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“Take with me?” Amelia asked, her voice in shock. She couldn’t believe that he would allow her to take something from his personal collection.
He then pointed to the cop of the Dubliners he had placed on a small table beside the bookcase. “I know where you work. I’m not worried. A book for a book, after all.”
Amelia smirked and nodded as she followed him back around the bookcase. They headed towards the kitchen area. Cassius pulled a stool out for her and then pushed her in before he sat beside her himself. His back was towards the Caesar statue while they both faced forward, Marcus coming out of the door to the left with two plates.
“I should have asked earlier, so hopefully you have no allergies,” Marcus said.
Amelia was quick to shake her head before he presented the plates and placed them down in front of them.
“Ahh, good,” he said. “Well then. Here you have an Atlantic Salmon Wellington with a dill Béarnaise. Please enjoy.”
Marcus then sat a glass in front of each of them and poured wine before disappearing back into the kitchen to leave them to privacy.
Amelia looked down at the dish. It looked like something that would be served at a Michelin-starred restaurant, not that she had ever eaten at one before. Fine dining was something she never had the chance to do before, but this was the prettiest dish she had ever seen.
“Dig in,” Cassius said with a smirk as he immediately grabbed his utensils and took a bite, showing her that it was okay to eat.
So, Amelia did just that. She began to eat the fish, the warm flaky salmon practically melting in her mouth along with the puff pastry that surrounded it. The Béarnaise sauce was exquisite, something she had never had before. The flavor profile was like a fireworks display in her mouth, hitting tastebuds she didn’t even know she had.
Before she knew it, she had finished. It wasn’t until she had taken a few sips of wine that she realized this was the greatest meal she had ever had. And to Cassius, it was the usual? She couldn’t believe someone ate like this daily, and Marcus had made it so quick it was like it was effortless.
Suddenly Marcus reappeared, taking their plates, and rushed them back to the kitchen. He returned seconds later with more wine, beginning to refill their glasses before a door closed shut. The sound had come back from where the elevators were.
Cassius glanced over while Amelia was in the middle of taking a sip when someone appeared.
“Ah, good evening Mr. St.Claire,” Marcus said.
Amelia froze. Had she been eating she certainly would have choked.
“Amelia, this is my brother, Lazarus,” Cassius said as he stood up and motioned to her with one hand while motioning to Lazarus with the other.
Lazarus stepped forward and looked at his brother before looking at her.
“My apologies, I didn’t know we were expecting anyone this evening,” he said as he stepped forward to shake her hand.
Amelia felt her eyes grow large as she looked back and forth between Lazarus and Cassius. They weren’t just brothers. They were identical twins. Amelia’s heart raced as she shook his hand, but like when she had initially met Cassius, it was hard for her to express herself and come up with words.
She had already been floored by the very existence of Cassius. But to know now that there were two of them? Two men, successful, smart, and gorgeous like this? The fact that she was eating in their kitchen, in their penthouse, and dining on a meal for free that others probably paid an exorbitant amount of money for. It was just all too much. So much so that Amelia felt lightheaded and felt herself wobble in her chair. She looked over and could see the concern on the brothers’ faces who both caught her as she fell from it. She felt weightless, like no strength was in her body and like her legs were rubber. It couldn’t have been the wine. Sure, Amelia didn’t have a high tolerance, but there was no way it would have kicked in so quickly. Instead, it was the overwhelming sense of being surrounded by so much, and experiencing so much in such a short time that her brain was overloaded. Overloaded to the point of being unable to process any more information, so instead it just shut down and made her turn into a pile of goop.
Amelia awoke minutes later. She was laid out on a long recliner with Cassius, or Lazarus standing over her. They were fanning her while someone else brought in a glass of water.
“Amelia? Are you okay?” Cassius asked. She only recognized him by the outfit he was still wearing.
Amelia sat up slowly and nodded, taking the glass of water and sipping it before she finally felt her brain start to settle back into reality.
“What happened?” she asked.
“You fainted,” Lazarus said, still fanning her. “Do you do that often?” he asked.
She couldn’t tell if he was serious or joking.
“I don’t,” she said. “It’s just been a day, but I’ll be okay.”
“Can you stand? Are you still lightheaded?” Cassius asked as he held a hand out and tried to help her up.
Amelia appreciated it but she felt like she would be okay. She flipped her legs over the side of the recliner and stood up. At first, she felt a little wobbly, but her center of gravity returned within seconds. She then looked around to see where she was and realized she was in a room she hadn’t seen yet.
“Where are we?” she asked.
