Liz was absolutely starving. She'd had an exceptionally long day at work, dealing with an unprecedented number of new patients. She was glad her private psychologist's practice had taken off but on days like today, she was almost starting to regret taking on as many patients as she had. She walked to the fridge and took out a chilled bottle of her favourite Chardonnay. If that pizza didn't hurry up, she'd be halfway down the bottle and falling asleep before it arrived.

Just as she had finished pouring herself a glass and had taken a large drink from it, the doorbell rang. Thank god, she thought to herself as she grabbed her purse from the kitchen counter and headed for the door to her apartment. She was pulling the cash out before she got to the door and pulled it open, a little impatiently.

'Hey, Donald', she said without looking up, 'Thank god you're here. I was about to start chewing my own arm off….'

Just as she was finishing her sentence, she looked up. It wasn't Donald that was standing in front of her. Where was her regular pizza guy? This guy was a good ten years older. Short hair, dressed in smart clothes rather than the uniform of the pizza store, an amused twinkle in his eye.

'Sorry to disappoint, Miss Keen, but Donald couldn't make it tonight. We're really busy in the restaurant and he's been called into the kitchen. I'm Ray, the owner of Nick's Pizza'.

Liz smiled at him and said, 'Oh, okay, Ray. I'm sure I can cope with the absence of Donald. As long as you've got my pizza. I've not eaten since ten this morning!'

Ray handed her the box. 'Fifteen dollars, Ma'am. And I'm sorry for the delay. Coupla staff called in sick and it's all hands to the pumps. This is my first delivery in over thirty years', he said as he smiled at her.

'Wow, you've been working there that long? I can't believe I've never seen you when I've been at the restaurant?'

'Oh, no, no. I worked there as a teenager before I joined the Navy. My father owned the store. My father being Nick', Ray said as he accepted the money from Liz. 'Sadly he died a couple of weeks ago, leaving the place to me and as I'm not working at the moment, I thought I'd come and help out until I can find a buyer for it'.

'Oh, Ray, I'm so sorry to hear about Nick. He was a wonderful man. I can't believe I hadn't heard. I've been flat out at work the last few weeks so haven't been into your restaurant for quite a while now'.

'Thank you for your condolences, Miss Keen. Yeah, my Dad was a great guy. But running his restaurant keeps my mind off his death. And it's a lot more fun than I thought it could be back when I was a teenager', Ray said as he laughed lightly.

'Anyway, enjoy your pizza. I hope to see you in the restaurant soon, once your work situation calms down. Have a good night now'

'Thank you, Ray. I'll definitely be back in as soon as I can. I'm addicted to your pizzas!'

Ray laughed as he started moving back down the stairs, 'That'll be the secret ingredient'.

Liz laughed too as she shut the door and went to the kitchen to fetch a plate and some kitchen paper for her hands. Well, that was a turn up for the books, she thought to himself. What a handsome devil Ray was. She decided she'd make sure she visited Nick's Pizza as soon as she possibly could.

Three days later saw Liz coming home, looking forward to her Friday evening. She had managed to get out of the office on time today and now had two days off. She was desperately in need of some downtime. She let herself into her apartment and threw her bag down on the couch. Reaching into it, she pulled out her cellphone and quickly checked to see if Samar had replied to her earlier text message. She grinned as she saw that she had. However, upon reading it, it wasn't the news she was hoping for. Despite saying that she was going to try to meet up with Liz tonight in the new bar that had just opened on Main Street, Samar had sent her a message saying she'd have to postpone their drinks as her mother wasn't well and she needed to go visit her.

Liz sighed and sat down on the couch. Great, another evening spent at home. And after the week she'd had, she had so been anticipating a night of drinks and giggles with her best friend. Now she had no dinner plans either. Glancing around the room, her eyes landed on the takeout menu for Nick's Pizza that was on her sideboard. Oh, well, now there was an idea. She could go to the restaurant. Might even see that nice Ray….. Gah, what am I thinking, she swiftly chastised herself. I know nothing about the man. He could be married with ten kids! Still, going to the restaurant wasn't a bad idea. It wouldn't be as much fun eating on her own but it certainly wouldn't be the first time she'd done it. She made her mind up there and then and headed to her bedroom to change.

