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"Did you?" She looked embarrassed.
He shook his head. "I'm one of those dumb guys that never plans his meals ahead. If I'm full, I'm not thinking about getting hungry a few hours down the line."
"Good." Marina released a relieved breath. "I mean, it's not good that you don't plan ahead, but it's good that you haven't eaten yet." She smiled. "I was looking forward to sharing lunch with you."
He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "You have no idea how much that means to me. No one has ever done that for me."
Her eyes widened. "No one has ever brought you lunch?"
"Nope." He opened the cardboard box and took out a beautifully wrapped sandwich. "Did you wrap it, or was it one of the cooks?"
"I did, why?"
"It looks like a present, including a red string for a ribbon."
Marina shrugged, but he could see that she liked his praise. "It's just parchment paper."
"I know. But how did you fold it like that?" He turned the sandwich this way and that, making a big deal of admiring the folds.
She chuckled. "If you start eating it instead of just looking at the wrapping, I'll teach you how to do it."
"You've got yourself a deal."
He carefully peeled the parchment away to reveal what was inside, and it was just as carefully prepared as the outside. The crust had been removed, and the slices were shaped into a perfect square and cut into two perfectly symmetrical triangles. In between was a thick layer of cold cuts, lettuce, tomato, and pickles.
Did she prepare all her sandwiches to look like that, or was it her way to show him that she cared?
"Take a bite," Marina encouraged.
He lifted one of the triangles to his mouth but didn't bite. "You said you will teach me how to do it. Start, and I'll bite."
"Fine." She rolled her eyes and pulled the paper he'd just removed toward her. Pulling out a napkin from the bag, she placed the remaining triangle on it to clear it. "You set the sheet of parchment paper in front of you and place the sandwich in the center."
She stopped and waited for him to take a bite. When he did and moaned his appreciation, she smiled and continued. "Bring the top and bottom edges to the center of the sandwich, line them up, and fold them by half an inch. Make a sharp crease and continue folding while creasing each time until the fold is flush with the sandwich."
Enjoying the dance of her slender fingers on the paper and the sound of her voice explaining what she was doing, Peter kept chewing and humming his approval.
Marina could have been talking about the snow melting in Karelia, and he would have found it fascinating.
She lifted her eyes to his, and seeing how rapt his attention was, continued her tutorial. "Use your fingers to press the opposing edges into the center. It will form a triangle, and you need to press down and crease its edges before tucking them underneath." She lifted the neat square she'd created. "That's it. The whole complicated process."
He finished chewing the last bite of the second triangle and took out a napkin to wipe his mouth. "That was delicious. Thank you for the sandwich and for the lesson, although I doubt I would do as nice of a job as you."
"I don't doubt it at all." She leaned to retrieve another container from the bag. "I knew that one wouldn't be enough for you. There are two more in there, each one different, and there is also dessert."
He pulled out the second sandwich and motioned at the one in front of her that she hadn't touched yet. "I kept you from eating your lunch."
"That's okay." She waved a hand. "I kept snacking on cold cuts and sliced veggies as I was making these. I'm not really hungry."
"You should eat." He leaned closer to her ear. "A woman can't survive on venom alone. You need to replenish your energy stores so we can enjoy ourselves again tonight."
He was surprised when a blush colored her cheeks.
"When does your shift end?" she asked.
"When the others return. I hope it will be in time for tonight's wedding. I want another dance with you."
She cocked a brow. "Just one dance?"
