Before she could respond, he gave her hand a little squeeze and then disappeared back into the restaurant.
Aunt Loretta looked at her strangely. So much so that Tessa made sure she didn’t have any food on her face. Leaning over, she said, “Leo must think a lot of you, Tessa, to give you his mother’s ring.”
Tessa’s hand suddenly felt paralyzed on the table. The sun was shining, reflecting off the ring in prisms of sparkling light that must have caught Aunt Loretta’s attention, making it look more beautiful than ever.
Leo had given her his mother’s ring? Her thoughts whirled. Maybe he’d done it to make their marriage look authentic to his family. But it was sentimental. Valuable. Full of memories. Not to mention it had belonged to his beloved mother. She’d had no idea.
“I-I love it,” she managed, twirling it a little, where it caught even more light and looked even more beautiful. “It’s so unique.”
The older woman quietly patted her hand. “Like you, sweetheart.”
“Thank you, Aunt Loretta,” she said, lifting her glass in return.
“Sapphires in a wedding band mean faithfulness and sincerity,” Vivienne said. “I learned that when I was doing some wedding photography last year.”
“They can also match a person’s eyes,” Leo’s dad said.
“Did—did Leo’s mom have blue eyes?” Tessa asked.
“Like the summer sky,” his dad said, smiling a little.
“I’m honored to wear it,” Tessa said. This was terrifying. The ring—this lunch—underscored that real people were involved with their scam. And feelings. And…her own were being messed with, too.
Fortunately, at that moment, Leo came through the door, carrying steaming bowls of linguine. He served his dad first, then everyone else.
Tessa recognized calamari and mussels, and judging by the fragrant scent, the pasta was covered in a garlic butter sauce.
Everyone waited for Leo to finish dishing out the pasta, except Noah, who immediately dug in until Jack knifed him in the ribs.
Leo took a seat next to Tessa, giving her a wink. “Dig in, everyone.”
“Wait,” Marco said, frowning after a few bites. “This is your mother’s recipe.”
“That’s right, Dad,” Leo said, stopping with a fork halfway to his mouth.
“I—I haven’t served this recipe in the restaurant for…a long time.”
Oh no. The seconds ticked. No one broke the silence. Tessa wracked her brain to think of a quip, but not even a bad one came to mind. Leo himself seemed to be struggling with what to say.
The table was so silent, you could hear the birds twittering in the trees behind the parking lot. Finally, Leo spoke. “I wanted to do something to honor Mom. Taste it, Dad.” His strained voice seemed to include a silent please.
“Oh. I see,” Marco said, examining the dish as carefully as if he’d been using a microscope. “And these are the fish that were alive yesterday?”
“Swimming in the Atlantic,” Leo said with a grin.
Leo’s dad carefully speared some linguine on his fork and brought it to his mouth. Tessa felt the vibrations from Leo’s knee freaking out next to hers. On the opposite side of the table, her grandmother looked at her and smiled, a small comfort.
Marco set down his fork and chewed the bite slowly. When he finally swallowed, he said, “The seafood is very tender but not mushy. The pasta is al dente. The dish is perfectly warm.”
“So then you like it?” Leo asked.
“It’s just as your mother made it,” he said, his voice cracking a little, “except for the recently swimming seafood.” Marco lifted a glass to his son. Well, make that Tessa, too, because he looked at her as well. “You have my permission to work your magic together. And we’ll see what happens.” Then he drained his wine and set the glass down on the table with a definitive thud. “Eat, everybody. It’s delicious.”
“Marco,” Tessa’s mom said after tasting the dish herself, “our children have done an unbelievable job.”
“I think, Joanna,” Leo’s dad said, “you’re absolutely right.”
“This was totally worth taking a break from my SAT flash cards,” Gia said.
Tessa clapped her hands. Amid everyone’s exclaiming, forks clinking, and everyone digging in, Leo reached over and kissed her. A short, quick, enthusiastic kiss—an impulsive, natural thing to do.
And then he grinned.
She high-fived him.
Which was weird and also something she hadn’t done since she was twelve. But he laughed. And she did, too, because she suddenly felt giddy and shaky. Because their families were actually agreeing on something. And enjoying food together.
“You did it,” she said, sincerely thrilled for him. “Congratulations.”
“We did it, Countess.”
The fraisier was the crown jewel of the meal. Everyone raved and exclaimed over that, too.
Strangely, Tessa hadn’t been worried about it. She knew it would be delicious.
And she felt like this was Leo’s time.
Her mother smiled. “I haven’t seen a fraisier like that since I was at the baker’s convention in Chicago a few years ago. I’m proud of you, Tessa.” She looked at Leo. “And you too, Leo. The meal was superb.”
“Thanks, Joanna,” Leo said.
Tessa’s mom turned to Marco. “Thank you for letting us in on the taste testing.” She turned to Tessa. “I’m too full, and I drank two glasses of wine,” her mother said. “I think I’m going to walk home.”
“I’ll walk with you,” Marco said. “Leo’s got it covered for now. I’ll be back around four, okay?”
Tessa caught Leo’s eye. He shrugged pointedly and took a sip of wine. If anyone else noticed the two notorious enemies walking off together, no one said a thing.
Leo had circled his arm around the back of Tessa’s chair as they chatted and laughed with family and friends. Like it was the most natural thing to do. Like their families hadn’t been mortal enemies for the past century. Tessa was overjoyed to be at Leo’s side, celebrating their first accomplishment.
They’d passed the first test. They’d done it. Together.
Chapter Eighteen
Tessa got home in time to make a salad for their dinner with a charcuterie board and some lemon iced tea they could enjoy outside on the patio. She took a glass of tea outside and sat in the little garden, enjoying the late-afternoon sun, the faraway sound of a lawnmower, and Cosette’s little explorations.