Bait & Hook

26. Lunch

I was relieved when the timing clicked; the pepper pieces with deep brown chars as I tuned them a final time and plated the scallops. The fluffy rice followed, lapped by the mushroom, shallot, garlic sauté. Then as I arranged the peppers, Xander said, "More artistic than at Chambéry."

"I've more to work with here. Full plates, rather than shared ones – and theirs was an entrée, not a main."

"True, but even scaled-down, you'd better them."

"You've blarney smoother than an Irishman." I smiled up at him and chuckled.

"Begorra and all that, but coming from a reserved Swede, not at all flattery; it's fully-deserved praise."

"Aha! So it's Swedish; I had thought Scandinavian, but I went no further than that."

"And Dutch from my mother."

"Ummm, an interesting combination." Reserved and serious with disciplined, meticulous and organised. I shrugged and slid the plates across the island to him. "To the table with these; I'm famished."

I watched him as he turned and headed forward. Such broad, muscular shoulders. Such a firm butt. Still the body of a young man. A superbly-endowed one. I hummed a sigh as I followed.

A bite and sip later, Xander nodded. "Not only more artistic but also more edgy and a finer fit with the wine."

"Ummm. It is, isn't it?"

"Those also agree with us."

"Hunh? What do you mean?" I looked up from preparing another bite to see where his eyes were fixed. "Ummm, yeah, and no thoughts of sex this time. Need access to an EEG to continue my research."

"Have you none at work?"

Oh, God! How did we get here? How do I get out of this one without lying? "Unfortunately, there's none available for individual research."

"Might make sense to buy one, then."

I paused a bite short of my mouth. "There's a wearable wireless prototype recently developed at the University of Pennsylvania – now in the final pre-marketing stages. It's more in line with what I need than would be wired to a traditional clinical set-up, and I'd like to see it before committing to anything."

Then with the bite in my mouth followed by a sip of wine, I slowly savoured while I thought about diverting to another topic. To what? Financial advice? Too soon for that. Better to do it when we're back in Vancouver – just before I step ashore. A clean break that way. But to what topic, now?

"You appear perplexed, Roxy."

"Oh, do I? Beginning to think about our next steps. Where to from here?"

"On my mind, as well. What do you see?"

Darn! This went in the wrong direction. Need to be nebulous. "Possibilities, Xander. Many possibilities."

"Ummm. I like that. We could spend the night here. Take the tender across to Gibsons for dinner – buy breakfast fixings while we're there."

"Sounds lovely, but I'm due back in the office tomorrow morning."

"Then we'll sail back, and you can spend the night with me – my townhouse is on Marinaside, just up the ramp from the boat."

Oh, God! We're neighbours – or nearly. Have to use my back door. "Hmmm! Enticing. I'll have to go home and pack an overnight bag."

"Wonderful. Allow us to more fully discover each other."

"Ummm!" Yeah, if only you were honest.

We resumed eating, my mind spinning in the silence.