5 Reasons To Love Again

Chapter 89

We drove towards the downtown area and pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant with the big sign with Mama Mary's on it. It wasn't a chain restaurant, but looked like a well established place. Walking inside, I saw that there was decent sized lunch crowd and the smell of garlic and tomatoes permeated the air. It made my mouth water. The friendly hostess seated us right away and handed us our menus before leaving. I sat next to Preston and Brady sat across from me. His long legs ensured that his feet were touching mine. Brady playfully nudged my foot with his and gave me a wink. I smiled at him while taking my coat off.

A woman approached the table. "Hi my name is Jessie and I'll be your server today. Can I start you off with any drinks? Would you be interested in a list of our wines?"

"The wine list won't be necessary. I'll have water. Delphine, what would you like to drink?" Preston asked me.

"I'll just have water for now." I told Jessie.

Jessie's gaze turned toward Brady and she blushed slightly. "And what can I get for you? We have an excellent beer on tap."

"Oh, no beer. I'll have a Coke please." he answered pleasantly and turned his attention back to his menu.

"Alright, I'll be back with those drinks." she said sweetly to him and walked away.

Brady looked at me over his menu with a slightly chagrined expression on his face. I gave him a sympathetic look and slipped my foot out of my shoe to rub the top of his foot. Brady grinned and Preston chuckled. Putting my shoe back on I perused the menu. Everything sounded so good that I had a hard time choosing.

"What's your favorite my dear?" Preston asked me.

"Usually it's linguine with red clam sauce but today I can't decided between the ravioli and spaghetti."

Brady pointed something out of the menu. "Look buttercup, they have a half and half where you some of both spaghetti and ravioli."

"Perfect! That's what I'm having then."

Jessie our server came back to our table with glasses for me and Preston. She carefully set Brady's Coke in front of him. She also set down a tray of antipasto in the middle of the table. "Have you had a chance to look over the menu and decide what you would like to order?"

She kept her eyes on Brady with her cheeks still slightly pink. He ordered the Veal Parmesan and the half and half for me. Preston ordered the stuffed cannelloni and Jessie left the table to place our orders with the kitchen but not before giving Brady a smile over her shoulder. He groaned and slumped in his seat.

"Cheer up Brady, you might get a free dessert out of this." I teased him. He gave me a mock glare and Preston laughed. "She's right Brady." he said as he picked up a slice of salami.

"I don't want a free dessert!" he groused. "What did I do to deserve this?"

"It's your own fault." I told him as I reached over for an olive and popped it into my mouth.

"What? How was this my fault?" he exclaimed. Even Preston looked at me confused.

"Well, you are just too cute for your own good! Stop being so cute and then the unwanted attention will stop." I explained and speared a little ball of fresh mozzarella. That made them laugh and Brady relaxed and helped himself to an olive. We started discussing our Halloween plans since it was only a couple days away. Lexine was so excited by it and played with that mini village every day.

Our plates of food arrived and they smelled heavenly. I savored the flavor of their sauce as I ate the food. Soon there was just a few bites left on my plate and I was full. Preston and Brady were done eating also and Jessie appeared to take away our plates. "Can I interest you in any desserts?" she asked Brady. "If you aren't sure which one you would like, I can sneak you some samples."