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I held up a hand. “Don’t argue with me. You just said this isn’t a familiar environment. It is for me, and I’m going to show you all the ways you can enjoy yourself here.” A knock on the door interrupted our conversation. “First, I’m going to show you how wonderful the food is.”
I answered the door and several room service attendants wheeled in carts covered with domed platters. I showed them into our dining area, and they laid out a white linen tablecloth on the round dining table, then filled it with all the dishes I’d ordered.
Laurie watched wide-eyed, and he audibly gasped when a young woman set a bottle of champagne and several bottles of white wine in a bucket of ice on a stand by the table, then added a few reds next to our entrées.
“Would you like me to open one of these?” she asked, indicating the bottles of wine.
“No, I’ll take care of it.”
She set a wine opener next to the bottles then retreated. “Is there anything else you need?”
“No, thank you.” I handed the attendants their tips, and they left. Laurie stayed right where he was, still in awe of the situation.
“Come sit down.”
He frowned. “This is too much.”
“Hardly. I could have ordered more.”
“You could have ordered me one dinner.”
“What’s the fun in that?” I opened one of the bottles of white wine and poured some into each of our glasses.
“I don’t usually drink wine,” Laurie said.
“We have other options here.” I indicated the fridge. “But I’d like you to try it. It’s going to go so well with the first dishes we’re going to sample.”
9
LAURIE
Worth lifted the cover from a dish. My mouth watered when I saw a small portion of risotto topped with scallops. It tasted as good as it looked. More dishes followed, including a lightly battered stuffed grouper and a simply prepared lobster tail.
As I contemplated licking the butter off the plate of lobster, Worth said, “Do you really want me to move out of the villa?”
I considered his question. It would be for the best, but… “No.”
“Good.”
We continued sampling until, finally, Worth lifted the lid on the last of the dishes. I started to protest that there was no way I could eat another bite. Then I saw the filet mignon. I could tell how juicy it was. The steak was lying atop mashed potatoes along with spears of asparagus. The presentation was as elegant as all the other entrées had been. I wondered if ordering this much food cost extra. It had too. No way could all-inclusive mean unlimited, but to Worth cost was nothing. Would I ever really grasp how wealthy Beck’s family was?
Worth cut off a bite. I expected him to try it first. Instead, he held the bite out to me. “Go on. Try it.”
It was too much. Too intimate. If we kept up like this, there’s no way we could keep our hands off each other for two whole weeks. I should tell him to stop. I should tell him I was full, that I was going to my room.
I didn’t. I leaned forward and took the bite from his fork, slowly pulling it away with my lips. I heard Worth draw in a breath, but I didn’t dare meet his eyes.
The filet melted in my mouth like butter. I moaned, and Worth made a strangled noise.
He had to clear his throat before saying. “I take it you approve?”
I swallowed and responded. “It’s fantastic.”
“Take a sip of wine.”
I’d found the red wine he’d poured okay when I’d tried it with the seafood Fra Divolo with linguini, but this time when I tasted it, it was delicious. “Whoa. How can it taste so different just because I had steak?”
“Good wines shift depending on what you’re eating, the circumstances, how hot or cold they are, and even how you’re responding to them.”
