“I bet it’s gorgeous.”
“We can go there instead of Vail if you’d like.”
I’d never been in this position before, choosing one fancy trip over the other.
Before I could answer, he said, “I have an idea. Since November can be iffy for snow, why don’t we go to Canouan first and then maybe head to Vail after Christmas?”
“Sounds great to me.” Who was I to complain? A free vacation anywhere sounded awesome. “I’ll let my family know I won’t be home for Thanksgiving. Would you mind doing me a favor?”
“Sure, what is it?”
“Can you come to my house for dinner beforehand so they can meet you?”
“I’d be happy to.”
One of the crew came in to let us know we were getting close to the Statue of Liberty.
Evan said, “Come on. Let’s go up top where the view is better.”
Once there, we saw the statue in the distance. I’d seen it before and toured it several times, but this was much more special.
“Isn’t she magnificent?” he asked.
“That she is,” I agreed. “I love the view from the crown too.”
“Yeah, it’s pretty amazing to think about when you’re inside.”
“Bartholdi was a genius to design it so you could climb up to it.”
He took my hand in his and said, “Like so many ancient buildings in Rome, I am amazed by the architecture when I’m there.”
“I’ve only been once and for a few days, but yes, when I did go, I wondered about how they did it without modern day equipment.”
“Yes. And after thousands of years, those buildings are still standing. It’s a testament to what they did, versus what we do.”
“Planned obsolescence,” I said.
“Yes. That’s why after a couple of years, you need a new phone or computer, or washer and dryer. I want a company that doesn’t do that to the consumer.”
“There are a few out there that don’t. But the technology evolves and then your computer becomes worthless and you end up having to get a new one anyway.”
“Exactly.” He laughed. “How in the hell did we get on this discussion?”
“No idea,” I answered and then I cracked up too.
After our third pass around the statue, a crew member came to let us know lunch was ready. Evan took my hand and we moved to the dining room, where it was set up to eat. This wasn’t just some picnic of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. No, we were having lobster, tomato bisque, salad, and a vegetable medley. For dessert, we would be having molten chocolate lava cake. How did I know? There was a card on the table with the menu on it. Fancy schmancy.
“This sounds amazing,” I said as the tomato bisque appeared in front of me, as if by magic.”
“I hope you like it,” Evan said.
“How can I not? Lobster is my favorite.” I tasted the bisque and hummed my pleasure. “It’s delicious.”
He smiled and tried his. “It is good.”
Soon our salads were served, along with bread that was warm and crusty, with butter. I was in food heaven. I polished off my soup, and salad, but left most of the bread. I was saving myself for the lobster.
The waiter came back with all the equipment—a cracking tool, lobster fork, bib, and gloves. But then he wanted to know if I preferred for him to do it.
“No, this is the fun part, but thank you.”
After he vanished, Evan said, “This is another thing I love about you.”
“What? That I like to get my hands dirty?” I grinned.
“Yes, and that you actually enjoy it.”
“Is that a compliment?”
“You bet it is.”
“Then, thank you.” I picked up my water glass and said, “Happy lobster cracking.” He rumbled with laughter.
It took me no time at all breaking up my crustacean. I was a master cracker. I expertly de-shelled the tail, even removing the vein that ran along the back. When I cut into the tender meat and dipped it into the butter, it melted in my mouth.
“Mmm, delicious.”
Evan glanced up from his and said, “Damn, you’re really good at that.”
“Uh huh.” I continued on with eating the tail until it was gone. Next, onto the claws. I pulled them off the body, grabbing the knuckles. Then I pushed the meat out of the knuckles using the end of my tiny fork. Evan watched me in fascination. I dipped that meat in the butter, and said, “You’d better eat or it’s going to get cold.”
“Yeah, sure.”
When it came to the claws, I broke those up by spreading them apart by the claw itself. Using the cracker, I split the small part and got the meat out. Then onto the chunky side. In no time at all, the meat was freed and I was a happy woman. The only things I had left were the legs and I’d need a rolling pin to get that meat out, so sadly, I’d have to let those go.
“How did you ever learn to disassemble a lobster like that?” Evan asked. “It was almost surgical.”
Chuckling, I said, “We used to go to Maine every summer for our family vacation. We all had to learn how to eat lobster in order to survive. I remember hating it at first. But obviously I grew to love it.” I looked at his plate and he’d barely touched his. “Would you care for some assistance?”
“You don’t mind?”
“No. I’d love to.”
“Be my guest.”
It only took me a couple of minutes to have the lobster ready to eat and he was one giant grin. Then he scarfed it down faster than I did mine.
“See, I told you it was delicious.”
He reached across and swept his thumb across my chin. “You had some butter there.”
“Thanks. I hate when you have something like that and people don’t tell you. Or if you have pepper stuck between your teeth and they let you run around all day with a giant hunk of something in your teeth. By the way, do I have anything in my teeth now?” I showed him all of them and he only laughed.
“All clear.”
“Hey, it’s important. I’d tell you, you know.”
“I’m sure you would.”
