Page 95 of The Paris Roommates: Dean
“Open and see,ma chérie,” Nanine said softly.
When Thea finally removed the lid of the box, she put her hand to her mouth. “But that’s…”
“My grandmother’s cast iron Dutch oven,” Nanine filled in, a nostalgic smile on her face. “For your new home with Jean Luc. You can make very good bread with it. I enjoyed many special loaves of bread from it.”
Thea’s large eyes spilled tears as she flew across the room and hugged Nanine. “Oh, thank you. I don’t know what to say. Your grandmother’s! I know how special she was to you.”
“Alas, I cannot lift it easily anymore.” She caressed Thea’s face. “You will enjoy it more and keep the loving tradition going.”
Dean wanted to rub his heart at her admission. Had she planned early on to give the family possession to her daughter? Had all those hopes withered? Then again, they must have after what Adrienne had done to her mother.
“It’s going to fall through my cabinets,” Jean Luc joked, picking it up with a laugh. “My God, how much does this weigh?”
Fabiana muscled him aside and hefted it up. “This is like my grandmother’s too! I’d say nine kilos.”
“Twenty pounds!” Sawyer exclaimed. “You’re kidding. Let me see.”
Doc’s knees gave slightly as he picked it up, and Brooke clucked, “You’re an artist. Not a baker.”
“Yeah.” He set it down with a clunk. “Thank God paintbrushes weigh practically nothing, even coated with paint, or I’d be a goner. You girls have Amazon strength.”
“Girl power, baby.” Madison gave Thea a high five before turning to Fabiana, who grinned as they connected hands.
“Let’s eat,” Fabiana announced. “All that hefting gave me an appetite.”
They sat down in the dining room covered in tea lights nestled amidst flowers. Jean Luc helped his mother bring in the endless plates of Italian food—fennel salad, freshly sliced tomatoes with burrata cheese, asparagus with parmesan shavings, eggplant with capers, a whole roasted fish with lemon slices and parsley, pancetta-wrapped pork, and spicy sausage rigatoni. Everyone ate family style, which seemed perfect, and Dean was thrilled when Jacqueline became engrossed in a conversation with Sawyer, who sat on her right, about the history of wine, of course.
Everyone was stuffed by the time the cake came out, a four-tiered chocolate and raspberry gateau Brooke had commissioned. Thea laughed about the number of candles as Madison lit all thirty, and indeed, it took her four breaths to blow them all out. After more applause, the cake was sliced and handed out.
Dean managed to eat a piece, found it exquisite, and sat back with his legs out.
“Man, I’m stuffed,” he told Jacqueline.
“You held your own pretty well,” she told him, leaning close, “but I heard you groan when you saw how big of a slice Fabiana cut for you.”
“She’s a pure Italian mama, no doubt.” He patted his belly. “I can’t imagine ever eating again.”
“We won’t have room service tonight if we get hungry,” she answered, resting her hand on his thigh.
He cut her a look. “Don’t worry. Room serviceà la Deanwill be available.”
“I can’t wait,” she said as their gazes locked.
A handkerchief suddenly appeared to the side of Jacqueline’s head, and he laughed as Sawyer waggled his brows. “Doc,” Dean said, “you’ve really gotta stop stuffing all these hankies into your nice threads.”
But he took the handkerchief anyway and made a show of wiping his brow as his friends laughed around him. Sue him. He was drooling over his dream girl. Now she knew, because she asked for clarification, of course, and Sawyer was only too happy to fill her in.
More champagne came out after the cake, and the laughter and high spirits continued. When Nanine announced she was going to head home, Dean took that as an opportunity to leave. “We’ll walk with you.”
Her raised brow suggested she knew what he was about, but she didn’t protest. After they said goodbye to everyone, he enjoyed listening to Jacqueline and Nanine talking in French as they walked the neighborhood streets back to the restaurant. They discussed her father, Pierre, and how fast time seemed to be going. After all the preparation they’d done, Nanine couldn’t believe the restaurant opening was just over a month away. Jacqueline mentioned the cave auction for the first time, saying how nervous she was now that it was only three days away. Dean was glad Kyle had settled on a final price. They were ready.
Nanine said nothing of the cave except to give a French murmur as a reply. That was clearly for the best, given the complexity of the situation.
When they arrived at Nanine’s, he kissed Nanine warmly on the cheeks and hugged her a moment longer. “You feeling okay about us being gone?”
She touched his face briefly. “Life, Second Course, like time, keeps passing. We must walk with it or be left behind.”
Turning, she embraced Jacqueline warmly and murmured something he couldn’t hear. When they were walking alone back to Dean’s new home, he gave in to curiosity. “What did she say as you parted?”
