“And they taste good.”
“So good.” His gaze dips to my lips, and then he looks away hastily, his cheeks pinker than before.
“Should we get the cheese fondue again too?” I ask.
“You don’t want something else?”
“No.” I shake my head. “It was perfect. Why would I want something else?”
He grins. “Okay. I liked that.”
I laugh. “I know you liked it. I heard you moan. You don’t always moan when you’re eating.”
He chuckles beside me, and my heart does some sort of fluttery thing.
Sometimes Mateo is strange. I’m glad I’m not the only one.
“Florian is so much less tense after your massage,” Mama tells Mateo. “It worked!”
I stiffen.
Mateo’s cheeks redden further. “G-good.”
“Mateo and I are going to order oysters,” I say. “Then we’re going to share a cheese fondue.”
“That is very romantic,” Annika says.
Maybe Mateo was right. Maybe that is too over the top.
“It tastes good,” I say.
The waiter comes to take our orders, and then Mateo is being once again grilled by my family.
My family who have recovered from their jet lag.
My family who pay attention to details.
He squirms beside me, and his leg bounces, and I put my hand on it uncertainly. I’m unsure if my presence will make everything worse, but when he smiles and beams up at me, I know I made the right choice.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-NINE
Florian
The food tastes as delicious as last time, and now Mateo and I are experts at slurping oysters. We insist on sharing with my bemused parents and sister.
Papa’s nose wrinkles.
“I knew there was a reason we avoided this before,” he tells my mother.
Mama shakes her head. “I thought it was about the cost.”
Mateo stiffens, and I know he is thinking about the cost.
He is so silly. I would pay ten times the price for him to have a nice night.
And this is a nice night.
