Page 53 of The Paris Roommates: Dean
“Nice catch on the madame versus mademoiselle reference,” Brooke said tightly, touching Nanine’s arm.
“These gender honorifics can reveal important details otherwise lost,” Nanine said in that mysterious way of the French. “I did not realize…the family situation. It was not an ideal moment to ask, I confess, but I felt I must. For Dean as much as for ourselves.”
“Thank you, Nanine,” he said, his thoughts whirring, “but I’ve got no clue what any of this means.”
Kyle ran a hand through his perfect hair. “Well, I heard Celine imply Jacqueline wasn’t a legitimate family member.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that,” Dean said, anger rising up.
Nanine lifted her shoulder. “I would wish to confirm it, but I imagine it must be so.”
“So she’s not involved in the selling of the cave?” Madison asked, taking his arm before he opened his mouth. “Or giving Pierre away? That makes me like her more somehow.”
He now understood why she’d arrived at Nanine’s so upset now after learning Pierre had been sold. Jacqueline had alluded to problems. Now he was seeing the grubs under the proverbial rug. “Clearly, I kicked off an Assumption train here and made you all ride it with me. I saw that newspaper clipping of her, so when I walked into the wine store and heard Beaumont’s daughter had just been in, I figured…”
“She had, only it was Yvonne, not Jacqueline,” Kyle stated, rubbing the back of his neck. “And Yvonne didn’t come up in our internet searches because we only looked at the daughter in the newspaper clipping Dean was given. Jacqueline. Who just so happens to be a sommelier. Why wouldn’t she be involved with her family’s cave?”
“Jesus, I feel like an idiot,” Dean said, hanging his head.
“Now we know why Jacqueline didn’t mention the cave to you on your date,” Brooke said, patting him on the back. “She’s not involved. Personally, I’m a little relieved. I’ll admit I was still worried about the potential conflict of interest.”
“But doesn’t this complicate things more?” Kyle put in, then held up his hands when Dean shot him a dark look. “Hear me out, Dean. If the sister is selling the cave and isn’t on ‘the best of terms’ with Jacqueline, is that going to cause us problems with this auction?”
The implication rocked Dean back a step. “I don’t like where you’re going here, Kyle.”
“Take a breath, Dean,” Brooke cautioned. “He’s not saying you dump Jacqueline so we can have a fair shot at the cave.”
“He’d better not be, because if anything, she deserves compassion about all of this. She was really upset about Pierre. Don’t you remember? She came back from Hong Kong, for heaven’s sake, because of all this! Wouldn’t she be upset about not being involved with her father’s cave too?”
“We don’t know the full story yet,” Brooke broke in again. “Let’s not keep going with the assumptions.”
“What Kyleissaying is that you’d better find out from the beautiful Jacqueline why she’s back in town and stat and what these problems are,” Madison added with narrowed eyes. “Pierre might be the tip of the iceberg. Dean, we do not want to get caught between two sisters over an inheritance.”
“No, we certainly do not.” Nanine walked over to Dean and looked him straight in the eyes. “I know you will discover what is really going on here. Because I think we can all agree that we want this cave, and we want a fair shot at auction with no complications from outside forces.”
She meant Jacqueline. Shit.
CHAPTERTHIRTEEN
When had his life become socompliqué?
Dean slapped cologne on his face, using the chance to slap himself into shape. After the shocking news they’d discovered yesterday, he knew he’d be walking a tightrope with Jacqueline on their date tonight.
Having looked up Yvonne Beaumont, they now knew she was the sole legitimate daughter of Chef Beaumont. She worked as a marketing director for Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Belgium, hence the pet store owner’s assertion that she wasn’t based in Paris. Her online photo had shown a severe but polished woman in her fifties who shared Jacqueline’s cheekbones. They’d concluded that Jacqueline must have come some twenty years later, well into the chef’s marriage. Jacqueline had been given his name, which Nanine said was not unusual in these situations. Clearly, he’d acknowledged his daughter by his mistress, which was his right. France was funny that way, they’d all agreed. Nanine’s own daughter had never been acknowledged by her father, for example, but that had been for the best.
They’d learned some basic information, but Dean needed more than the internet could provide. Stat. But he also didn’t want to be a jerk and offend or upset Jacqueline when she was clearly already upset. He’d replayed her first arrival over and over again in his mind. She’d seemed so upset about Pierre, so unmoored. Something about this situation was truly off for her to have left Hong Kong. She was in trouble, and they might be too if her problems involved the cave.
He nearly knocked the cologne bottle—L’Homme by Yves Saint Laurent—off the sink when he reached for his comb for one last run-through. A Christmas gift from Nanine ten years ago, it was priceless for both the special understanding of him it reflected and the love and intention with which it had been chosen.
His shoulders tensed, and they were already tight from stress. He couldn’t screw this up…but it felt like he was potentially walking into a landmine.
After learning there might be a huge rift between Jacqueline and her sister, he felt terrible for her. He wanted to help if he could. Only…could he help Jacqueline and his roommates and Nanine at the same time?
This was so not a normal date.
Making a face at himself, he opened the bathroom door and jumped when he saw Brooke standing there with a gift bag.
“Jesus! Why are you lurking around? Don’t you have tablecloth samples to sift through with Nanine and Madison?”
