‘No, I want to take you out. I’m sick of sneaking around between your place and mine. Plus I’ve got a hankering for crab cakes and steak.’
‘You can take the boy out of Maryland,’ she teased, as much to give herself time to regain her breath as anything else. ‘But seriously, it’s not a good idea is it?’
‘To eat crab cakes?’
‘To go out for dinner together. It’s a small town, people will talk.’
‘Then we’ll go to another town. I know a great place in Annapolis. They serve the best fillet steak you’ll ever taste. And if anybody sees us, then we’re friends and neighbours who’ve been abandoned by our kids. What’s to talk about?’
She couldn’t deny that the thought of it was enticing. And it wasn’t just the offer of dinner that was making her stomach growl. It was the thought of him, of talking to him, laughing with him, of seeing his face across the table from her. Of actually being out together like a normal couple.
But they weren’t a couple. Were they?
Blowing out a mouthful of air, she looked around the kitchen, imagining what an alternative Saturday night would look like. She’d probably take a bath, pour a glass of wine, put some terrible reality show on the television while she fell asleep on the sofa halfway through. How did she end up like this?
‘Steak does sound good,’ she said. ‘But if Thomas found out, he’d make my life a misery.’
‘That’s why he’s not going to find out. We’ll head over to Gilbert’s, eat our dinner, and come straight home.’
‘To bed?’
‘To my bed,’ Ryan told her. ‘In case there was any misunderstanding.’
No, definitely no misunderstanding. Her stomach rumbled again, and she realised just how hungry she was, and not just for steak.
‘In that case, it’s a date.’
‘What can I get you?’ the server asked, standing next to their table with a pen in his hand. Though he was dressed in black pants and a crisp white shirt, his stance somehow echoed the ambience of the restaurant. Relaxed, laid back, but definitely expensive.
‘Juliet?’ Ryan asked, offering her to go first.
‘I’m still deciding. You go.’
‘I’ll take the Maryland crab cakes, followed by the ten-ounce steak with extra fries.’ He handed the black leather menu back to the server. As always she was entranced by how easy he found everything.
‘I’ll just take the burger. No starter.’ She offered the server a quick smile then handed back her own menu.
Ryan frowned. ‘You’re not having steak?’
She shrugged, trying to feign nonchalance. ‘I’m not hungry.’
‘Hungry enough for a burger,’ he pointed out. He didn’t look angry as much as worried. ‘You should really try the steak. It’s amazing.’
‘It’s the best,’ the server agreed. ‘Though of course our burgers are good too.’
A year ago she wouldn’t have blinked twice at the cost of the steaks. But then a year ago she was Mrs Thomas Marshall, and money was no object. But right now she had a bit of a cash flow problem, thanks to lawyers’ bills and Poppy’s Christmas presents. ‘The burger is fine.’
‘Can you give us a minute?’ Ryan asked, looking up at the server.
‘Yes, sure, I’ll be back in five.’ The man didn’t look perturbed at all, even though Juliet felt more embarrassed than ever. He walked away and over to another table, topping their wine glasses up with an expensive red.
‘London, are you ordering a burger because you want it, or because you’ve got some messed-up idea that you’re paying for dinner?’
It took a lot of effort to make herself meet his gaze, but when she did, all she saw there was kindness. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘Because the burger’s the cheapest thing on the menu.’
‘But I’m really not that hungry.’