Page 18 of Nikolai
“Signori.”Their elegant waiter appeared, pushing a trolley that smelled like heaven, if heaven were Naples.
They both straightened in their chairs as he unloaded a plate of pasta with clams, a plate of seafood risotto and a third plate of creamy pasta with provola cheese and potatoes which he placed in the middle.Then a thousand small plates of hors d’oeuvres—fried octopus, stuffed eggplant, tiny pizzas, steamed mussels with garlic, fried mozzarella.
Normally, all this food would have filled Parker with dismay.She had never had much of an appetite, and too much food on display made her nauseous.But not this time.Nope.Everything looked and smelled delicious, and her stomach just yawned wide open.She hadn’t really eaten today, but it felt as if she hadn’tevereaten.As if she had just discovered food after years of fasting.
Thelinguine alle vongolewas divine.Parker nearly moaned as she put a forkful in her mouth.
Nick did moan.“Oh man.You’ve got to try this.It’s amazing.”He held a forkful of his risotto in front of her lips.What could she do but open her mouth and let in luscious creaminess that tasted of the sea?
“It is amazing.Here, try this.”She wrapped her linguine around her fork and held it up to his mouth.Oh God.The pasta was messy but he somehow managed to eat it neatly, looking straight at her.That firm mouth closed over her fork, and it was all too easy to imagine that mouth kissing her.And it would be as good as the pasta, she was sure.
Oh, dear.She was distracted by the fact that he seemed so eminently likeable, so strange for a tough guy.That’s what he was, it was unmistakable.There was absolutely nothing of the metrosexual about him.His clothes were expensive, of fine material, serviceable, absolutely untrendy.No jewelry except an excellent watch.
His voice was very deep, but quiet.He did nothing to call attention to himself, but he was a presence, without seeming to want it.
Above all, he didn’t brag about anything, though he had more reason than most to brag.He was part-owner of the most famous security company in the world, Black Inc., but he hadn’t once tried to impress her with how powerful he was.
He didn’t have to say he was powerful, though.Power came off him in waves.You could almost see them.
All of which made him incredibly attractive, as if he were a key to her lock, closed tightly all these years.
“Open up,” he ordered, holding a forkful of the third pasta.Melted cheese and potatoes.She obeyed, closed her eyes and sighed.
“Right?”he said.“I am so glad this place does traditional food and not those little towers of crap chosen for color and not taste.One spoonful and it’s gone.”
“No nouvelle cuisine here.”Parker looked at the table.“I don’t think anyone could accuse this restaurant of short-changing the customers.There’s enough food here to feed a platoon.”
“More,” he smiled.“Soldiers in the field eat MREs and they are small because they have to be carried.Little plastic packets filled with calorie dense food that tastes of cardboard.”
“Well, so this dinner is a step up.”
“Oh yeah.”He stopped, those light blue eyes glowing.“A big, big step up.So tell me more about Romans planning for the apocalypse.”
She cocked her head.“The apocalypse, in our acceptance of the term, of a breakdown in civilization, wasn’t really a thing at the time.Apocalypse was a legend of the end of the known universe.There was the Scandinavian Ragnarok, and the Book of Daniel, but it was more a twilight of the gods.However, there was a generalized feeling that the center couldn’t hold, though nobody could say out loud that Rome wasn’t eternal.That Rome was eternal was a given.However, the number of people fleeing Rome increased every time a crazy emperor took the throne.As they did often.We have elections, but they had murder as a source of succession.I’ve got a little bevy of history nerds in Oxford digging up statistics for me, and when tracked on a graph, it’s pretty clear.”
“Did they say they were escaping crazy emperors?”
“Nope.That was an excellent way to get yourself killed and your entire bloodline eliminated.No, the usual excuse was retiring to the countryside for your health.Which, in a way of course, was true.”
Nick was putting away an astonishing amount of food.It pleased her.He clearly hadn’t had good food in a while.And there was plenty of it on the table.“Do you have your own plans if civilization falls?”
He looked at her carefully, studying her face.“I do,” he said softly.
Yes.He looked like someone who would quietly plan for everything, including the fall of civilization.Maybe he’d give her a few pointers.
She smiled.“I have ten six packs of water and about five kilos of pasta in the house.I won’t go far with those.”
“Nope.Not far at all.”He shook his head.“Is there anything I can help you with?”
Nick held up some more of his risotto to her mouth.Hmm.God, it was good.She chewed.Swallowed.Heaven.
“You mean with doomsday supplies?I have limited storage space.Not too sure I could follow your advice.”
“No, I mean right now, with your project.”
She started to shake her head then stopped.
He picked up on it immediately.Leaned forward.“Yeah?There is something?Not too good at Greek or Latin or even history, but I can carry bags for you.Be your water bearer.”He flexed his biceps.“Big and strong.Will carry anything for you.Happy to.”
