Chapter 174

"Ms. Gildon, have a crawfish," Dominic said, peeling one and placing it on her plate. Vespera paused for a moment. Then she responded enthusiastically, "Thank you!" After she had eaten the crawfish, he added a piece of seared lamb chop to her plate. "Ms. Gildon, have some meat." "Okay!" "Ms. Gildon, have some soup," he said, ladling a bowl for her. "Thank you!" "Ms. Gildon…" "Okay! Thank you!" Vespera froze. She bit her fork, turned her head slightly, and closed her eyes briefly, groaning to herself. She had spoken too soon. Dominic looked at her—half amused, half speechless. After a beat, he said, "You can stop thanking me. Why don't you peel one for me instead?" Vespera turned to look at him and set down her fork. "Sure. I'll do it." She began peeling crawfish carefully. One after another and another… The crawfish were pretty big, and in less than two minutes, a small mountain had formed in front of him. Dominic stayed quiet. He picked one up, took a bite, sighed, and lo