Soft music played in the background, flowers were on each of the beautifully presented tables along with tea lights that had not been lit. The deep red of the table cloth matched the upholstery of the chairs and other materials within the restaurant. Plants were scattered around and it was obvious that a great deal of care had gone into trying to create an authentic atmosphere.
Maura smiled softly across the table to her lunch partner; Jane, "Have you decided what you would like for lunch Jane?", she asked softly with that special smile she had reserved only for the woman with her.
Placing the menu in front of her and closing the black leather as she did so, "Yep!", she said with a bright smile and sparkling eyes, "Ravioli". It was the obvious and the 'Jane' answer that should have been expected as she was and always had been a rather big fan of ravioli pasta. Whenever they went to an Italian restaurant she usually chose it however on occasion she would choose Bucatini, "You?", she asked softly with a smile as she pushed a stray dark curl behind her ear whilst watching the medical examiner's reaction.
The woman smiled, "Panzanella", she said with a smile, "I looked at their reviews online and it is apparently the best dish on their menu, and it looks marvellous".
The waiter came over with a smile as he took their orders, "and what would you like for drinks?", he asked with a smile which was directed mostly at Jane. He had attempted to flirt with Jane when they had first entered the restaurant, almost ignoring Maura and focusing most of his attentions to the detective.
Maura glared slightly at the man before them, and her confident voice laced with annoyance, "We'll have a Lambrusco and a Moretti please", she said softly.
He nodded with a slight bow as he stepped back, "I will bring them to you shortly", he said softly as he walked from the table.
The look that had been given and the tone of voice used had not been lost on Jane, and it made her smile to herself. Maura looked at her with a tilted head, "You look... amused?" she said softly, "Should I not have ordered for you?". Suddenly she looked confused and a little worried that she had overstepped the boundaries of their relationship, "I could go to the bar for something else if you'd like ?", she offered softly, "I simply thought you might want your normal beer?".
Jane smirked, and lightly chuckled for a brief second, "No, it's fine", she said softly.
Maura looked a little more confused, "Then why are you so amused?", she asked with a slight frown, "I... I don't think I understand".
Glancing around the restaurant, she bit her lip and ran her hand through her mass of dark curls, "You don't like our waiter very much do you?", she asked softly
"I... I...", she was at a loss as to what to say, "What makes you think that?", she asked redirecting it slightly away from her having to answer the question that the detective posed to her.
The detective shrugged, "You glared at him, sounded annoyed when you spoke to him and also when you offered to get me a different drink, you offered to go to the bar which would mean he wouldn't need to come over..." she said with a smile watching the woman's reactions, "I think you've forgotten that I am a detective".
Maura smiled and nodded, "I had not forgotten", she said softly
Drinks came on a tray that was draped with a red serviette and in the hands of the waiter that Maura had taken an instant disliking to, "Here are your drinks madame", she said softly looking at the detective again.
Jane said nothing to the man but instead opted to watch her lunch 'date', Maura glanced at Jane before answering, "Thank you". The words came out softly and yet laced with annoyance that was obvious to Jane and yet more discreet to anyone who did not already know the woman.
"How are you finding everything so far madame?", he asked Jane, "It is your first time here isn't it?". His eyes were on Jane, and Jane's were mostly focusing on Maura with the odd glance to the man beside their table. Maura was glaring at the waiter.
Jane smiled and with a slight bite of her lip, she decided to remove the discomfort from the medical examiner, she reached out and put her hand over the top of the medical examiner's right hand that was residing on the table between them. "Yes it is, my girlfriend has been wanting to come since it opened and we thought it would be a great place to come to for lunch", Jane said softly to the man beside them who nodded, made a lame excuse about checking on food and almost ran from the table.
The detective's hand did not move from the top of Maura's, and she smirked as she looked at the open mouthed, and clearly shocked medical examiner. "You wasn't the only one getting annoyed with his attempt to flirt with me..." she said with a smirk.
Maura closed her mouth but still looked rather confused by it all, "Was...was I that obvious?", she asked ducking her head as she blushed heavily and pulled her lower lip partially into her mouth with the use of her upper teeth.
"Well...I am a detective", she reiterated to the woman across the table from her, "If it helps, I thought it was cute" she said softly with a smile.
Maura looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, wondering what exactly that meant as the detective continued, "I would have been jealous too if he hit on you..." she said with a smile.
"Is that why you pretended you were my girlfriend?", she asked with a smile and a slight tilt of her head, "Should best friends get jealous when the other is being hit on? Is that normal?". The question was posed because with a lack of experience with having best friends, she didn't have enough data and evidence to be able to analyse whether or not it was normal however she did suspect that it wasn't quite the norm for such a relationship.
Jane smiled, "Well, I am hoping it won't be pretend for much longer..." she said simply as she watched Maura's reaction.
The medical examiner smiled, "Well in that case, I believe we are no longer pretending" she said as her eyes sparkled brightly.
