That evening, Ivor ordered some food for him and Rowan from his favorite Italian restaurant. He didn’t know what Rowan liked, so he got him several things to choose from. He knocked on the office door and opened it when Rowan called out.
“Brought you dinner,” he said as he walked inside, then started setting all the containers on the desk.
Rowan jumped up from where he’d been sitting on the bed with his new laptop. He set it down and walked to the desk. “That smells fantastic. Italian? Because I’m definitely smelling tomato sauce, and it doesn’t look like pizza.”
Ivor shot him a smile. “Yes, Italian. I didn’t know what you’d normally order, so I got you spaghetti, lasagna, and chicken piccata. That should cover any cravings you might have.”
“I fucking love piccata, so I’ll go with that.” He pointed at the mini fridge in the corner of the office. “The others can go in there for tomorrow. Thanks for doing this. I was actually getting pretty hungry.”
“How did the work with Daniel go?” Ivor handed him the container with the chicken, along with a napkin, knife, and fork. He snapped his fingers. “Forgot drinks, so I’ll be right back.”
“There are a bunch in that fridge. I don’t know who this office belongs to, so I just planned to replace anything I drink.”
Ivor went to the small refrigerator and grabbed two bottles of water. “This is Torrence’s office, and he actually stocked that up with drinks for you. So you don’t have to worry about refilling it.”
“I’m not even paying you guys, so it would make me feel better.” Rowan settled back on the bed with the open container on his lap. He cut into the chicken and popped a bite into his mouth. “Oh, that’s excellent. Perfect amount of lemon.” He gestured toward the bed. “You’re welcome to join me.”
Ivor really wanted to sit close to him but decided it would be better to take the chair. He’d ordered lasagna for himself as well, so he settled in with his food.
They were both quiet for a little while as they ate. He couldn’t stop staring at Rowan, smiling when the man kept sneaking looks back at him. The awareness he felt was so strong, he knew Rowan had to be feeling it, too. That moment between them earlier in Daniel’s office had been so damn hot, he’d had trouble focusing the rest of the day.
He swallowed a bite of lasagna and set his fork down. “So tell me about yourself. What do you do other than create the best desserts I’ve ever tasted?”
Rowan shrugged as he chewed, then swallowed. “Not too much, actually. I’m addicted to my Kindle. I like to read, and not having my Kindle has me feeling weird and out of sorts.”
“What do you read?”
“Romance. Mostly gay romance, though I read a lot of straight historical ones, too. My reading changes with my moods.” He shifted on the bed, frowning. “When I can’t baketo keep calm, I have my books and… Well, it’s hard being here without that outlet, too.”
Ivor zeroed in on one word. “Calm?”
Rowan looked away from him and cleared his throat. “I deal with anxiety.” He looked back at Ivor. “I’m a worrywart and have been my entire life. It drove my father crazy. Neither he nor my siblings seem to have issues like that at all. I always kind of envied them that. Though, they’re still mostly assholes.”
“I get that from what you said before. Plus, I met them. Though your mother didn’t seem as much of one.”
“Even she really only cares about social status. Everything in their lives revolves around being seen the right way. Well, my brother is a little different. He’s actually a doctor, so there must be some kind of empathy there, though he doesn’t show it.”
“So you’re not close with any of them?”
“I was close to my mother, but she’s so far cowed under my father’s thumb, she just goes along with everything he says.” Rowan shrugged. “I gave up trying to reach her a long time ago. My family basically disowned me for following my dreams. The ironic part was they never cared about my sexuality, but for some crazy reason, my being a chef is somehow beneath them. To them, the help cooks. I spent a lot of time in the kitchen growing up, even though I got into trouble for it every time my father caught me there. When I went off to college for it, my father just wrote me off.”
“So, in following your dreams, you lost your family?” Ivor frowned. “I’m sorry.”
Rowan shrugged again. “They’re not really good people, so it’s not much of a loss. I thought I’d have my trust fund to live on while I worked my way up, but my father managed to get his hands on it.”
“So that’s why the tiny apartment?”
“Yep. But it was cozy, and I liked it.”
“You could go back and set it to rights. I’m sorry you’ll be starting from scratch.”
“I did it before, so I’ll do it again.” He set down his food, curled his legs underneath him on the bed, and sighed. “But I do miss my Kindle. I have my phone, but it’s not the same. I have my comfort rereads in actual collections on the Kindle, and I could sure use some comfort now. I wish we could just give that draugr the arm ring so it would go away.”
“Xavier explained why that was a bad idea.”
“I know. The lich.” He looked away. “It’s hard to wrap my head around all this. I mean, I grew up knowing about you guys, seeing you. But to know there’s a thing out there with the power to wreak utter havoc scares me to death.”
“It will never get near you, Rowan. I would not allow that.”
