“Indeed.I tipped them absurdly, of course.”
He chuckled.“Of course.”It was so very like her to have put the fear of God in them and then turned around and paid a large tip to reward them for meeting her demands.A good way to earn loyalty.I would wager they won’t hesitate to give her whatever she asks for next time she deals with them.
Dmitri set her plate in front of her and then took his seat.It was only when he settled in that he realized she was staring at him again.“Is something wrong?”
“No… just wondering who this plate is for because there’s no way you think I can eat this much.”
He frowned at the portions.They were large, but it wasn’t as if she had food piled a foot high on the plate.“You lost weight you couldn’t afford to lose while you were going through withdrawal, and you were already too thin to begin with.”
Her eyebrows almost disappeared beneath her side-swept hair.“Are you going to throw me in an oven and eat me after you fatten me up?”
“That’s ridiculous.”He picked up his fork and set it down again, hating that he felt flustered.“You’re putting words in my mouth.Your body is beautiful as it is, and you damn well know it.But if you’re going to be expending calories you need by working out, you need to take more in to make up for the lack.”
“Uh-huh.”
He couldn’t divine anything from her tone except surprise, and it drove him mad.Dmitri picked up his fork again.“I can walk you through certain dietary regimes that help build muscle if that’s something you’re interestedin.If it’s not, that’s fine, but you can’t afford to skip meals either way.”
“Would that be why poor Pavel was trying to stuff two sandwiches onto my plate all casually this afternoon?”
He refused to look away.“Possibly.”
Keira managed to hold on to her shocked expression for a full five seconds before she burst out laughing.She had to set down her fork and hold her arm over her stomach to keep from sliding out of her chair, and Dmitri frowned.“I don’t see what’s so amusing.”
“You, Romanov.Youare ‘amusing.’”She managed to look at him—and then promptly burst into giggles again.“Oh my God… you as a mother hen… I can’t… it’s too much.”
He held himself with all the dignity he could manage with her laughing her ass off at him.“There’s nothing wrong with being concerned with my wife’s health.”
“Lookat my plate.”She waved at it, still laughing, though she made a blatant effort to get her glee under control.“I’m sorry—except sort of not sorry—but you caring about what I eat or don’t eat is adorable.”
He didn’t see what was so adorable about it, but the conversation could very easily have devolved into her furious at him for trying to meddle in her nutrition, so Dmitri considered being laughed at the lesser of two evils.“If you say so.”
“I do.I do very much say so.”Keira shook her head, still grinning.“Now, pick that fork back up and eat before it gets cold.I find myself eager to move on to dessert.”
Eagerdid not begin to cover it.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Keira barely focused on the food in front of her.It tasted good, but beyond that, nothing mattered except eating enough to satisfy Dmitri so he’d haveherfor dessert.He never took his attention off her as they ate in comfortable silence, and she couldn’t help replaying his filling her plate over and over again in her mind.
He was… taking care of her.
There was no other way she could explain that action.She was functioning just fine, so there was no reason for Dmitri to be overly concerned with what she ate or her weight, but he obviously was—and not in a creepy douchey way, either.He wanted her healthy.He was offering to give her tips to help her get her muscle mass up to par, for God’s sake.That wasnot normal.
Or, rather, it wasn’t normal if he was thinking of her as a sexy lamp like she’d originally feared.It could be a manipulation tactic, but really, why bother to go throughthe trouble to lie so thoroughly?She was here, exactly where he wanted her.He didn’thaveto put forth an effort, because she wasn’t going to leave as long as he kept his word and did everything in his power to maintain peace between himself and her family.
And yet hewasmaking an effort.
She finished her pork chop and sat back, pleasantly full.The whole dinner had been so comfortable, she worked up the courage to ask him something she’d been wondering about since she got to New York.“What was it like growing up in this house?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just…” She waved a hand, trying to find the words.“It’s intimidating and kind of over the top.I mean, our town house in Boston is, too, but it’s a totally different feel from this place.”It might be the color choices—the walls and carpet skewing toward the darker end of the spectrum—or the furniture, all heavy and made of dark wood, or the striking lack of windows, but it kind of felt like she was in a modern-day gothic mansion.“You don’t have your first wife locked up in the attic, do you?”
He snorted.“I’m hardly Rochester.”
Of course he knows I’m referencingJane Eyre.“I don’t know.You both have the brooding loner thing going for you.Being compared to Rochester isn’t a bad thing—he’s sexy in that should-definitely-be-in-therapy-but-is-still-a-hot-bad-boy kind of way.”
Dmitri shook his head, though his gray eyes shone with amusement.“I’ll take your word for it.”
