“Let me put it a French way. You’re an MF.”
“That doesn’t sound very complimentary at all.” Then she suddenly got it. Tessa stared at him, her eyes becoming watery. “Do you mean MOF?” She pronounced it Moff.
“Yes, that. Even I know about the most prestigious French culinary competition of all time.” He lay back and smiled widely. “To me, you’re Julia Child.”
She laughed, but she really felt like crying. Because he’d just said the exact right thing. In the sweetest way. “Even the fabulous Julia didn’t get the Meilleur Ouvrier de France. You just put me on a scale with the finest French chefs of all time.”
He smiled slowly and broadly. “Exactly.”
She met his gaze, and there he was, looking at her with a secretive glint in those big, moony Italian eyes.
And just like that, something in her heart broke open. Leo was kind and funny. He got her more than any other person she’d ever met. He was invested in her success. And he wanted her to be exactly who she was. So for however long this lasted, she’d take it. With both her arms open wide.
…
Much later, they were about to fall asleep when she asked, “So how bad are those allergy shots?”
“Horrible,” he said without hesitation. “I mean, I’m probably going to need years of you making this up to me.”
She rolled on top of him, her hair falling on his chest. “I’d better start right now.”
He looked up at the woman in his arms, who was beautiful inside and out, and smiled. “Well, if this is the payback for not telling you about my cat allergy, I’ll take the shots for the rest of my life.” As he rolled them over on the bed, she let out a little squeal. And then he kissed her again.
Chapter Nineteen
On a sunny, golden late afternoon a few weeks later, Tessa set out walking down their street in her best heels, which she absolutely wasn’t used to walking in. Especially along a sidewalk made even more crooked by tree roots that pushed up against the concrete like too-tight shoes. But she chalked that up to the charm of their old neighborhood. Lilac opened her front door as she passed and waved, wishing her good luck. Because tonight, Leo was making dinner not just for family but for a restaurant full of people.
It was showtime. All their planning and hard work were coming to a grand finale.
Lilac ran down her little gravel driveway to meet her. “Wow,” she said, looking over Tessa’s black dress and heels.
“Is it too much?” Tessa gave a nod to her lace-covered dress. “I’m going for nice, not hot.”
“You can’t help what you are, girl,” Lilac said, grinning. “Tessa, you’re just like the Very Hungry Caterpillar.”
“I look like a caterpillar?” Figures Lilac would use something related to work to describe her. But…a caterpillar?
“No,” she said, getting teary. “You look beautiful, like a caterpillar who discovered she’s really a butterfly. And one look at you might just take Leo’s mind off any nerves he’s having over his grand-opening dinner. Things are going well with you two, I take it?”
Tessa frowned. “How do you know that? Was it in my horoscope?”
“No, honey. It’s written all over your face. You look happy.”
She was happy. Really happy.
Looking at her oldest friend, she said, “I feel like now is our chance to really help our families’ businesses. We’ve worked so hard, you know?”
“And?”
“And what?”
“And what about you and Leo?”
She couldn’t help smiling. “I don’t even want to put a label on it. Just that it’s…really good.”
“Don’t be afraid, Tessa,” Lilac said, giving her a side hug. “You deserve really good. You deserve the best.”
Tessa hugged Lilac back. For the first time, she felt that she did deserve happiness. She was filled with pride at their efforts—and respect and admiration for him and for herself. Tonight, they were going to show the world the fruits of their labor. And that was as far as she’d allow herself to think.
And you know what? She knew she looked hot—in a PG, family-restaurant kind of way.
“I’m excited about tonight. And nervous for Leo.” She knew she looked good. She felt great, too. She was just worried for Leo’s sake. She hoped everything went as planned.
Lilac smiled. “What’s there to worry about? You’ve done all the hard work.”
“My biggest fear is that no one is going to show.”
“Um,” Lilac said, tapping her chin, “somehow I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
Frowning, Tessa asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well, I just got back from the grocery store, and…there’s actually a little line forming.”
Tessa checked her phone. It was only four o’clock. “What do you mean, a line?”
Lilac pointed down the street. “Oh, just one that snakes around the bakery and up that little side street is all.”
A line. Like in the old days? “Maybe that advertising we bought paid off. I’m glad people still read the weekly neighborhood paper.”
“Well, that must’ve been quite an ad.” Lilac looked down at Tessa’s feet. “Wait here for a second.” She returned a minute later with a drawstring bag, looking something up on her phone.
Tessa found a pair of rainbow flip-flops in the bag. “Oh, that’s sweet. Thank you. For this and…for supporting me. And believing in me.”
“Gosh, Tessa, they’re just flip flops,” she said, hugging her back. “I love you, you know that. She pulled back and shook her phone. “Now for what’s really important.” She began to read, “Venus and Mars are conjugating in your ninth house of adventure, and Mars is in your sultry eighth house of intimacy—”
“Lilac! I have to go. What’s the bottom line?”
“Knock ’em dead! The cosmos says you’re ready for this!” She gave her a big hug. “And I do too!”
Tessa hugged her best friend. “What I’m really lucky about is having a great friend like you.”
…
The flip-flops did wonders for Tessa’s feet but nothing for the gaggle of geese fluttering in her stomach. By the time she’d walked the three blocks downtown, she couldn’t believe what she saw.
A line of people stretched from the restaurant, around the bakery, and clear up the “little” side street that Lilac mentioned, which wasn’t little at all. And wait a minute…when Tessa examined the line closer, she realized that people were splitting off from the restaurant line to form a line to Bonjour! Breads as well.