4. The dinner

The living room felt welcoming with an open floor plan, allowing natural light to fill the room; very simple and elegant. The wall on the right only had white bookshelves and an enormous TV screen in the center while huge balcony windows covered the front wall. The living area, in all, consisted of only two big white sofas and two armchairs around a wooden coffee table.

The dining area was very simple and was at the far left side of the living room. Large balcony windows covered the wall, allowing the room to fill with warm light. Along the windows stood a long wooden table with six wooden chairs and a modern wooden chest of drawers. 

As she moved closer, she saw that the table looked very elegant and was set for dinner. There were only two light grey table mats with white plates, silver cutlery and glasses prepared, so she knew that only the two of them would dine there tonight. A lovely glass vase with fresh white roses stood in the center of the table, providing a romantic atmosphere.

Jo loved the view from the windows. Outside was a huge terrace with many types of flowers. There were geraniums, lavender, and hydrangeas in big pots. The smaller ones contained herbs such as thyme, dill, rosemary, basil, coriander and mint. Jo even noticed small mandarin and lemon trees. She wanted to go out onto the terrace, but Matthew stopped her.

"Let's go, I want to show you something before dinner..." He said, pointing in the other direction.

Entering an almost empty room at the end of the corridor, she saw multiple frames were hanging in one corner of the room. Matthew rushed over in excitement to show her the photos, but he stopped in front of two special ones. One was a photo she took years ago of a magnificent lavender field during their one of many trips to France. The other one was a view of a castle in the mountains in the morning mist.

Her attention drew to a photo of Matthew in swimming trunks training with a wooden sword on the beach. His beautiful, naked torso with perfectly sculpted traps and ab muscles looked stunning in the light of the setting sun. She loved his expression of absolute concentration, and it brought back a lot of memories from that holiday…

"Once I frame these photos, I plan to hang them all around the apartment."

It elated her that he planned to hang her photos. As they approached the corridor, Matthew's kitchen timer rang causing their attention to switch over to dinner.

"Let's go, dinner's ready."

"You didn't show me that room." She pointed towards the closed door.

"I won't show you my bedroom unless you plan to stay for the night!" He added with a smile.

"I am not in a rush…" She scoffed. ‘That’s not funny at all, Matt!’

Jo and Matthew went into the lovely kitchen with white cabinets that contrasted with the light grey tiles on the floor. The smell of roast turkey was so aromatic that she felt her stomach tighten.

"Sit in the dining room and I will bring you each dish, one at a time." Matthew knew what she was thinking about.

She had no choice, so she left the kitchen. Sitting at the table, she gazed at the plants on the terrace, reminding her of the familiar Provencal landscapes.

"I have an appetizer first, if you want to try it. It's my first time cooking this, mind you." He said, entering the dining room with two plates in his hands.

"Hm… smells absolutely fantastic!"

"Seared scallops with garlic, lemon and parsley. I know you are not crazy about seafood, but you have to at least try it."

When she saw the plate on the table in front of her, she was not sure if she could even touch it. It looked lovely, but she still remembered when she got sick the last time she had seafood.

"I know you have an allergy, but you are only allergic to prawns. You love lobster, so I think you might like scallops."

She was still very nervous about trying different kinds of seafood.

"Ok. I will help you." He said, pouring Chardonnay in her glass. "Don't think about what's on the plate, just enjoy your favourite wine and I will handle the rest."

They talked about what to do with Thomas. Most of their friends and even family already knew about the bet and it could really ruin their reputation.

As she savoured the taste of her wine, she didn't notice that he was feeding her at the same time. Half of his plate was empty. It was an old trick that he liked to pull on her. Years ago, he fed her snails, and she actually liked them. It was the same with crabs. When she realized she was eating from his plate, she burst out laughing.

"Matt, I don't like your tricks!"

"I know baby, you never liked them." He laughed. "But you like my scallops."

"I have to admit... I love it. Thank you for tricking me, I would never have tried it myself."

"Wait until you taste the rest." He said, serving her roast turkey with a roasted mix of typical Mediterranean vegetables. "Do you remember what Garrigue is?"

She knew but she always liked his stories, so she didn't want to interrupt.

"The Garrigue is a term referring to the low scrubland in the Mediterranean forest. What makes this land so spectacular is the vast abundance of herbs that grow wild throughout the entire area. Wander down a path and you will crush these herbs under your feet, releasing the wonderful fragrance of juniper, rosemary, thyme, sage, and lavender. Just imagine that heavenly aroma…"

At that moment her mind was in France, in the Languedoc region. His family owned a house there that she had been to so many times in the past…

"That's why many wines from the Languedoc region have the unique ability to capture this aroma of the land. The hint of herbs in the wine's fragrance makes them unique." She finished the story.

"I miss France so much." He hesitated. “And I miss you.”

"You are there often, how can you miss it?" He travelled to France a few times a month, so how could he miss it? She ignored the second part of what he said, because they used to say often that they miss each other's company, so it was normal for her to hear it. 

They continued eating and enjoying each other's company.