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"I hope you're not allergic," she said shyly.
"No." The professor accepted the bouquet of flowers. "I'm, err, not." He gazed down at the fresh bunch of wild roses he had in his hands rather blankly, thinking he had never had someone gift him with flowers—-
Focus, you idiot.
He recalled himself with an effort, saying stiffly, "Thank you for this." He glanced at where his housekeeper stood in attentive silence, and at the professor's nod, Noel took the flowers from his hand, saying, "I'll take care of this, sir."
Matthijs nodded his thanks, and the other man took his leave. When he glanced back at Diana, she asked uncertainly, "Are you really okay?" And almost as if she couldn't help herself, she moved forward, and he inhaled sharply as her scent teased him.
It was an intriguing combination of feminine elegance - like one of those rare fragrant varieties of tulips - and something masculine (perhaps a hint of leather?). Whatever the combination was, its intangible message was broad as fucking daylight.
I'm a princess,her sweet, tart scent whispered,but I can get dirty...for the right man.
The professor's teeth gnashed. Message fucking delivered, and it was potent as hell, his trousers once again feeling like they were a damn size smaller than they should be.
"Let's go, shall we?" He walked away without another word, and he heard her follow behind him after a moment, doe eyes gobbling him up in that innocently hungry way that was uniquely hers.
Most of Matthijs' first-time visitors typically spent a lot of time gawking and gaping at their surroundings. Modesty aside, he knew damn well his house by the lake was an architectural masterpiece. A sprawling single-story estate designed with an impressive fusion of contemporary and rustic elements, its structure boasted of reclaimed wood logs fortified by black steel and glass walls that offered a 360-degree lakeshore backdrop for the professor's heirloom furniture.
All of this, and yet the damn girl hadn't even spared her surroundings more than a distracted glance. She only had eyes for him apparently, and so it remained even when they made it to the breakfast room, which his friends' wives remarked would be an irresistible delight for any woman.
Apparently, they were wrong.
He got his HomePod to work with a 'good morning,' but even having his range of smart appliances operate on its own proved incapable of making her glance away. It was only when music started playing in the background that she finally reacted, a surprised smile breaking over her lips.
"Is thatSunflower?" she asked. "FromSpiderverse?"
"Not exactly." His voice was gruff. "It's a cover, by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Contini."
"Oh." A pause. Then, she said teasingly, "Snob alert."
"It can't be helped," he answered with a disinterested shrug, "if I've a more elevated taste in music."
Diana seemed about to reply when the professor's live-in cook came in and she fell silent instead, her lips automatically curving in a smile, albeit tentatively, as she met the chef's gaze.
At Matthijs' nod, the other man began setting the table. "Good morning,mejuffrouw,"Antoine said cheerfully. "I hope you like eggs Benedict and French toast."
"They're my favorites."
Her tone was a charming mixture of shyness and warmth, and while it was enough to win Antoine over, it also had him throwing his employer an odd look, almost as if questioning what an innocent like her was doing with a bastard like Matthijs.
The professor's lips twisted.You and me both, chef.He watched in brooding silence as the other man continued to fuss over Diana, asking her what she wanted for dessert and insisting that she try his famous lemon-and-cucumber shake.
By the time Antoine had finally taken his leave, thirty minutes had already passed, and the professor was considerably glad about this. The more time wasted, the better.
When he turned to face Diana, she seemed to be squirming on the other end of the table. He raised a brow, and she said haltingly, "I'm sorry I put you and your staff through all this trouble..."
"I should be the one apologizing," the professor dismissed smoothly, "considering I had you come all the way here." In fact, his delirious self had been very insistent about this.'Don't make me wait a single second. I need to fucking see you'were, in fact, the exact words he had texted her, and remembering this made Matthijs wince slightly.
"So...um..." Diana cleared her throat. "Shall I say grace?"
"By all means." After all, that meant an additional ten seconds consumed.
Afterwards, Diana offered to start with the consultation while they had breakfast, but the professor demurred, saying he would rather have her properly enjoy Antoine's preparations.
When they finally moved to the professor's library at the other end of the hallway, it was already ten minutes past six.
Perfect.