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Sofi opened the door to the restaurant, pausing to let her eyes adjust to the low lighting as she glanced around.
“Sofi!” A man with sandy blonde hair stood from a table near the front of the restaurant and waved.
Sofi smiled at him before nodding to the hostess and joining Rob at their cozy table. A candle burned between them as Italian music hummed through the speakers.
“I’m Rob.” He held out his hand so Sofi placed her hand in his.
“Sofi, but you already figured that out,” Sofi joked and Rob laughed, easing a little of the timidity Sofi always felt on a first date.
“I did. You are just as beautiful as your photos.”
Sofi smiled even as she cringed a little. The compliment was a bit overdone but whatever. It was nice.
“This place is so cute,” Sofi said, needing to change the subject as she nodded toward the red and white checked tablecloths and the pictures of Italian landscapes on the wall.
“And it smells delicious,” Rob added, leaning over the table in a conspiratorial way and getting way up into Sofi’s space.
Sofi swore she heard Austin clear his throat but she had carefully avoided watching the entry of the restaurant behind her when Austin would have trailed her in so she had no idea where he was seated. If he was seated yet.
“Nothing like pasta and pizza,” Sofi replied with a fake smile, attempting to feel at ease.
But there was just something about Rob that was a little disconcerting.
“Have you been here before?” Sofi asked, trying to start a real conversation of any sort. She had to give Rob a chance.
Rob nodded. “The margherita pizza is divine. As well as their bolognaise.”
Sofi’s awkward smile seemed to be going nowhere tonight but she wasn’t sure she’d ever heard one of her dates use the word ‘divine.’ It was a fine adjective, but could pizza be divine?
“I think I’ll go with the Bolognese,” Sofi said, feeling pasta over pizza.
“Then I’ll get the Margherita and we can share,” Rob said decisively, even though he hadn’t asked if Sofi was okay with the plan. But that was fine. People overstepped on first dates all the time, right?
Their waiter came and took their order and then Rob just watched Sofi for an uncomfortable span of time as she worked to come up with something to say.
“Preseason is right around the corner,” Sofi finally said. It wasn’t a great conversation starter but it was better than Rob just staring at her.
Rob had mentioned on his dating bio that he was a Salt Lake Lightning fan and since the NFL season would be starting relatively soon, Sofi had gone with that.
“I can’t wait,” Rob responded as he folded his arms in front of him, propping them on the table.
“Yeah, me neither,” Sofi said, wishing Rob had said more. Didn’t men usually wax eloquent when they could get started on a topic like football?
Rob blew out a breath and Sofi paused. Was he trying to tell her something? Did he already want the date to be over? Because she had to admit she wouldn’t be too sad if he ended it right there. She could get her Bolognese to go.
“So . . . ” Rob started.
He was about to dump her. She was a little embarrassed it was so soon and wished Austin wasn’t about to witness her humiliation, but things were so ridiculously awkward. She was glad that Rob felt it too.
“I really like you,” Rob continued.
Wait, what had he said?
“But I have to tell you something.”
Sofi sat still, not wanting to assume anything more because she’d been wrong on everything she’d guessed thus far.
“My family had a big party last night. It was my uncle’s birthday and—that’s not important. We had a family party and I thought it would be fun to bring along this woman I’ve been seeing.”
