Dane showed up for this trip keeping things super low-key. He only brought one assistant along, no bodyguards or weird entourage.
"Claire."
Dane's assistant spotted her first, carefully balancing their luggage, and greeted her in a warm, respectful way. Claire gave a quick nod and turned to Dane.
"I didn't make you wait too long, did I?"
Dane shook his head, smiling. "You were super fast. You didn't speed the whole way here again, did you?"
He said it like he was joking, but let's be real, he already knew she'd put the pedal to the metal. Whenever Claire got behind the wheel, she drove like she had something to prove. Dane used to worry she'd crash or something.
"As if. I was just driving how I always do." Claire blinked, all innocence. Speeding? She'd never admit it, no way.
Back when they first headed out, Dane had offered to have his assistant drive. Claire immediately turned him down.
"You just got off a long flight. I'll drive. Did you already book your hotel for tonight?"
Dane nodded. "I'm staying at the same place as last time. Booked the same suite."
When Baldrick had visited, he'd stayed in a suite for weeks. Now Dane was a regular, booking ahead without a second thought.
"So, do you want to drop off your stuff at the hotel first or eat something right now?" Claire asked, letting them choose.
"Let's head to the hotel. We can always order food there later."
"What's the fun in eating in your hotel room? It's the perfect time to go out for a midnight snack."
Claire had already made up her mind. She was taking Dane and his assistant out for some good food. After they got their bags settled at the hotel, she brought them straight to the late-night market.
The food stalls were full of energy and the air was thick with mouth-watering smells -grilled skewers, spicy hotpot, fiery little crawfish. Claire picked a spot that was absolutely packed, which was always a good sign.
She ordered two pounds of spicy crawfish, two pounds of garlic crawfish, a stack of grilled skewers and left the rest up to Dang and the assistant. For herself, she treated to a big bowl of ice cream. Dane just asked for a cold drink, while his assistant grinned and went for two beers.
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This was new for the assistant. Usually, with Dane, it was all fancy restaurants and
fine dining. But here, surrounded by the smoky hustle of the night market, he
seemed way happier than he ever did at any posh dinner.
"You've got to try the crawfish here. The taste is next level."
As soon as their feast hit the table, Claire didn't hold back. She grabbed a pair of
gloves and dove right in, peeling crawfish like it was her secret power.
When she lived at the James family's house, Octavia would never let something as messy as crawfish within ten feet of her fancy dining table.Not elegant," Octavia would say, side-eyeing anyone who even mentioned it. Claire actually had to sneak out on the sly just to eat it then go home and air out her clothes so she wouldn't get in
trouble. It was exhausting.
Tonight though, she was eating as much as she wanted, no one to stop her. She glanced at Dane, curious if he'd join in or just watch.
He watched her peel, then grabbed one for himself and got to work, casual and at
ease. He even switched between spicy and garlic, no hesitation.
Claire looked a bit stunned. "So, you've eaten these before?"
Dane smiled a little and peeled a crawfish for her, setting it on her plate. “Back in college, I used to go get late-night food with my roommates all the time.”
Instantly, Claire understood the vibe. It didn't matter how fancy your school was. Not everyone there was rich, and even if they were, there'd still be someone who lived for this stuff. Loving midnight snacks wasn't weird at all.
"So, what do you think? Did I pick a winner?"
Dane grinned and gave her a thumbs-up. “This place is pretty great.”
Claire glanced at his assistant, who was already on his second beer, looking
genuinely thrilled. “Claire, you've got awesome taste. There's nothing this wild back
in Cabinda."