Per their conversation Romano took to busying himself in the kitchen as Elizabeth tucked Ella into her bed and then hopped into her bathtub. Romano had assured her that it would take a while to make their edible masterpiece and that she ought to take her time. She grabbed a book she had been trying to find the time to read for months she slipped quickly into her bathtub. Taking a few relaxing breaths she decided against reading. Grabbing her robe and taking a cursory look at herself in the mirror she went downstairs to grab a glass of wine. Nearing the bottom of the steps Elizabeth's senses were flooded with sweet spices.
"This smells amazing." Elizabeth purred entering the kitchen.
Romano's attention was focused on the chicken he was thinly filleting. "Hey no peeking."
"I wouldn't dream of it, Robert. I just came in for some extra supplies for relaxation." She gathered a glass and the half empty bottle from the refrigerator. Slowly she poured and replaced the bottle. She waited for a moment to see if he would turn his attention to her.
"Alright, alright, you got what you needed. Scoot. It's not a learning opportunity Dr. Corday. It's a dinner."
"Ok , ok, too many cooks…" she left the kitchen just as Romano turned to smile at her.
Seeing her leaving in just a robe caused him to sway. He had no idea that seeing her naked feet, ankles, and calves could make him so unsteady. Romano was in trouble. He did his best to center his attention back to the task of sautéing; however, the moment he had completed cooking the fajita fillings, his body was drawn, animalistically, upstairs.
At the top of the stairs he hesitated. What was he going to do, knock on her door? Walk into her bathroom? No, this was a mistake. He was crossing a line to be up here. Romano turned on his heels and headed back down. Elizabeth opened her door as Robert had made it about half way down.
"Robert?"
He paused on the step and turned back to her. His eyes gave her a quick up and down. Comfortable khaki pants, white shirt, warm cozy socks. He was a mixture of disappointment and relief. "I… I was going to say that dinner's just about ready."
"Oh yeah. Were you going to tell me from the bottom of the stairs?"
He smiled obviously caught as she walked down to join him. "What can I say, I chickened out."
"Afraid of me?" she teased. She walked past where he was standing firmly and gently touched his arm.
"Most of the time" he answered breathlessly. Following her down the remaining steps.
Elizabeth and Romano sat across from one another at her small kitchen table. The room was well lit and certainly less romantic than their last dinner, but the energy between them caused their conversation to be just as intensely hushed. After a comfortable lull in their conversation Romano reached across the table and removed something from her hair. Rubbing it between his finders he concluded aloud, "candle wax?"
Elizabeth blushed, "Yes. I took your advice and got really comfortable with scented candles, wine, you know the whole bit."
"How comfortable?" He grinned wickedly.
"Comfortable enough to have fallen asleep." She took a swig of her wine and then continued. "I'm glad I didn't though. Your failure to knock on the door at tell me 'dinner is ready' might have left me hypothermic by morning."
"Rest assure Lizzie, if I had made it into your bathroom… And you were asleep in the tub… I wouldn't have hesitated CPR."
"CPR for hypothermia?" she chuckled lightly.
"I couldn't have waited for you to become hypothermic," he stated seriously.
Elizabeth set down her glass and gathered her strength, "Robert, if you want to kiss me, you don't need to wait until I am in need of medical attention."
Romano looked down to her lips and leaned towards her, across the table. Elizabeth too, leaned in, tilting her head to the right. They both lifted up out of their seats to reach. Just as Romano could feel Elizabeth's breath on his lips, Ella let out a strangled cry from upstairs. They both jumped back and stood up straight.
"Good to know Lizzie. I'll, uh, keep that in mind." He answered as they both walked quickly up the stairs to Ella's room.