I lifted a shoulder. “I’m interested in the answer. Do you know that once upon a time, I hated prosciutto? True story. I cried too. My mother was making me try it and I was so mad. I took the first bite with tears running down my face and a headache from crying so hard.” I widened my eyes for effect and Dauphine giggled. “The ham was salty and chewy just like I’d known it would be,” I went on. “And I ran to the trash can and spat it out.”

Dauphine gasped.

I dared not look at her father. “I got in sooo much trouble. I was sent to my room with no more food. I was very hungry and so tired from my tantrum that I fell fast asleep. I woke up when the house was quiet and snuck downstairs and found the leftover prosciutto in the refrigerator and finished it all.”

Dauphine stared at me with a look of shock before bursting into a delighted laugh.

“But I don’t recommend raiding Chef’s fridge,” I went on before she got any ideas. “Evan tells me he’s fierce about his food.”

There was a masculine snort from my right.

I looked up. Mr. Pascale was actually smiling. It was devastating. Like clouds parting to reveal the sun. My breath caught, and I swallowed and looked back to the little girl. “So, the moral of the story is you never know unless you try.”

Her father said something to her in French that sounded like it could be a similar phrase. She glanced at me warily, as if it had been a trick after all. “Papa tells me that lesson sometimes.”

“Wise man.” I lifted a shoulder. “It’s not just food either. I didn’t like horseback riding until I tried it. Horses scared me.”

“I love horseback riding!” she exclaimed then frowned. “But yes. Horses can be scary. They are so big.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“What else?”

“What else did I think I hated that I’m glad I tried?”

She nodded.

I looked up at the night sky as if deep in thought. “Hmm. Let’s see. Licorice, avocado, karate—”

“You can do karate?”

“Of course. A girl must learn self-defense.”

Her large eyes grew rounder.

“It’s true,” her father said, then he turned back to me. “What about boats?” he asked, eyes steady on mine as he took a sip of rosé. I realized I hadn’t touched mine yet. “Are you glad you tried boats?”

I narrowed my eyes at him. Was he … teasing me?

“You don’t like boats?” Dauphine gasped. “Even Papa’s boat? But it’s the best boat!”

I laughed at how incensed she was. “Is it? I wouldn’t know. I have never been on another because, well, I don’t like them.”