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The fact that I was paying for it didn’t escape me, but that was different. I was trying to help him.
Our servers returned with our first course. I’d insisted everyone have the turtle soup, and for once, X seemed willing to defer to my judgment. No matter how many times he’d visited my city, he couldn’t possibly claim more expertise about New Orleans than me.
The way Henri’s face lit up as he tasted the soup made the whole dinner worthwhile. Seeing him so happy made me hardly care if I got the information I needed out of X, and that was a dangerous attitude. The situation with the gunrunners was the first mission where my father was deferring completely to me. I could not fuck it up.
The soup was followed by a crisp romaine salad which featured bacon crumbles, gruyere, and a creamy black pepper dressing. Henri loved our main course of stuffed quail as much as I’d hoped he would. It was one of my favorites. The stuffing was a spicy mix of cornbread crumbs and boudin, and it was served over tangy roasted cabbage and root vegetables. It tasted like heaven.
“This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten,” he said after a few bites. X was smiling at him and at me. I found that unsettling.
“Is this your first time at Commander’s Palace,” he asked Henri.
“Yes, I haven’t had the pleasure before.” I pressed my thigh against his under the table. He was handling himself perfectly. It was like I’d told him, he had a natural grace, and he could fit in anywhere he wanted to. I wanted him to fit into my life. I knew that was crazy. I’d known him for a day, and I was definitely not looking for a relationship, but he was… beautiful in every sense of the word.
His red hair shone in the low candlelight, and his skin looked even smoother and creamier than usual. As much as I was enjoying every bite of the incredible food, I wanted to taste Henri even more. This wasn’t the sort of establishment where you dragged a man to the bathroom and fucked him as he bent over the sink, though I couldn’t help but consider it.
As the evening went on, Henri relaxed, possibly because of the excellent wine our server had selected to go with each course. Commander’s Palace was one of the few places where I had absolute trust in the sommelier. While the wine had surely helped, I hoped some of Henri’s ease was because of the company. X was amazingly easy to talk to. Years of training by his wealthy family had certainly done its job. He knew how to converse with anyone and how to make people feel comfortable. Emilio seemed to feel as out of place as Henri did, so the two of them were getting along just fine.
I knew that soon we would have to turn our talk to business, but I was enjoying our interaction. I could honestly even imagine X becoming a friend, something extremely rare for me. I had family, I had enemies, and I had short-term lovers. That was it. In my line of work, I could never fully trust others.
When it was time for dessert, our server asked what we would like. Henri and Emilio had just been discussing their love of chocolate, so I made an inquiry. “I know it’s not on tonight’s menu, but Henri is quite fond of chocolate. Would it be possible for him to have the chocolate lava cake?”
“Of course, sir.”
“I’d like that too, please.” Emilio said.
“Excellent, and for you, sir?” She looked at X.
“Bread pudding for me.” I chose the same. I’d rarely had any dessert I liked as much as their bread pudding soufflé topped with whiskey cream sauce. It was perfection. Even so, I enjoyed watching Henri savor his dessert as much as I enjoyed eating mine.
As Henri and Emilio discussed the merits of their rich chocolate confections, X turned his attention to me. “Tell me what you’ve learned about your pressing problem.”
“I’ve confirmed the connection we suspected. I’m more certain than ever that we’re on the right path. The men we’re in conflict with have aligned themselves with this weaker group, knowing they can use them. My guess would be that they plan to infiltrate and absorb them.”
“That would be disastrous for New Orleans.”
“I agree. We got another piece of intel that could be very useful. We believe one of the men we’re looking into was forced to do some dirty work for the stronger party. He isn’t happy with where things are going. He might be scared enough to turn on the rest of them.”
“You’re thinking about having someone approach him.” I nodded, and X continued, “I can’t be involved personally, but I can send a few members of my team.”
