Due to her immobilized left wrist, lunchtime proved to be a clumsy, frustrating affair for Belle. She was eating with Eli inside the privacy of his office, and it was fast becoming the most emotionally turbulent meal she had ever shared with him.
The menu certainly didn't help their predicament. Spread out before them was a vibrant spread of fried fish, aromatic chicken curry, crispy shrimp tempura, and a side of stir-fried vegetables—all anchored, of course, by a generous portion of steamed white rice.
Before Belle could awkwardly attempt to dissect her meal with one hand, Eli quietly reached over and swapped her portion of the fried fish onto his own lid. Belle blinked, caught completely off-guard by the sudden move. However, as she watched what he did next, a sudden, fierce warmth bloomed in her chest.
With meticulous care and patience, Eli began extracting every single microscopic bone from the delicate white meat.
