“Good food is good food.”
“That’s what Lila would say. My roommates and I went to this food truck festival last year, and it was amazing the different kinds of food there were. I tried a bite of Talia’s Burmese fermented tea leaf salad. I wasn’t crazy about it, but it was cool because I had never had Burmese food before.”
“You’re an adventurous eater.”
“I don’t know if I’m adventurous. Mostly curious. I’d love to visit the places the foods come from some day.”
“How are you going to do that on a social worker’s income?”
“I’m not sure. I could slum it, stay in hostels—”
Tony wrinkles his nose.
“I think it could be great. After all, it’s the sights, the people, the food that I would be interested in. One doesn’t travel around the world to stay in luxurious places.”
“You say that because you haven’t stayed in a truly luxurious place. Trust me, you’re better able to enjoy the sights when you have a nice room waiting for you at the end of the day.”
“I work in a luxury hotel,” I remind him.
He leans closer. “The Montclair is nothing compared to the resorts we have in Vietnam, Thailand, and Bali.”
“I can’t imagine a place nicer than The Montclair.” I shake my head and swirl my spoon in the soup. “But maybe that’s a good thing. I can appreciate the less than finer things in life.”
I give him a small smile, which he returns.
“So you’re saying I’m spoiled,” he says.
I think for a moment. “Possibly. That’s the potential disadvantage of having experienced the best and most expensive things in life: everything else can seem disappointing by comparison.”
“I’ll take that disadvantage.”
The lunch is over sooner than I’d like. The waitress leaves the bill, and I reach for my purse.
“Put it away,” he commands.
“I can get this. It’s the least I can do since you’re paying for the hotel room and room service unless...”
“Are you serious? You were desperate enough for money that you were willing to sell your virginity—”
“For which I’m getting twenty thousand dollars,” I say cheerfully. “Plenty to cover the pho.”
“You don’t have the money yet.”
I decide not to argue with him. It’s true I don’t need to run up more debt on my credit card, even if it’s only twenty bucks.
After leaving the restaurant, we head back to the hotel. I spend half the walk asking about his family, his travels, what he thinks of San Francisco, and the other half wondering how I’m going to convince him to let me stay with him.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“I don’t suppose we could stay the night?” I ask when Tony hands the ticket to the valet at the hotel to get his car. “Seems a waste to pay for a room and not actually use it.”
“We used it, or don’t you remember?” he returns.
“You really want to take me back?”
He looks at me as we wait outside the hotel. “I’m taking you home.”
“So the, um—it wasn’t good enough?” I venture to ask, then kick myself because the question makes me sound needy. “I know I’m not very experienced, but I’m a quick learner. And adventurous.”