"Here?" I echoed. I followed him back down the stairs. He greeted a food delivery driver at the door, and carried a couple of bags inside.
"How do you feel about picnics?" he asked. He set the bags in the middle of the room and reached for a rug which was folded up in the corner. He shook it out and set it down.
"I haven't had a picnic in years," I said. "And never one inside."
"Then you're in for a treat," he said. He opened the bags and started to place containers and boxes to one side of the blanket, everything in reach of both of us.
"We have sandwiches, wraps, cupcakes, and some pizza." He opened the box and let the smell of pepperoni flood through the room. "It should be cool enough to eat. No need to run it under water."
I sat down and stared at him.
"No need to what?"
"Run it under water," he said. "How else are you going to cool down pizza?"
I wasn't sure if he was joking or not.
"Um, I guess I prefer to…wait for it to cool down," I said slowly. "Wouldn't water make it soggy?"
"Not if you eat it fast enough," he grinned. He placed the pizza aside and reached for a sandwich.
After a moment, I did the same, picking up an egg salad, tightly wrapped, but neatly sliced.
"This is good," I said, swallowing down a bite.
"Good food, good company. Romantic location," he said. "What more could we want?" He stopped with his sandwich halfway to his mouth. "Shit, I forgot candles."
I waved the suggestion off. "We don't need candles. There's plenty of natural light in here."
"You're speaking my language," he said before taking a bite.
"I watch too many home design shows," I said with a shrug. "I'm surprised they haven't given you one."
"Woody would say the world doesn't need to see my ugly face on TV," Leif said.
"You do not have an ugly face," I protested.
"See, that's what I keep telling him." Leif grinned. "Anyway, I'm busy with all the work I have. It might be fun someday, though."
"I'm sure you'd be amazing," I told him.
I had no idea what it took to get a show like this. He'd already made a name for himself. Maybe someone would approach him at some point and ask. It didn't seem to bother him either way.
"Do you even have time for this?" I asked. "Lunch with me, I mean." By the sound of it, he was so busy he had barely time for himself. I didn't want to rob him of that.
"If there's anything I'll always make time for in my day, it's lunch with a gorgeous woman," he said. "The beauty of working for yourself is that you can choose when you work and when you don't. Right now I choosedon't. I'm going to have about amillion phone calls to catch up with after this, but you're worth it."
"I don't know about that," I said softly.
"I do. I want to get to know you. I'd also love your input on this place."
"Mine?" I asked. "I don't know anything except what I've seen on TV."
"You know a lot more than you think you do," he said. "Besides, if you help me out on this, I get to spend more time with you. Not to mention working on your place."
"It sounds like we're both going to be busy," I said.
"Yes, we are," he replied.
