Page 59 of The Paris Roommates: Dean
“How badly do we really need this cave?”
Nanine had been tasting Madison’s latest version of duck with cherries beside her at the stove, but she turned at this shocking question. Second Course was standing at the edge of the stainless steel counter, his hands tucked into his pants pockets. His usual winning smile was absent. In fact, he looked worried.
That wasn’t exactly the question she’d expected to hear after his date, and Nanine wasn’t immediately certain how to respond. So she was grateful when the others shuffled into the main prep area from where they’d been drinking at the kitchen table as Madison turned the burner off and plated her duck.
“So the situation with Jacqueline and her family is morecompliquéthan we thought,” she murmured in English as he’d expressed the question in his first language.
He made a face. “It’s an inheritance battle of sorts. Let me give you the Cliff Notes version.”
“What a nightmare, personally and legally,” Kyle said after Dean had finished.
Nanine only felt sorrow for the family.
“Sounds a little like my early family shit—sorry, Nanine.” Brooke shook her head in disgust. “I guess the situation with the Beaumonts was complicated enough that no one wanted to rock the boat until push came to shove.”
“We’re clearly at the shove part,” Madison said, cocking her hip.
“Willing your illegitimate daughter a cave in an official will would betrès compliqué,” Nanine suggested, thinking of her own daughter, Adrienne. “Especially when the wife is still living. I understand his wish to keep things…as they were.”
“And those situations can be embarrassing to those left behind,” Brooke broke in. “I had a friend in college who learned of a love child when her dad died, and the gossip and speculation crushed her and followed her to college.”
Nanine felt her heart pulse a little with hurt. Adrienne was technically a love child, only there’d been no love from her father once he learned about the pregnancy.
“Jacqueline didn’t mention embarrassment, only heartbreak.” Dean tipped his head back and studied the ceiling as if at a loss before continuing. “Yvonne is moving forward—”
“Yvonne!” Pierre squawked with a violent flapping of his wings.“Je la déteste.”
“She’s not high on my list either, Pierre,” Madison said as he flew over to her from his perch, his chef’s outfit billowing like a cape. “Keep going, Dean.”
He nodded. “Jacqueline thinks Yvonne knows she can dispense of the estate faster than Jacqueline can fight it legally. I knew you’d be the expert on that, Jean Luc.”
They all turned to where he was standing, his arm around Thea. He nodded sadly. “Voltaire said it best.The worthy administrators of justice are like a cat set to take care of a cheese, lest it should be gnawed by the mice. One bite of the cat does more damage to the cheese than twenty mice can do.”
“That was beautiful,mon frère,” Sawyer said, putting a hand to his heart.
“I don’t need a quote about the miscarriage of justice right now, not when someone I care about is getting screwed,” Dean grumbled, giving a harsh slash of his hand through the air.
“Of course you don’t,” Nanine said calmly. “I won’t speak for everyone, but I have empathy for Jacqueline’s plight. Especially after what happened with my cave.”
He tucked his hands back in his pants pockets, looking grim. “Yes, it’s the same but it’s not. This whole situation sucks. I had the best time with Jacqueline tonight, but I couldn’t shake this horrible feeling in my gut that we’re hoping to buy the very thing she wants to start her own business. Her dream business! Then I had this idea—”
“In a moment, Dean.” Nanine wasn’t sure she liked the sound of that, and the others were frowning as she crossed to him. “Would you like a café? Come, let’s sit down and talk.”
“I’ll make you a café, Dean,” Thea said, spinning around and heading to the espresso machine while the rest of them moved to the kitchen table.
“Thanks, Thea!” He blew out a harsh breath and snagged a chair for Nanine before lowering into the one next to it. “I was thinking this situation is like being between a rock and a hard place. I want you and Madison to have the cave, Nanine, but I don’t want to rob Jacqueline of her dream. Me, Mr. Dreamer himself.”
“Thanks for including me in your rant, Dean,” Madison said, taking a chair across from them and leaning back with her arms crossed. “It warms my heart in this arctic cooler of a family drama. Why do some families suck so hard?”
“I still wonder if it’s nature versus nurture,” Sawyer responded very seriously before grimacing. “Sorry, I think about these things, being from a difficult family.”
“No problem, Doc.” Kyle patted him on the back and took a seat beside him.
“As someone who was recently betrayed by her boyfriend,” Brooke said, crossing her arms over her blue sweater, “I can tell you Jacqueline won’t understand our bid to take away her dream. If you’re her boyfriend, Dean, or want to be, you have to be on her side.”
Kyle leaned his elbows on the table, looking around the room. “That sounds way too romantic for my business sensibilities. Yvonne is going to sell the cave regardless, and it sounds like Jacqueline can’t stop her fast enough legally. Why shouldn’t we go after it?”
“Oh, Kyle, I sometimes wonder how you were ever engaged in the first place,” Brooke said with a deep sigh.