Fifteen minutes later and she was ready to go. Nick's Pizza was a smart/casual kinda joint. Definitely a cut above your average pizza restaurant but certainly not the kind of place that made you feel like you had to dress up. However, Liz had made an effort. She gazed in the mirror and checked herself out. She was wearing one of her favourite dresses, a beautiful red number with just enough cleavage to be sexy whilst remaining classy. Paired with her black heels and some gorgeous silver jewellery Samar had bought her for her last birthday, she looked an absolute knockout. She'd never made this much effort before to go to the restaurant but told herself she just felt like spoiling herself after the week she'd had. She called a cab and headed downstairs to wait for it.

After a short drive, she hopped out the cab and paid the driver, heading straight into the restaurant. The nearest waiter to the door spotted her as soon as she came in and headed on over.

'Table for how many, Madam?'

'Just for one, please'

'Certainly. Please follow me'

He led her to the side of the restaurant and seated her at a table for two. Liz instinctively sat with her back against the wall so she could face out and people watch. Not that she was looking for anyone in particular, she tried to convince herself. Having ascertained that she recognised no one in the restaurant she turned her attention to the menu.

The waiter returned after a few minutes with some water and asked for her order. Liz still hadn't decided what she wanted so she just went with her usual, the quattro stagioni. She laughed at herself as she ordered. No matter how hard she tried to be more adventurous with her choices, she almost always ended up with this one. Ah, well, it's always good, she thought to herself as she took a sip of her water and raised her eyes to the restaurant once more. Still no sign of Ray. Surely he'd be working on a Friday, wouldn't he? It had to be one of their busiest nights; both in the restaurant itself and for their takeout service.

The waiter came back with her pizza and the half-bottle of Chardonnay she'd ordered. She immediately started eating, as hungry as ever after a hard day at work. Within forty-five minutes she'd finished her pizza and her wine and there was still no sign of Ray. Fine, she thought, if that's not a sign I'm not being silly here, then I don't know what is. She signalled for the bill and prepared to leave.

Once she'd left the restaurant, she really didn't feel like going home just yet. She was dressed to the nines and felt like she should try to make more of a night of it. Maybe she would try that new bar after all? Even without Samar meeting her there, she might see someone she knew, she had a few other friends in the town. Determined to make the most of her Friday night, she turned confidently in the direction of the bar and started striding towards it.

'The Post Office', the sign said as she got close enough to read it. Despite the fact that that seemed an odd name for a bar, she thought she vaguely remembered hearing that the town's first post office was indeed located on this site. And it did look really nice inside. Low-lighting, expensive-looking furniture, some interesting artwork…. Oh, there was the clincher! There was a live band playing in an hour. She was a sucker for live music. Right, she thought, we're gonna give this a go.

Entering into the bar, she quickly glanced around to see if there was anyone here she knew. The bar was really busy, despite it still being relatively early in the evening. That was a good sign, hopefully there would be a good atmosphere for when the band started playing. She headed to the bar and got the attention of the barman.

'Hi there, could I get a glass of Chardonnay, please?'

'Of course, Miss'

He returned with her drink and she started to pull a ten dollar bill out of her purse only to feel a hand stopping her.

'Allow me', a deep, rich voice said from right next to her.

She turned towards the voice, a little shocked that someone had gotten that close to her without her noticing. She found herself staring into the eyes of Ray. He smiled back at her and handed his own ten dollar bill to the barman.

'It's the least I can do for such a loyal customer', he said to Liz as he took the drink from the barman and handed it to her.

Liz smiled at him and took a sip. 'Thank you, Ray. So, what brings you here tonight?'