apartment, for instance. When you selected it, did you focus only on rent? Or did location and the safety that went with it factor in?”
Comprehension dawned. “Oh, safety for sure. And convenience. I could’ve found a lot cheaper places, but I’d have had to walk through some shitty neighborhoods to get there if my car acted up.”
Roman nodded. “Correct. And when you buy clothes. Is the amount on the price tag all that you care about?”
She shook her head. “Nope. That’s why I go to secondhand stores. I can get better quality that lasts longer for less money.”
“Exactly.”
For a moment, she seemed pacified, then cocked her head. “That still doesn’t explain why you’d shell out a fortune so we can have food I’m not even sure I’ll like without anyone around us.”
Roman picked up a roll, broke it open and smeared some of the creamy butter on it with his knife. “Are you comfortable?”
With a half-shrug, Bonnie glanced toward the kitchens and the empty tables around them. “Yeah, I guess.”
“More so than if people were here?”
A sheepish, cockeyed smile tilted her lips. “Probably.”
Roman bit into his bread and savored the warmth and flavor before swallowing it down. “Then I have achieved what I wanted. The woman I want for my own is experiencing something new and is relatively comfortable doing it. That makes the expense not only warranted, but necessary.”
Her jaw slackened and her big green eyes grew wide with surprise. “I think...” She rolled her lips inward then dipped her head and studied her hands in her lap. When she finally lifted her gaze back to him, her eyes were wet with unshed tears. “I don’t know what to say to that. Except thank you.”
In his periphery, all three waiters hustled in their direction, each of them carrying two plates with silver domes on top. He couldn’t have ordered better timing. “It was entirely my pleasure, moya koroleva.”
One by one, the waiters set the plates in front of them.
Bonnie cleared her throat and looked from Roman to Robert standing beside her. “So, what are we having?”
“Your meal was custom ordered by Mr. Kozlov. All variations created by Chef to accommodate what we understand to be your favorite meal.” Robert beamed a secret smile down at her then unveiled each surprise with a flourish. “First, we have a grilled turkey, bacon, radicchio and blue cheese sandwich. Second, a grilled ham and gouda with apple salad. And finally, a grilled gruyere and white cheddar with caramelized onions and rosemary butter.”
One of the other waiters finished unveiling Roman’s plates in perfect synchronicity, each option mirroring Bonnie’s exactly.
Bonnie looked at each plate in turn. Then the waiters around the table. Then to Roman. “You ordered me grilled cheese sandwiches? Here?”
“They are your favorite, yes?”
Openly stupefied, she slowly nodded her head.
“Then why would I order anything else?”
Tears filled her eyes and she ducked her head.
Before any awkwardness could build around the table, Roman addressed the waiters. “I think my bride is very pleased.”
Robert wasn’t a fool. He quickly assessed the situation and motioned his fellow waiters away. “Excellent. If you need anything else, we’ll be waiting.”
It took a good twenty or more seconds after the men left and silence surrounded them before Bonnie finally gathered herself and lifted her head. “This looks really, really good.”
“It does, doesn’t it?”
She nodded and wiped her hands on the napkin in her lap. Eyes locked on the gourmet sandwiches in front of her, she softly asked, “Why would you do this? Go to all this trouble. Not just today, but every day since you met me?”
Something soft and tender, yet also fierce and protective swelled behind his sternum. He’d been right to move forward with his plans. To spoil her and show her any way possible how determined he was to make her his. Today was only the first of many ways he’d show her, including giving her the truth behind his actions. “Because you have gone without too long. Because it gives me pleasure to share my good fortune with you and to introduce you to new things in a way you will enjoy. But mostly, because I want you to realize—to me, you are worth everything.”
Chapter Sixteen
Gray clouds, a slow and steady rain and wind whistling outside the window. Sitting sideways in the velvet slipper chair with her feet tucked beneath her, Bonnie stared between the plantation shutter slats at the dreary winter day. Only one more day until January was over. February would no doubt