Free Love Takes Time (Christian Romance) by Kaci Hart

they met before, and
even on their current date, he wore something expensive looking.  Not too
flashy.  The simple things like that night’s gold and black cufflinks or
matching watch that periodically showed when he gestured with his arms.  
     
    “Alright
then.  But before you call him over, I have a confession.  I have no
earthly idea what to get because they never even brought me a menu.”
     
    “Oh,
I’m sorry about that.  I come here pretty regularly and I guess they must
have assumed that since you were with me, you knew how this place works.”
     
    With
that, he pressed a button on the wall beside them and a hidden panel slid open,
revealing what Chelsea assumed were several full sized tablets.  Ryder
grabbed two and handed one to her.  
     
    “These
function both as menus as well as recreation if needed.  You can even
leave a message for the chef. I can vouch that he reads each and every one of
them.  He loves the feedback.  If you click the restaurant logo at
the top, it will bring up all the dishes that are available tonight.  And
then, if you want to see what one looks like, click its name and you can see
the dish as well as recommended wine pairings and the like.  They just
started this about a year ago.  Chef Henri says he wants to incorporate
technology into his restaurant without making it distracting or affecting the
ambiance.  I think it’s a pretty smart idea.  You get to see sizzling
real motion video of a dish you might choose.”
     
    Chelsea
was in shock.  She’d expected it to be the most high-class restaurant that
she had ever been in and no doubt it was.  What she didn’t expect was how
high tech it was.  She scrolled through the perfectly organized menu,
stopping to look at several images of piping hot dishes that had caught her eye.
     
    “Oh
my goodness.  Everything looks delicious.  What do you recommend?”
     
    “Well
let’s see.  Do you have any foods you hate, love, always wanted to try?”
     
    “Um.
 Nothing I hate...well except squid or calamari.  Whatever you want
to call it, don’t call it to the table for me.  I absolutely love potatoes
and I’m not really big on steak but willing to try almost anything.”  
     
    “Ever
try duck before?”
     
    “Does
duck  sauce  have any actual duck in it?  I always wondered as
a child.”
     
    They
both laughed at her little joke.  Maybe she’d been working with kids so
much that she’d adopted their sense of humor. 
     
    “I’m
going to say no it doesn’t.  Since you say you like to try new things . .
. how about one of my favorite dishes here.  The Muscovy duck with orange
marmalade and Cipollini onion puree along with the twice baked potato?”
     
    “Sounds
fantastic.  Now can you please repeat all that, but in my kind of English
this time?”
     
    “May
I?”
     
    He
reached across the table and she handed the tablet to him.  He scrolled
through the menu, bringing up the course for her to review.
     
    “This
is everything and I promise that you will love it.”
     
    She
looked at the sizzling food and she could swear that her belly growled in
approval of his recommendation.   
     
    “I
am going to trust you on that one Ryder because this look delicious.”
     
    Ryder
quickly called the waiter over and began relaying their orders to him.
 Five minutes later he returned with the special house salad and once she
tasted it Chelsea knew why she had never been there before.
     
    “How
is this just a salad?  This tastes awesome.  I mean really.  And
this is only the side salad?!  If the rest of the food is as good as this,
I might have to break my budget just to come back in the future.  Is that
mint that I am tasting?  I would have never put that on a salad but it
really makes everything work.”
     
    “You
sound like a Food Network judge.”
     
    “Well
like I said, I enjoy a nice meal.” 
     
    With
that, he picked up his fork and she watched him get into his salad as
well.