Page 29 of The Paris Roommates: Dean
“Right. About that. Have fun. Don’t let the parrot fly off. And don’t screw up our pursuit of the cave. In fact, it’s probably best if you don’t mention it unless she does.”
“Annoying your business partner isn’t good teamwork.” He shot his hand out and tugged on Kyle’s ash brown hair. “Let’s focus on you. You need a haircut. Why don’t you see if a salon has couples’ cuts like they do with massages? You can take Madison since she needs a trim too. You two could get a his and hers moisturizing sea kelp treatment for your hair like the cute couple you are.”
Something wild came into Kyle’s eyes before his gaze shuttered. “Bite me.”
Aha—he’d thought there was a slightly weird vibe between his two friends, and this confirmed it. Well, he’d put that in his pocket for later. He could tug it out whenever Kyle became intolerable. “No thanks. I don’t want to get rabies.”
“You’re such a—”
He pushed his friend into the bathroom and slammed the door in Kyle’s face, strolling down the stairs, whistling. When he reached the kitchen, Thea was already at the coffee machine making him a café.
“Dean!” she exclaimed.
“Bonjour, Dean!” Pierre echoed from his perch.
“Good morning, you two!”
“I was about to head upstairs to make sure you were up. You have twenty-five minutes until you have to meet Jacqueline and you haven’t even had breakfast.”
She was so adorable, fussing over him in her signature pink apron with the adorable croissant. “I’m eating at the picnic, remember?”
“I’m ready,” Pierre stated in French.
Thea hustled over with his café, setting it on the counter in front of him. “I’ve already started packing the picnic basket. You look very handsome. Are you nervous? Try not to be, because it makes you think too much. When I first went out with Jean Luc, I had to force myself not to wring my hands and blab nonsense. I know you started to drool when you were thinking about Jacqueline the other day, but don’t worry this time. You’re going to be fine.”
Sawyer strolled in holding a book while pulling something out of his pocket. “Good to be prepared though, Dean. You can take one of my handkerchiefs. I’m sure Jacqueline won’t notice. Much.”
Dean took the hankie and folded it into a nice little pocket square. He had no intention of drooling on her, but it didn’t hurt to be prepared. And dapper. “Is everyone going to give me shit about this quasi-date?”
“Yep,” Madison called from the doorway, dressed in her usual black with her black hair totally wet. “Maybe you should borrow one of my kitchen towels. I don’t know if Sawyer’s pint-size gentleman’s hankie is going to be enough.”
“I read you should chew on a lemon wedge,” Brooke said, appearing behind Madison from the stairs. “I can cut you one, darling, before you leave.”
They were such jackasses, and he loved everyone single one of them. “Look at the time. I’ve gotta go. It’s a long walk to Luxembourg Gardens.”
“It’s a ten-minute walk without a parrot cage and a picnic basket,” Brooke corrected in her usual type A way. “Turn around. Let Mama see how pretty you look for your semi-date.”
Madison and Sawyer snickered.
“I told him he looks very handsome,” Thea said, rushing over to the picnic basket on the counter. “Dean, I baked you a really beautiful apricot walnut bread that will go perfectly with the charcuterie and cheese plate you chose. I sliced up some seasonal apples, figs, and pears to take as well.”
“Thea, you’re a doll.” He kissed her on the cheek. “The rest of you are prehistorically challenged dating trolls who should be studied by science. Don’t wait up, y’all.”
“First, please don’t say y’all.” Brooke winced. “Only Kyle can pull that off. Second, no going for a home run today. We have the cave to think about.”
“I wasn’t thinking aboutthat.” He shrugged in response to the knowing look everyone gave him. “Fine. I’m a guy. I think about sex. But I have self-control. And business sense—”
“That is wonderful to hear,” Nanine said, breezing in from the back of the kitchen. “I hope you and Jacqueline have a wonderful time.”
Madison walked over to Pierre. “Don’t lose our friend here in your pursuit of the female species. If you need someone to pick Pierre up, text one of us. We’ll come get him.”
Pierre cooed as Madison deposited him in his cage. “J’adore, ma chérie Madison.”
“Me too, Pierre. It’s back to the duck with cherries when you return.”
He purred. She smiled. Dean had been drop-kicked into an alternate universe. “When did you two seriously fall in love? Does Kyle know?”
“Thea, hand Dean his basket before my good mood evaporates.” Madison arranged the burgundy throw over the cage. “No girl likes a guy to be late.”
