Page 92 of Rivals

He stands and strides the few steps over to the kitchen, where I lean against the counter. He cages me in with his long arms. I tilt my head back to see him. “Well, I have some ideas.”

“What are those?” I ask.

“I think that we should walk around for a bit, find a place to eat,” he says and leans in so his lips brush my ear. “And we should try out the new bed.” I glance at the bed and back at him.

“I think that’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said to me,” I sigh. He jerks back.

“Really? Because I think I’ve said some really great things. That doesn’t even make the list.”

“Wait, you’re keeping a list?” I throw back at him.

“Well, someone has to until you realize how romantic I really am.” He grins. He tilts his head in a way that makes me want to try out the bed right now. But I grab the keys and walk out the door.

“Are you coming, Romeo?” I call out. The door slams, and he’s behind me before I know it.

“You can’t be Juliet,” he says as his fingers slip between mine.

“What?” I ask, and his hand squeezes mine. I’m pretty sure I felt my heart summersault in my chest.

“They both die in the end and…” he pauses. “Well, we aren’t from rival families, so you can’t be Juliet. But, I can certainly tell you, ‘but soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Revna is the sun.’”

“How do you know Shakespeare like that?”

“I was looking for inspiration, so I read Romeo and Juliet. I kind of liked it. It’s tragic, but there is a lesson in there. I don’t know what it is yet, but I think I’ll understand one day.”

I laugh as we continue to walk down the sidewalk. I have no idea where we are going, but I don’t care either. The normal concrete sidewalk ends and a brick road begins. I look at the ancient edges and can only assume we are close to the historic parts of the city. Lachlan pulls us to a stop at a little restaurant. The glass doors across the front are open, with little cafe tables covered with white tablecloths. I can smell the spaghetti wafting out from here.

“How about this?” Lachlan asks.

“Ok.” Lachlan holds two fingers up, and the host nods. He seats us at a table just right before the threshold of the large glass doors folded on either side of the openings. Someone comes to pour us mineral water from a fancy bottle, and I look around for a menu.

“Did you see a menu?” I ask. Lachlan shakes his head, and I grab a thin breadstick from the center of the table. A waiter comes up to our table and says hello in English.

“We were wondering if we could have some menus,” Lachlan says. The waiter shakes his head no.

“We don’t do menus here. We have what is available by the chef tonight or a special request if he would like to provide it.”

“Oh, well, I guess we’ll have whatever the chef thinks we should have. Is that ok?” Lachlan looks at me, and I nod.

“Excellent, I will bring you a bottle of wine,” he says, promptly walking away. I look around the restaurant. It’s simple and modern while still homey and comfortable. My stomach grumbles as the waiter brings us our wine. He shows us the label, and we glance at each other, trying to hide our smiles. We know nothing about wine, but we won’t tell him that. He pours each of us a glass and then sets it on the center of the table.

I hold up my glass, and Lachlan does the same. “To hoping this meal doesn’t clean us out by the end of the night.”

“Cheers,” he grins. We take a sip, and I swear this is the best wine I have ever had in my entire life.

“Whoa,” Lachlan says as he stares at the wine in his glass. “That’s unreal.”

I hum and take another sip. We don’t wait long until the waiter brings our food. The spaghetti is twirled in a nice circle, and it smells heavenly. “Godere,” he says and walks away.

I take my fork and spin some onto the tines. I slide it into my mouth, and I think I’ve died and gone to food heaven. Lachlan groans as he chews. “Whoa,” he says. I giggle and take another bite.

It doesn’t take us long to eat, and I force myself not to lick my plate. Our waiter comes back to take our plates. Before either of us can ask for the check, he strolls away. I take another sip of wine and sigh. “This is a good look on you,” Lachlan says.

“You and your one-liners today.”

“I’m serious, Revna. you look…happy. Even if it’s just for this moment, I’m glad we could share it.” He reaches over and takes my hand.

“It was probably the food and wine,” I say back, ignoring the tingling in my chest.