The waiter appeared again on silent feet to clear our plates. I nearly jumped this time when he asked, “Are you finished, ma’am?”
“Yes, thank you.”
When he was gone, I asked Evan, “Does he even walk? I never heard him come in. He’s like a vampire.”
“A vampire?”
“Yeah, you know how they can just appear anywhere and are super fast. Well, maybe not him, since it’s in the middle of the day and he’d burst into flames, but you know.”
“Did you learn this from one of your books?” I could tell he was trying not to laugh.
“Oh, yeah. Paranormal romances are awesome.”
“I thought you were reading The Raunchy Duke.”
“I am.”
“Isn’t that a historical romance?”
“Yeah. I read anything with romance in it. I’m flexible like that. For instance, if your Financial Times had romance in it, I’d probably read it too. I wish my psychology journals had romance in them.”
“You really are a romantic.”
I had a sudden image of that dream I’d had, where Evan was the raunchy duke and I was the virgin getting my ass spanked. “You have no idea.”
Nineteen
Evan
The captain anchored the boat at the marina and Robert was waiting to whisk us off to our next destination. When we got to the car, Robert handed me the tickets after Sylvie had gotten in, so she didn’t see. Then we sped off.
Robert weaved in and out through traffic, which wasn’t too terrible today, and we arrived in plenty of time before the two o’clock matinee. As the car came to a stop, Sylvie looked out and asked, “Where are we?”
“You’ll see in a minute.” I helped her out and a grin appeared on her face.
“Oh, my gosh, you didn’t! I’m so excited. I’ve wanted to see this.”
“I’m glad. I took a chance on it and fi
gured even if you had, since it was a romantic play, you wouldn’t mind seeing it again.”
She gazed at me, her face radiating joy. “That’s so thoughtful of you.” Her hand wrapped around my wrist and she tugged me close and rose on her toes to press her lips to my cheek. My arm automatically wrapped around her and I hugged her against me. It felt so … right, having her this close.
“I’m glad you approve.”
“I not only approve, I’m overjoyed that you took the extra time to think about me in this way.” We walked arm-in-arm inside the theater. I purchased us a couple of bottles of water and we headed toward our seats.
As we walked in on the main level, she said, “You didn’t.”
“What?” We continued walking down the aisle until we got to our seats.
“Seriously? Front and center? How did you manage this?”
“It’s a matinee and I have connections.”
She flung her arms around my neck, which took me by surprise. “I’ve been to plenty of shows, but never sat in these kinds of seats. Thank you!” Then she kissed me on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, but I wish it hadn’t been. It was probably for the best because we were up in front of the theater, which was beginning to fill, and would’ve had quite an audience.
We sat down and she took my hand. “This is amazing. I can’t tell you how excited I am.”
“You know what they say about actions speaking louder than words.”
“Yeah. Am I making a spectacle of myself?”
“Not at all, and I love it, so who cares? We have fifteen minutes before the show starts, do you want anything? Maybe use the restroom?”
“No, I’m fine. I just want to stare at the stage.” She sighed.
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
Since we were at a show, I thought some candy was in order, so I went to the counter and purchased some. When I came back, I watched her head as it bobbed around, studying everything. Good call, man.
Sliding into the seat next to her, I said, “Want some?” I shook the box of Skittles I’d bought.
“Skittles! Yes.” She held out her hand like an eager kid as I sprinkled some in. I watched as she put one into her mouth and chewed. “Mmm. I love these.”
“Do you like these too?” I asked, pulling the box of M&M’s out that I’d bought as well.
“Oh, my God. I’m going to be as big as a house after today. Lobster with butter, molten lava cake, Skittles, and M&M’s.”
“And that doesn’t include dinner,” I said, laughing. “But believe me, you are nowhere near the size of a house.”
“Um, these hips can dispute that.”
“Um, I know those hips and I think they’re perfect.”
That was not the right thing to say because her face flushed, and she clammed up instantly.
Dammit, Thomas, why can’t you learn to shut your mouth?
I had to fix this and fast, because I didn’t want to put a damper on this day.
“Listen, I probably shouldn’t have said that, but it’s true. Besides your winning personality and your gorgeous looks, it’s one of the other things that attracted me to you.”
“My winning personality?”
“Yes. You were a breath of fresh air. Fun loving, didn’t give a damn, and weren’t out to impress anyone. You did what you wanted to do without regard to what others wanted.”
“Evan, I was trashed.”
“Not at first, you weren’t. I was eyeing you way before then.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I followed you around all night, but it took me forever to work up the courage to talk to you. You were pretty much on your way to being trashed by then.”
We didn’t get to say anything else, because the lights dimmed, the curtain rose, and the music began. Truth be told, I watched Sylvie more than I watched the play. I felt like the main character in the play at times when he took the prostitute places and observed her enjoying herself. At times, Sylvie wore such a complete expression of delight, it filled me with more joy than I could ever remember.
At the end, she cried. “That was amazing. I loved it. Thank you so much for bringing me.”
She made me feel like a king. “You’re welcome. And look.” I showed her both boxes of candy. “You hardly ate any candy at all.”
