Into You

Chapter 21

To say that the main course was awkward would be a slight understatement. Lauren was having to concentrate so much on what she was doing and how she was behaving, being careful not to slip again; being careful not to let Camila play act in front of her mother once more.

She wasn't concentrating so much that she didn't notice what she was eating. The main course was, by far, the best piece of food she's had put in front of her since her days with Lucy; when they were visiting all the fancy restaurants she loved and eating those expensive meals. Not to concentrate and savor every mouthful would have been disrespectful in the extreme.

And she's never disrespectful, not around good food anyway.

The food served at Cabello mansion really was restaurant quality, a lovely piece of chicken sensitively cooked with a really good rich gravy sauce that had been served in its own little china boat. She could only imagine how much crockery this family had. Seriously, there seemed to be something for everything, fucking gravy boats, vegetables in covered china bowls; plates, side plates, the works; and everything fucking matched. The only time she has seen anything close was in an officer's mess halls and she wasn't being invited to eat.

She was also trying her hardest to be delicate about her behavior, watching her companions carefully as they ate to make sure she used the right cutlery. It's not that she's ignorant of the niceties of life, but it has been quite a while since she's enjoyed them.

Besides, she's honestly happy with a KFS set and a mess tin. She didn't grow up with a silver spoon in her mouth, her mom definitely couldn't afford one of those. Some of the time they were lucky to put food on the table, some of the time she was grateful that they got to eat together at all. It was then that she learned her respect for food, clearing her plate at every meal and all that. She also learned to make sure her mom had eaten or was eating before tucking in. She, at least, got a free meal at school every day; even if some of the little bastards she went with made fun of her for it.

"Is everything all right with your meal, Lauren?" Sinu asked after Camila excused herself and went to the washroom for a bit after their dessert was served. It startled her slightly. The woman hadn't said a word to her since she'd caught her daughter stroking her arm; instead, she'd caught her, out of the corner of her eye, watching her carefully as she chatted with Camila.

"Everything's lovely, Sinu, thank you. I don't think I've eaten this well in the last twelve months. Your chef is a genius. I wish we'd had someone deliver chicken this juicy to us when I was abroad. Unfortunately, most of the chicken I ate over there tasted like it was out of a packet, or a tin; in fact, most of it was."

"Oh yes, he costs us a fortune but it's well worth it for times like this. A lot of the time it's just me here, but I do like entertaining guests so I keep him on all year round."

"Money well spent then," she replied smiling through her nerves and cutting into the steak once more.

"Well, I don't have many little vices myself, but entertaining and eating well are two of them. Luckily, I don't have to spend hours in that gym Alejandro had built to keep trim."

"So, Camila takes after you then?"

"In what way is that dear?" Sinu asked sweetly, picking up her glass of wine and taking a drink.

"Well, I've only seen her eat a couple of times and she can pack food away like no other person I've ever seen. Yet, in the week I've known her, I've only seen her exercise once, and that was this morning."

Sinu chuckled at that. "Seems like it, Lauren. Anyway, Camila tells me you were very brave that day, Lauren. You should be proud of yourself." Sinu said, suddenly changing the subject.