Chapter 23

And for the ensuing four hours, we embarked on a journey down what you can only describe as a magical Vegas river. The wine flowed, from the Krug Champagne to start, past two beautiful bottles of Burgundy, and the incomparable Chateau D'Yquem to finish. The food was delicious, simple, and soulful.

"I get it now," Kat told me early in the meal, as we ate king crab served in a tin topped with a mountain of caviar. "This is a different level of precision. It's as close to perfect as I can imagine."

I smiled at her. The wine buzz had taken over the coke high, which had all but faded to memory, and I felt sentimental. Jess had never appreciated fine dining like this. I shook my head.

"You okay?" Kat asked. "Where did you go just now?"

"Oh, nowhere," I said, probably unconvincingly, "I'm just lost in this meal." At that moment, the showpiece bread cart saved me.

We deferred the limo ri