Mia pursed her lips. “Steve, this is my fr—uh. I mean, this is Noah. He’s, um. My husband.”
She loved Steve, but he was gonna embarrass her for sure.
“Yourwhat?”
She sighed. “You heard me.”
“Paula!” Steve yelled. “Get out here. Mia’s here and she brought a husband with her.”
She leaned into Noah’s shoulder. “Maybe we should just go.”
His arm shook beneath her forehead as he laughed.
Steve’s wife was beside him in seconds. “What? Whose husband did she bring?” Her eyes alighted on Noah and she immediately smoothed the graying auburn hair around her face.
Mia looked to Noah for help, but he just watched her with amusement.
Her face heated. “Mine.”
Paula grabbed Steve’s arm. “Steve, did you hear that? Mia’s husband!” She leaned across the counter and grabbed Noah’s hand. “How wonderful to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Noah said.
Steve gently pulled his wife’s hand back. “You’ve got quite the lady here, Noah. She’s everyone’s favorite around this place.”
“I don’t doubt that for a second.”
“Oh look, Steve,” Paula said. “She’s blushing.”
“Don’t call attention to it, dear.”
“You never say things that make me blush.”
Steve leaned over and whispered something in his wife’s ear, and her face did indeed turn a deep shade of red.
Mia giggled.
Noah took her hand, and she immediately stopped, her breath catching in her throat.
“So is this recent?” Paula asked. “Or have you been keeping this handsome man a secret from us?”
“It’s been a little over a month,” Mia said. Noah’s fingers were large and warm, and his thumb shifted across her skin, sending a shiver up her arm.
“Newlyweds,” Paula cried. “Congratulations!”
“Dinner’s on us,” Steve said. “We insist. What can we get for you?”
“I can’t decide. Pick something for me, Paula.”
“What about you, Noah?” Steve asked.
“Plain for me, please.”
An identical knowing look settled on Steve’s and Paula’s faces.
“Of course. You’re the ten-piece plain.” Paula pinched her husband. “I told you Mia wasn’t eating all those wings. You never believed me.”
Mia laughed. “This entire time you thought they were all for me?”