Page 34 of Nikolai
Beneath that lovely exterior was pure steel and Nick understood he wasn’t going to get her to change her mind.So he ate her jam on a thick slice of sourdough bread instead.It was perfect.
They ate quietly.Nick tried not to be a pig, but everything was really good, and he’d worked up an appetite.The lemon cake was to die for.
He swallowed and asked the burning question.“Does Mrs.Da Costa’s cooking run to tiramisu?”His favorite dessert.
Parker shook her head, shiny hair brushing her shoulders.“Sadly, I think not.I’ve had the full repertoire, but so far, no tiramisu.I have some tiramisu in the freezer, though.I’ll pull it out for dinner this evening.”
Nick paused, last forkful halfway to his mouth.“You have tiramisu?”
She nodded.“I do.”
“Homemade?”
She was fighting a smile.“It is.”
“Byyou?”Nail it down, he thought.
“Indeed.”
Nick slapped a hand over his chest, somewhere near his heart.“Oh God.You can make tiramisu.Marry me.”
Parker laughed.“You’re so easy.A dessert and you’re already proposing?”
He nodded.“Tiramisu is one of my weaknesses.Now that I’ve found a source, I’m going to guard it.Like a dragon hoards its treasure.”
“Well, Smaug.I only have three bowls of it.I hope that will be enough.I’ll give you mine.Three portions.”
“No way.”Nick frowned.“I can’t take your portion.”
“No, you can have it.I can always make more, just not today.And you’ll earn the extra portion because you’re going to have a long, hot, boring day.”
A day spent with Parker.“It might be long and hot, but it definitely won’t be boring.”
Silence.They looked at each other.There were things being said silently.Nick didn’t catch it all—women were better at that—but he caught enough.
Yeah.Something was definitely happening.
Parker rose, dishes in hand.“We should get going.We’ll have to stop by your hotel.You can’t be out on a dig in that elegant outfit fit forIl Terrazzone.I’m hoping you packed for roughing it.”
Nick rose, too.“I did.I always pack for the possibility of going on a hike.Though these past few years, where I was, going hiking was taking your life in your hands.Here, let me help you.”
The two of them cleared the table quickly and Parker loaded the dishwasher.
Parker picked up a tablet and a laptop and put them into a backpack and bent to pick up a cooler.“I made a picnic lunch for us.I hope you like tuna fish sandwiches.I also made ham and cheese.”
“They’ll be great,” Nick said as he took the cooler from her hands.“And thanks.”
She frowned up at him.“You’re dedicating a day to me, probably two or three, and you’re thanking me for making a few sandwiches?The least I could do.”
They were at the door.“Stop thanking me.I’m delighted to trail along.But it’s going to be fiercely hot.You’re going to need a?—”
“Hat,” she said, and pulled out a wide brimmed hat from a tote bag near the door.
Nick ran a finger down her cheek.The skin was soft.He knew how soft she was all over.“And make sure you have sunscreen.If you don’t, we can stop somewhere on the way.”
She pulled out a yellow tube from the bag.He could see 50 SPF on it.“Already there, mom.No worries.Sheesh.”
“Don’t want this skin to get burned.”
