Page 42 of Over and Above

Or get wild and eat together. Come over to my place, and I’ll feed you. My TV is smaller, but I’ve got privacy.

Eric’s reply was brief.

It’s a date.

It wasn’t the most romantic text, nor was it an answer to the gift question, but anticipation surged through me nonetheless. Of course having a plan to meet up wasn’t the same as actuallydating.However, maybe it could be a baby step in that direction.

I wasn’t one for new year resolutions, but getting Eric to step out of the shadows of secrecy with me wasn’t a bad goal. We were exclusive. We cared about each other. We spent as much time as possible together. Surely adding dating to the equation shouldn’t be too hard? Maybe if I sneakily romanced the man, he wouldn’t even notice enough to object.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Eric

Apart from the novelty of a midday text from Magnus, my shift had been depressingly average for early December. The older I got, the less my body liked these short days, with darkness arriving around four. By the time I made my way home near the dinner hour, night had fallen, a dark, cloudless sky with a smattering of stars. More than a few houses on our street had their holiday lights up, a cheerful distraction from the dark and the cold.

I’d taken the liberty of a fast shower and change at the station since Magnus had suggested coming to the carriage house for a rare dinner together. Was the small kitchenette even up to producing a full meal? As I walked from the car to the house, I debated the merits of offering to order takeout for a restaurant owner. However, all thoughts of takeout fled when Magnus swung the door open to greet me, along with the most divine smell of onions, cheese, and herbs.

“What’s this?” I stepped inside the carriage house, where Magnus had prepared foodandset the little dining nook table with an actual tablecloth, dishes, wine glasses, and a large glass candle as the centerpiece. Rather than greeting me with their usual enthusiasm, the dogs were both occupied with bones on their large, cushy double bed near the small kitchenette.

“Dinner.” Magnus plucked off my coat as easily as if he did it nightly and set it on a hook next to his own. He motioned for me to sit. “We should eat while the food is still hot.”

“It’s fancy.” I obediently sat, but I wasn’t done being confused. Apart from holiday meals, neither of us was much for fussy, fancy dishes. And the overall atmosphere was disturbingly romantic, complete with soft music playing and low lighting.

“I figured we were both overdue something a little nicer than a late-night scramble. You’ve been working a lot of long hours since Thanksgiving.” Magnus’s no-big-deal tone seemed pitched to make me relax. Maybe this was simply a friend thing. I might not do elegant dinners on the regular, but maybe Magnus was built differently. “Let me spoil you a little.”

“Okay.” I couldn’t exactly argue with that request, not when he was carrying a steaming casserole dish to the table. “Well, it smells fantastic.”

“No one was around, so I borrowed the oven at your place to make our dinner, then kept it warm over here. Scalloped potatoes, pork tenderloin, and roasted carrots and green beans.”

“Wow.” I half-moaned the word, already in culinary heaven. I sat back to allow Magnus to dish the food onto my plate. “I’m not sure when I last had scalloped potatoes, but I love them.”

“I figured potatoes and cheese were a safe bet for you.” Magnus gave a warm, knowing chuckle. He was also fancier than usual, wearing clean jeans and a white shirt with actual buttons, not his usual black T-shirt. “This version is inspired by a dish I had in France, heavy on the cheese and cream sauce, so definitely an indulgence.”

“You should add this to the menu.” I didn’t need to taste it to know it was a showstopper of a dish, thinly sliced potatoes floating on a sea of cream and melted cheese and flecked with herbs.

“Nah.” Magnus shrugged before serving himself. “It’s one of those dishes that’s wonderful at home and very hard to pull off as part of a nightly menu.”

“Well, I’ll consider myself lucky then.” Grinning, I surveyed my full plate.

“You should.” Magnus shot me a teasing look and then filled each of our glasses with a white wine that looked pricey from the label year alone. Thanks to Montgomery, I knew a small bit about wines, and this Sauvignon Blanc was definitely not a budget choice.

“You don’t need to ply me with the good wine,” I protested, continuing to be vaguely uncomfortable with the amount of effort Magnus had gone to on my behalf alone. “I’m a sure thing for later.”

“It would be a sin to have cheap wine with this meal. I already opened the bottle, so you might as well drink up.” Sitting across from me, Magnus toasted me with his wine glass. “Cheers. Eat up too.”

I didn’t need any further urging to enjoy the meal. The pork was salty, garlicky perfection with crisp edges and tender meat, while the potatoes were the star of the show, utter bliss in carb form. Creamy. Cheesy. Expertly seasoned. I could easily eat them for three meals running and undoubtedly still want more.

“Man.” I groaned around another mouthful of potatoes. “Maybe I did need this meal.”

“Told you. You should let me take care of you more often.” Eyes sparkling, Magnus took another sip of wine before sobering. “Hard shift?”

I waved off the question. “I’m not going to ruin your efforts with shop talk.”

“Conversation isn’t ruining anything, and maybe talking about it will help you relax more, which is the whole point here.” Unlike Montgomery, who would have had a definiteagendawith a dinner-party meal like this, Magnus seemed genuinely content to let me drive the conversation.

And his nineties alternative playlist didn’t hurt, underscoring that while the wine might be a similar price point, the dinner partner was quite different.

“Maybe.” I paused, trying to put the funk that had plagued my last two shifts into words. “We didn’t lose anyone, but I’m increasingly frustrated with calls where the patient declines transport to the hospital mainly because of money worries. There’s not much I can say in those cases.”

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