she said with exaggeration. He pretend-growled and she said, “You gave me Chinese last night and pizza tonight. Next date, I need to fix dinner for you.”
“I’ll take you up on that.”
He held open the door, and as soon as they stepped inside, she was immediately charmed by the interior. Red and white checkered tablecloth covered the tables, and servers wearing jeans and bright red shirts bustled around, trays of pizza pies held high over their heads as they weaved between patrons. A rotund man in a crisp white chef’s jacket and red apron was behind the counter, and when he caught sight of Kyle he threw his hand up in a wave, calling out his greeting. A pretty teenager with long black hair pulled up in a ponytail hurried to them and smiled. “Hey, Kyle! I’ve got a table for you over here.”
Kimberly glanced at him and grinned. “Oh, I’m impressed. You must have called ahead!”
“I knew it was the only way we could get seated right away.”
The young server smiled at Kimberly before shifting her gaze back to Kyle. “You never bring a lady in.”
“Kimberly, this is Louisa, the daughter of the best pizza maker in town. Louisa, this is my lovely date, Kimberly.”
Smiling up at the bright-eyed young woman, she said, “It’s nice to meet you. I’m sorry to say that I’ve never been here, but I’m excited to try your pizza.”
“Oh, you’re in for a treat because Dad’s pizza is the best.” Taking their drink orders, she looked toward Kyle again and asked, “Your usual?”
He looked across the table and cocked his head to the side. “Is there anything you don’t want on your pizza?”
“I’m not crazy about anchovies, but everything else is good.”
He grinned up at Louisa and nodded. “My usual will be perfect.”
She bounced away, her ponytail swinging as she maneuvered through the tables with ease.
“I like this place already, and I haven’t even had the food,” she said.
“I went to school with Chino’s nephew. He worked here every summer and after school, so I’ve been coming around for a long time. Everybody kept telling Chino he needed to expand and open up other restaurants, but he refused. He says he only wants to have a restaurant that’s as big as what he can handle. I called ahead to make sure we got a table. If this had been the weekend, there would have been a line out the door.”
Louisa came back with their drinks and set a platter of fried zucchini and mozzarella sticks with homemade marinara sauce on the table. One bite and Kimberly was in love. Her granola bar had long since worn off hours ago, and she was starved. Not wanting to overstuff on appetizers, she ate slowly. Soon, Louisa came back with a large pizza with homemade crust, loads of cheese, Italian sausage, and onions.
The scent wafting from the pie was enticing, and if she had not been afraid of burning the roof of her mouth on the hot cheese, she would’ve jumped straight into a bite. Instead, she pulled it apart, blowing on the top to cool. Taking a big bite, her eyes immediately widened. Kyle was grinning at her from across the table as he helped himself to his own piece.
“Oh, my God! I think I’ve died and gone to pizza heaven!”
Chewing the huge bite he’d taken, he said, “I told you so. Best pizza in town.”
When the meal was finished, she smiled as he drove toward the harbor. Remembering the last time they were there, it felt special… almost like their place, even though that was ridiculous since this was technically their first date and they had only been to the harbor one other time. As she stared at the handsome man sitting next to her, a twinge in her chest built at the realization of how much she truly liked him.
Beginnings were scary. Full of doubt. But he’d told her the night before that he considered this to be the start of something between them. As they parked near the harbor, they linked their fingers once again as they began their walk.
15
Kyle always enjoyed eating at Chino’s, but tonight’s date was by far the most entertaining. Not only was Kimberly beautiful, she was also so damn real and funny. The mirth they shared over his being the parallel parking guru had immediately taken away some of the drudge left over from his day. He knew a lot of people in law enforcement whose marriages had