“I was so engrossed in the play, I couldn’t.” We stood and she suddenly threw herself at me. “Thank you. No one has ever taken me to a play before. This was … just wonderful.”
Robert was waiting for us outside and we got into the car and she said, “I don’t think we can top that. I’m sorry. It’s just not possible.”
“You’re probably right, with the way you’re feeling now.” It was true. She was on cloud nine and I doubted it could get any better. It only took a few minutes to get to the next spot.
“Are you kidding me?” she asked as we got out of the car.
“Are you disappointed?”
“No! I’ve never been and always wanted to.”
“I didn’t know, and figured if you had, then we could check out the latest additions and leave. Although we have dinner reservations at eight thirty. I hope you like Italian.”
“I love it.”
“Great. Then let’s explore Madame Tussaud’s.”
We walked inside and she went crazy with the selfies. Soon I joined in as we laughed at ourselves in some of the ridiculous poses, especially with the Hulk and other superheroes. We ended up having to leave before we finished exploring because there was so much to see and decided we’d have to come back again.
“I never imagined it would have so much,” she said. “I didn’t know about the 3D cinema.”
“Neither did I. I have to admit, it was much more enjoyable than I’d expected.”
“At first, it was a tiny bit creepy because they looked so real, but I got over that pretty fast.”
“I’ll say, the way you jumped in with the selfies.”
She grabbed my hand. “We’ll have to check those out over dinner. By the way, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” I said as we got into the car. Robert drove off and we headed to Little Italy. I had a favorite restaurant there and I hoped she loved it as much as I did.
Our table was waiting for us when we arrived and the owner greeted me with a warm welcome. Then he saw Sylvie and immediately hugged her.
“Ah, signore, she is bellissima. Very beautiful. Signore Thomas, please follow me.”
My favorite table awaited us, in the back in a private alcove. We were seated and given menus. A waiter appeared in moments, pouring our water, and taking our drink order. I ordered a bottle of wine and we checked out the menu.
“Everything here is fresh and made daily, including all the pastas.”
“I’m overwhelmed.”
“May I suggest something?”
“Yes.”
“All of the seafood dishes will be excellent as he buys the fish each morning from the vendors. He prepares it so it will literally melt in your mouth. None of his traditional dishes are what they seem. The lasagna is prepared with béchamel sauce. It’s fabulous. The Bolognese is the best I’ve ever had, coupled with his homemade pappardelle, makes it a wonderful dish. With any of those you can’t go wrong, but honestly, anything you choose will be excellent. Oh, he’ll most likely have some specials.”
“You just made my decision more difficult.” The twinkle in her eye lit up her face.
“Let’s see what the waiter says and maybe that will help. I’m undecided too.”
The waiter showed up with the wine and it was delicious. Sylvie agreed. He then read off the specials and we both chuckled, saying how confused we were over what to order. He said he’d be right back.
He returned with Flavio, the owner, and he asked us what appealed to us. I was interested in one of the seafood specials, as was Sylvie, but we were both interested in some of the pasta.
“I tell you what. We send you one of the specials, then we make up a dish
of a trio of the lasagna, Bolognese, and lobster ravioli, for each of you. Then you no have to decide. How’s that?”
“Wonderful,” I said. “Thank you, Flavio.”
“My pleasure, Signore Thomas.” He bowed and left.
Sylvie asked, “Is Robert going to come in here and wheel us out in wheelbarrows? Because I’ve gotta tell you, there is no way I’ll be able to walk if I eat all that food.”
The expression on her face had me laughing. When I was able to speak, I said, “Sylvie, you don’t have to eat it all.”
“But I love pasta and I might not be able to control myself. If I get too bad, will you mind if I unbutton my jeans?”
“No, and again, these are the kinds of things I love about you. The fact that you’d even ask me this is hilarious.”
“But my pants are already tight, even though I didn’t eat that much today, but after this dinner, I might have to borrow yours.”
“Now that I’d like to see.”
When our food arrived, Sylvie was in heaven. Every time I tried to ask her something, her hand would come up and I’d have to wait for her answer.
“This is orgasmic. I’ve never eaten Italian food this good. I can’t answer you when I’m in the middle of processing a bite.”
“Processing a bite?”
“Yes, I’m enjoying every aspect of it.”
“You’re really into food, aren’t you?”
“Pasta is every woman’s dream, Evan.”
Most women I’d ever taken to dinner had only pushed the food around on their plates and pretended to eat. Not this one. She ate with gusto and pleasure and it pleased me greatly. She didn’t put up any pretenses about it.
After her plate was half empty and the one we shared was completely empty—due to me eating most of it—she leaned back and sighed. “That was a true delight.”
“I agree and I’m glad you enjoyed it.”
She reached for the button of her jeans and popped it open. “Ah, much better.”
“You’re a mess.”
“No, I’m fat.”
“Hardly.”
The waiter showed up and asked if we’d like dessert.
Sylvie held up a hand.
“The lady says no and none for me either.”
One Indecent Night Page 10