divided the opulent entrance from the dining room, Bonnie clasped her hands tightly in front of her as though trying to be invisible and surreptitiously surveyed the soaring ceilings, elaborate gold moldings and ivory drapes with their silver fringe.
“Everything is ready for us?” Roman asked the waiter.
“Of course, Mr. Kozlov. Exactly as you requested. Please, come this way.” The man guided them toward the middle of the room, rounded one table and pulled a chair out. “Here you are, Miss Drummond.”
Bonnie halted two steps from the table, eyed the chair the man still waited behind, then cast a dubious glance at Roman before slowly getting back in gear. “Um. Okay. Thanks.”
Roman took the seat immediately to her right, keeping his back to the nearest wall.
“My name is Robert and I’ll be your waiter.” As if on cue, two men joined them at the table, both dressed exactly the same as Robert. One poured water for Roman and Bonnie and the other placed rolls onto each of their bread plates and slid pats of butter shaped like roses in between them. “These two gentlemen are Felix and Todd and they’ll be helping you as well today. What would you like to drink?”
So captivated by her surroundings and the attentiveness of their servers, it took a good three or four seconds before Bonnie realized Robert was waiting on her to reply. “Oh. Right. Drinks.” She looked to Roman first, then shrugged and shifted her attention back to Robert. “You got any Coke?”
Robert smiled big enough to show teeth. “Yes, of course. And you, sir?”
“Water for me.”
“Certainly.” Robert nodded to his two helpers as though giving them permission to proceed, then zeroed in on Roman. “Would you like me to ask Chef to begin your order? Or would you prefer to wait a bit?”
An interesting conundrum. Part of him wanted more time simply to talk with Bonnie and give her ample opportunity to get comfortable with the space, but another part of him said he’d be wise to get a move on with the food. One thing he’d learned in the short time they’d cohabited was that a hungry Bonnie was also a cranky Bonnie. Or as she put it—a hangry Bonnie. “Go ahead. We waited too long to eat and my woman is hungry.”
“Then we’ll start right away.” Giving his own quick bow, he swiftly headed toward the kitchen, leaving only silence between him and Bonnie.
Not that the silence lasted long.
Bonnie leaned closer to him and whispered, “Where is everybody?”
Roman took the cloth napkin cleverly folded to one side of his plate, shook it loose and laid it in his lap. “There is no one else. The restaurant is closed to all but us. Which also means there is no need to whisper.”
Noting his action, Bonnie mimicked the action with her own napkin then scanned the vast dining room. “You mean they’re not normally open this time of day?”
“No. I mean they closed today at my request.”
Her head snapped back. “Why would they do that?”
“Because I paid them to.”
That delightful furrow between her brows was back. “And you’d do that why?”
“Because I wanted you to experience something special and I knew you would be uncomfortable with others here. So I paid them to open only for us.”
She stared at him for long seconds then swept the room again with her considering gaze. When she finally refocused on him, she swallowed hard. “Roman, this place is fancy.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Like I think that’s material on the wall instead of wallpaper kind of fancy.”
Roman checked the gold and ivory filigree pattern on the wall opposite him and nodded. “I believe you’re right. It does appear to be fabric. Though, I don’t understand how that factors into our lunch.”
“It factors because you paid them to only be open to us.”
“Yes, I already said as much. How is that an issue?”
“It’s an issue because if a place has fabric on the walls, fancy China and real silverware on the tables and a whole team of waiters taking care of two people, it’s expensive.”
Ah. There it was. A kernel he could work with. An opening for the path forward. He paused long enough to gather his thoughts, pulled in a deep, steadying breath, then dove in. “You are a smart woman. You do not make a large income, but you’ve made enough to pay your bills and live with integrity. When faced with taking an important action—is cost the only factor?”
Her eyes narrowed. “Not sure I follow.”
“Take your