When Iris brought up the conversation they’d had a while ago at Miles’ place, Caspian blinked and turned to her with raised brows. He remembered that she hadn’t eaten much of the pizza they had bought that afternoon, but he hadn’t realized why she’d been afraid to voice her preferences. [color=#b97703]“That’s what you’re concerned about?”[/color] he asked, bemused. [color=#b97703]“Iris, no one would judge you if you just told us you prefer simple dishes. You could have said something, and we would have ordered you food that wasn’t as rich.”[/color] He wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her to his side. [color=#b97703]“I’m sorry if you felt like we were pressuring you. That wasn’t what I meant to do. I just got excited about showing you more of the things here that I like. Now that I know you like plain stuff better, I’ll try to keep that in mind for you, okay?”[/color]

Luckily the menu they were looking at now was decently diverse. He’d picked out a dish on the more lavish end of the spectrum, but there were other choices that he hoped would be more palatable to her. When she decided on the carbonara, he nodded and shut the book, setting it back down on the counter. [color=#b97703]“Great choice,”[/color] he smiled at her fondly, giving her hand a squeeze when she reached for his. The phone on the first level of the suite was set up on the end table by the sofa in the living room, so he tugged on her hand to walk with her over to the space. Technically, he didn’t need to drag her along with him, but he liked the feeling of their intertwined fingers and didn’t want to let go just yet.

Taking a seat on the plush couch and pulling her down beside him, he picked up the phone in his free hand and punched the button to connect it to the front desk. The dial tone rang in his ear, and he leaned comfortably against Iris’s side, touching one more fleeting kiss to her cheek before he heard someone pick up on the other end of the line.

[color=#b97703]“Hi, I’d like to place an order from [i]l’Étoile Veloutée[/i] to be delivered to suite E2050, please,”[/color] he said after the initial greeting.

[i]Of course. May I have a name for the order?[/i] The receptionist asked.

[color=#b97703]“Daniel Smith,”[/color] Cas replied, giving the fake name he’d used to book the room.

[i]Thank you, Mr. Smith... What would you like from the restaurant?[/i]

[color=#b97703]“One carbonara pasta, one shellfish plate and a bottle of the [i]Bodegas Vega Sicilia Unico Tinto[/i] 2007,”[/color] he prattled off smoothly. [color=#b97703]“When the food’s ready, have the cart left at my door. I’d like to bring it inside on my own.”[/color]

[i]I’ll make your server aware of your preference, Mr. Smith. How would you like to pay for your dinner this evening?[/i]

[color=#b97703]“Have the restaurant bill it to my room,”[/color] Cas answered.

[i]Wonderful. Thank you, Mr. Smith, and I hope you enjoy your stay with us at the Sunset Veil.[/i]

[color=#b97703]“Thank you,”[/color] he said in return.

With that out of the way, he hung up the phone and turned back to Iris, a broad smile lighting up his features. When he’d left home earlier, he hadn’t expected to enjoy himself very much, but staying at a resort with the woman he loved was quickly turning out to be more fun than he’d anticipated. Suddenly, he didn’t feel quite so bad about slipping away without telling anyone else where they were going. His dark brown eyes traveled from her soft face down to the black dress that hugged her figure, and he reached across her lap to rest his hand on her hip. [color=#b97703]“I didn’t have time to say anything earlier, but you look beautiful,”[/color] he mused, glancing back up to meet her eyes. [color=#b97703]“This dress is really flattering on you… sexy, even. I like it.”[/color]