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Their server came right over and told them what the chef had planned.
“It will be a tasting menu, seven courses with accompanying wines. First up is the amuse-bouche.” He set what looked like a giant spoon in front of each of them. It held a tasting of a pale, frothy soup with some kind of seafood.
“Dungeness crab bisque,” he said, then added, “The chef will be out soon to say hello.”
Sophie lifted the spoon and took a small sip—then closed her eyes and swooned. Sweet crab mixed with a creamy, buttery broth that had hints of vanilla. It was beyond delicious.
“Not too bad, right?” Rick said. His eyes twinkled.
The rest of the evening was so fun, and the food was decadent. It was easily the best dinner Sophie had ever had. Rick and Troy had them laughing all night as they tried each new course. The conversation always turned back to real estate and then wandered off again. Sophie learned that Rick had only been dating Julia for six months and they broke up because she was pushing for more of a commitment.
“She’s on a timeline and wants to get engaged by the time she’s thirty-three which is in three months. I was upfront with her from the beginning that I’m not in any hurry to get married. I liked her a lot, she was a great girl. But I wasn’t convinced that she was the one. Maybe I would have gotten there at some point, but I kind of doubt it,” he said. They were on dessert and a lot of wine had been drunk by everyone.
As they chatted, Sophie learned that Troy was a true romantic and had been married for three years. His eyes lit up when he mentioned his wife.
“I knew on our first date. I had this strong feeling that Nicole was the one for me. She was pretty smitten too, thankfully. I proposed three months later, and she moved in,” Troy said.
“I think Ed might be the one for me. We’ve been dating for a year and a half, but I’m not in a rush. I’m happy with where things are right now,” Caroline said.
Rick nodded appreciably. “See that’s so smart. Why not just enjoy the present and let the future take care of itself?” He turned to Sophie. “What’s your story? Are you almost engaged, too?”
Sophie laughed. “Not even close. I would need a boyfriend for that, and I’m not dating anyone at the moment.”
Rick looked at her and smiled. “Key words, at the moment. I’m sure it won’t be long.”
The chef, Eric, came by the table again. He’d stopped by earlier and Rick had introduced him to everyone.
“Thanks for coming in. I hope you enjoyed everything?” he asked.
“It was so amazing,” Sophie said. The others rushed in saying the same. Eric looked pleased to hear it. When the bill came, Rick grabbed it, didn’t even look at it, and threw a black American Express card on the tray.
“Thank you so much,” Sophie and Caroline said at the same time, echoed a moment later by Troy.
“It’s my pleasure,” Rick said. And it was clear that he meant it. He enjoyed treating everyone. “It’s also a write-off.” He winked. “As we did talk business.”
They all laughed. Sophie reached for a sip of their final wine. It was a tawny port, smooth and sweet and syrupy. She felt content, full and relaxed and maybe a little sleepy from all the rich food and wine. She glanced at Rick, and he was looking her way. He smiled and she noticed that he had specks of gold in his dark brown eyes. And how defined and square his jaw was. Rick was a handsome man.
Sophie knew he wouldn’t be single for long once word got out that he was available. He was a catch, extremely good-looking, charming, successful and a millionaire many times over. And she knew there would be no shortage of women who would find his determination to stay single a challenge. They would want to be the one who would tame him and win the ultimate prize—marriage.
“We’ll have to do this again,” Rick said. It wasn’t clear if he was talking to the whole table or just to Sophie. He must have meant everyone. Sophie nodded and noticed that Caroline and Troy were deep in conversation and hadn’t heard Rick’s comment. Still, she was sure he meant it for the table. Caroline looked over and glanced at Rick and Sophie for a long moment before turning her attention back to Troy.
Once the bill was paid, they made their way out of the restaurant. There was a chill in the air. The temperature had dropped considerably while they were inside. Sophie pulled her coat around her tightly. Rick flagged a cab for Caroline and Sophie, as they were heading in the opposite direction.
“See you two on Monday,” he said as they climbed into the cab.
Once they were on their way, Caroline turned to Sophie. “Well, that was an interesting night, wasn’t it?”
“It was amazing. We’re so lucky we ran into them. I’ve never had an experience like that. I could get used to it,” Sophie said and laughed.
“It was incredible.” Caroline looked thoughtful. “I thought I picked up a vibe between you and Rick. He will be hard to resist if he is interested. Be careful as he meant what he said. He’s not looking for anything serious.”
“Oh, I don’t think he’s interested in me that way,” Sophie said. But she had sensed something, too. And she wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Tessa was in a surprisingly good mood the next day, considering that she and Cody did not get back together. She told them all about it at lunch. They’d all slept in and just made sandwiches. It was a laze around and do laundry kind of day for Sophie and Caroline as it was a rare Sunday that neither had to rush to an open house. Tessa had one at two that afternoon for her big listing.
“We had a nice dinner. Cody thought we were getting back together. I considered it but nothing has changed, for either of us, so there’s no point to it.”
