stopped at a round table tucked into a quieter corner, and the hostess gestured for us to sit.
I ended up between Miles and Amanda, which put me directly across from Theo. Our eyes met briefly over the flickering candles of the centerpiece, before he looked down to adjust his napkin.
“What do you say?” Amanda asked, eyeing the drink menu. “Should we go all out?”
“Might as well,” I said, lifting my own menu and scanning a list of wines with names I couldn’t pronounce. “Lia and Romeo seemed pretty intent on us fully enjoying ourselves, right?”
“I believe so,” Theo said, looking at the menu himself.
“Should we order wine, then?” Theo asked, looking up from the menu.
“Yes, please,” Amanda said.
When the server returned, we ordered two bottles, one on the sweeter side for Miles and me, and a drier option for Theo and Amanda.
A few minutes later, the server came back with both, set them down with practiced ease, and poured a small taste into Theo’s glass first.
Theo swirled it expertly—like he did this sort of thing all the time—took a sip, and gave a nod.
When the server opened the second bottle and offered Theo a taste again, Theo tipped his chin toward Miles.
“Let him do it,” Theo said, a flicker of amusement in his eyes.
Miles blinked like he wasn’t sure about being a designated wine taster, but with a shrug, he lifted the glass and copied Theo’s exact movements, swirling and sniffing before taking a sip.
Theo’s mouth twitched.
“Yes,” Miles said, smacking his lips together like people did in the movies. “Tastes like… wine.”
The server smiled like he’d heard worse, then poured for the rest of us.
“I didn’t realize you were such a wine expert,” I whispered to Miles as soon as the server was gone.
“I was just copying Theo.” He chuckled, draping his napkin over his lap. “I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing here.”
“Glad I’m not the only one.” I laughed softly. Then to Theo, I asked, “Are you actually a wine connoisseur?”
“Definitely not.” He shook his head. “I just picked up a few things from the fancy people in my life through the years.”
“And who might these fancy friends of yours be?” Amanda asked, clearly intrigued.
“The Vanderbilts,” he said.
“The Vanderbilts?” Her brows lifted. “As in, the hotel Vanderbilts?”
“The very ones.” Theo nodded. “They’re Charlotte’s grandparents.”
“Oh. Wow.” Amanda blinked, clearly recalibrating. “I had no idea your ex was from such a well-known family. I hope the divorce wasn’t too rough. My ex has money, so I thought mine was bad, but yours must have been on another level.”
Theo’s posture stiffened, clearly taken aback at Amanda’s assumption that he’d gone through a nasty divorce.
Had Lia really not told Amanda that Theo was a widower? That he would still be married today if Alisha hadn’t been in that car accident?
Because that seemed like something a friend would give another friend a heads-up on when setting them up.
“Um…” Theo started, then stopped, like he was searching for the least awkward way to respond.
Something twisted in my chest as I watched him hesitate. Because no matter how much time passed, having to explain how he’d lost his wife couldn’t ever be easy.
His gaze flicked across the table to me briefly, and I wished that I could shield him from the moment altogether.
I was supposed to be his wingwoman tonight, wasn’t I?
But before I could think of the right way to explain it, Miles cleared his throat and gently said, “Theo isn’t actually divorced. His wife passed away a couple of years ago.”
“Oh my gosh.” Amanda’s face fell instantly. “I’m so sorry. I had no idea.” She shook her head, clearly mortified. “That was incredibly insensitive of me.”
“It’s okay,” Theo said quickly, covering her hand on the table with his. “You couldn’t have known.”
“Still.” She nodded, flustered. “I’m really sorry I assumed. I should have known a great guy like you wouldn’t have gotten divorced.”
The table went quiet as an awkward silence settled in. I lifted my glass and took a small sip, trying to think of something to say.
“So, what looks good to you guys?” Theo asked, clearly ready to change the subject as he glanced down at his menu. “Has anyone eaten wagyu before?”
We all shook our heads.
“But I’ve heard the wagyu here is unreal,” Miles offered. “That, and the chocolate soufflé.”
“You had me at chocolate,” I said with a laugh. “But… what is wagyu exactly?”
“It’s this insanely high-quality Japanese beef,” Theo said, brow furrowing as he searched for the right words. “Super tender. Lots of marbling. Basically melts when you eat it.”
“Legend has it they even massage the cattle,” Miles said.
“So it’s extremely fancy,” I said, thinking it would be wild to massage a cow. “And very on theme for our spa day.”
“Exactly,” Miles said with a wink.
We decided to order the wagyu to share since it was over two-hundred dollars for five small pieces—and while Lia and Romeo had been very generous with their gift card, they clearly hadn’t intended for us to all be in the mood for royalty-level steak.
“I’ll do the filet mignon with the au gratin potatoes,” I told the server when it was my turn to order.
“Excellent choice,” the server said, jotting it down.