I dragged my gaze to his. “No, thank you.”

“You are hungry, no? Why not?”

How could I explain to him that while I loved cream and shallots and garlic sauce—who wouldn’t?—I couldn’t bring myself to eat a tiny orange vagina? I’d blame Meredith for the rest of my life for pointing that out to me when I was thirteen. Now I couldn’t ever unsee it. “I’ll have some bread and sauce. Thank you.”

He nodded and passed me the breadbasket before helping himself to the fragrant mussels.

I tore off a hunk of the crusty, warm, soft-centered bread, almost swooning with delight at the feel of it in my fingertips. Why couldn’t America make great bread?

Monsieur Pascale had a piece of bread too and dunked it into the sauce in the shared bowl between us. I followed suit, trying to ignore the intimacy of sharing a bowl together and allowing a second for maximum absorption. Then I slipped the piece between my lips and groaned as the flavors exploded across my tongue. I couldn’t hold in my sound of appreciation. My senses melted into the rich, creamy, garlicky flavor. Even my shoulders sank into them.

I hastily prepared another. And another.

Suddenly feeling self-conscious, I looked up to find his eyes on me, his body stiff, his mouth working slowly as he ate his helping.

“You need a spoon just to drink the sauce,” I said to cut the strange tension. “It’s so delicious.”

He held up a mussel shell and then dipped it into the bowl like a spoon, allowing a healthy portion of broth to flood into it. Then he raised it to his mouth and drank. As he pulled the shell away, his lips glistened and he licked them.

I clenched my thighs together and wrenched my gaze to his daughter.

Dauphine was finishing up her melon and prosciutto. “Was it good, Dauphine?”

She looked up. “Oui.”

“Do you eat dinner with your papa every evening?” I pounced on a topic.

“This summer, yes. When he does not have a business dinner.” She rolled her eyes, making me smile. “I like it, but only when I get food good for me to eat. Sometimes Papa makes me try things I already know I do not like.”

“Have you ever been surprised?” I exchanged a quick glance with her father, seeing his eyebrow twitch.

She sat back and folded her arms. “This is a trick?”