“We’ll leave you to it,” Omar said. “We can pick this up later.”
I was about to nod when Benoit got to his feet and turned back to Omar, reaching over the map and table to put a hand over the top of his.
“Don’t go,” he implored. “Stay and have a drink with us.”
“No.” Omar removed his hand, and Benoit straightened. “Boss,” he said, then finished rolling the map and shot out the door, the rest of the crew following.
“I can’t be sure, but I don’t think Omar likes me,” Benoit said.
“Omar doesn’t like anyone.”
His eyes widened. “Not even you?”
I didn’t really have an answer for that, because honestly, I didn’t know whether Omar liked me. Nor did I care. All I was concerned with was his loyalty, and he’d proven that on many occasions over the last several months.
“You must be hungry,” I said.
Benoit perched on the table and reached for the bottle of red wine that had been pushed aside during the meeting. As he ripped off the foil from the top, he said, “Well, ifthatnonanswer doesn’t speak volumes… Surely there’s someone in your inner circle whose company you enjoy.”
“Not in the way I plan to enjoy you.”
“Ooh, now you’re talking.” Benoit stabbed the corkscrew into the top and began to twist, somehow making even that look suggestive. “Do I get all the dirty details now, or do you prefer a sexy surprise?”
I popped the map into its case and hung it off the back of my chair before taking a seat at the head of the table. The way Benoit made himself at home, casually posed to his best advantage on the cherry oak with his hands working the corkscrew like he was handling a cock, had me feeling even more confident about my choice of travel companion. There was a lightness to his temperament that somewhat eased the weight from my shoulders when he was around. A sense of humor wasn’t one of the top five qualities I looked for in those who worked for me, but with Benoit it was a welcome trait. Sex had been at the forefront of my mind, still was, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the man himself too.
“Another nonanswer,” he said, shaking his head as he popped the top off the wine and poured us each a glass. “And here I thought we were getting to know each other.”
“That wasn’t one of the terms of our agreement.”
“As I recall, the terms wereastonishinglyvague.” Rising to his feet, he sauntered toward me, the satin cowl neck dipping to mid-chest and giving a teasing glimpse of skin. He held one of the glasses out for me, brushing his fingers along mine when I reached for it. “I’d like to know more about the man I’m spending the month with. Don’t make me beg…”
But he would do it so well…on his knees.
I gestured toward the chair to my right. “Why don’t you have a seat? Dinner will arrive shortly.”
“How do you know?”
The doors opened suddenly, and two of the kitchen staff entered with silver-domed serving trays.
“Oh.” Benoit took a seat beside me, gracefully placing the linen napkin in his lap and offering up compliments to the chef once the domes were lifted.
That was one thing I’d noticed about my companion—his unfailing politeness, not to mention his enthusiasm. A far cry from my disposition, and one the staff no doubt reveled in.
He waited until the servers left before lifting his wine glass toward mine. “To you,mon monstre. And a month of delicious devilry.”
Those hazel eyes practically twinkled as I tapped his glass and then took a long sip of cabernet. I wasn’t usually a wine drinker, but it paired well with the roast pork, dumplings, and sauerkraut we’d been served.
“Mmm.” Benoit closed his eyes and moaned around the fork in his mouth. “That is heaven.”
“First time havingVepro Knedlo Zelo?”
“First but definitely not the last,” he said, tapping his mouth with his napkin. “And what about you?”
“No, it’s not my first.”
“What’s your favorite? If you could have a final meal of anything in the world, what would it be?”
“Pastitsio.”
