Chapter 186: Let’s Enjoy It
- RORY -
The food is beautiful. Presentation alone is impressive, and I’m almost tempted to retrieve my phone and take some photos despite the fact that I’ve just left Raya and Dex with an obvious cliffhanger of suspense about this dream Luci and I had.
I’m sure that if I wanted to do a write-up on chef Nicolás Castillo, the resort would allow me access to the kitchen and some time to speak with him if I wished. So I resist the temptation to capture the art on the plate and steal one little bite before we all get into a deep conversation about shared dreams.
When I put my fork down and wipe my hands on the cloth napkin in my lap, Luci puts up a hand.
"Take your time," he says gently, which is practically the first thing he’s said since we sat down. "We can talk about the dream after." Then he glares at Raya and Dex like they’re about to argue with him, and I feel a crooked smile work its way across my lips.
"It’s fine," I say, attempting to assure him and refrain from chuckling at the overreaction he’s having right now for no reason that I can identify. It’s possible he’s even moodier than I am, and that’s saying something. "We can talk and eat, Luci."
"But is the food good, Lorelei?" He asks, that glare of his diminishing the moment his gaze returns to me.
His warm brown eyes deepen waiting for my answer like his question means something so much more than what the surface words do, and for a split second I’m lost to that look of his. Maybe it’s the way he uses my full name, but his gentle intensity swallows me. I think I actually stop breathing, because once his eyes descend to my lips, I have to suck in a quiet breath to remember that he’s even asked me a question.
"It is. Xeni was right. It’s very good."
"Then let’s enjoy it, shall we?"
When he continues staring at me for another moment before picking up his fork and casting a sharp look Dex and Raya’s way, I find myself completely baffled and also unable to deny him that request. If I were to insist instead that we discuss the dream, I would be insulting whatever deep... thing that was he just offered me. Care? Affection?
A bright realization suddenly hits me about this man—something that makes my assumption about how he treats every other woman like this scatter like dust. Luciano is overbearing when it comes to the people he truly cares for. He’s growly. And protective. And that’s what the glare means that he just leveled Dex and Raya with.
Maybe Luciano doesn’t just want to sleep with me after all. Maybe he actually cares about me on a deeper level.
How can that possibly be, though? We’re sort of friends based on the texting, but he doesn’t even really know me. At all.
Despite that, I feel it—the shield of that overbearing protection that he has raised in the form of a glare at the two he thinks might not allow me the ability to just be in this moment to enjoy the meal. Because he knows I love food.
Maybe I’m reading too much into it.
When I glance up at Raya to see her reaction, she has the same crooked smile and wide surprised eyes that I feel in my own expression. Dex looks surprised, too. My cheeks heat with that apparent confirmation, and I look back down at my plate.
"You ordered the Arroz con Mariscos?" Luci asks, "Are those prawns?"
He gestures toward my bowl without looking at me—thankfully—because my lips twitch, making it impossible for the smile on my face to vanish.
"Uh, yes. Muscles and clams, too."
"It’s beautiful. You should take a picture of that, dolcezza. If that doesn’t say, ’We’re eating Tico style,’ then I don’t know what does." He finally meets my eyes again with a smile.
The heat in my cheeks elevates, but I’m blaming the weather. It’s definitely not Luciano’s smile. Or the fact that he anticipated how I might want to take a picture of my dish.
"Here, try the ceviche," he says, spooning a serving onto a small plate for me. "It’s corvina. Have you had that fish before?"
"Oh... no, that’s okay, Luci. They didn’t even give you that large of a serving to begin with," I frown and try to push the plate back his way.
"Well I expect a taste of yours, of course," he chuckles. When he looks up this time, his sexy eyebrow shoots up at an angle before he allows his gaze to fall on my lips and then finally onto my food.
"What makes you think I want to share?" I scoff, unable to stop myself. There’s an immediate reaction that I have... like I want to show him I can resist him when he starts acting cute.
I know all of this man’s smiles and smooth words and behavior have probably worked with literally every other woman before me. But I’m not that easy. Not by a long shot.
"You don’t want to share?" He chuckles again. That sound is so much better than the moody silence and glares, and I can’t help but delight in it despite myself.
"Maybe not."
"A second ago you weren’t even going to eat it, bella. Is this my punishment then?" He smirks and takes a bite of his food.
"Punishment?" My eyebrows pinch.
"From the plane." He gestures into the past, and I realize he is referring to when he mentioned the mile high club to Raya.
"Not even close." I groan and roll my eyes.
I spoon some food from my plate for him to try and take the bite of his ceviche. It’s not just beautiful. It’s delicious, too.
Dex and Raya seem to be enjoying their food as well, though they aren’t saying much. They both keep glancing at Luci and me like they are waiting for something unexpected to happen.
When we’ve all gotten about halfway through the meal, Luci raises his glass for a refill, craning his neck around for the waitress. I take a sip of my own botanical-infused gin and clear my throat.
"So the dream," I say, gaze flitting Luciano’s way. He looks at my plate and must be satisfied with how much I’ve eaten, because he doesn’t object this time. "Actually, you know what... it’s going to make you lose your appetite. Nevermind."
"It was a bad dream?" Raya asks.
"Maybe you could fill Luciano in on yours first," I suggest. "If you want, of course. You don’t have to."
That makes Luci put his glass down and devote all of his attention to the conversation. "Fill me in on yours? Your what?"
Raya and Dex share a look, and my sister chuckles nervously. She fidgets with her napkin before she looks up, and it’s not just a simple embarrassment that I see there. This subject is heavy for her.
"My dreams," she says, finally abandoning the napkin in her lap. "I think I somehow dreamed your cousin into my life. And then after I met him, he started having them, too."
