“The wines sound wonderful to me,” Bella said, and her sister nodded in agreement.

“I’ll be right back with the first one, a sparkling rosé.”

When Ramon returned, he set down the flutes of pink bubbly wine and a small dish of some kind of paté and sliced baguettes. There were also a few small gherkin pickles, a grainy mustard and sweet pepper jelly.

“That’s Nick’s foie gras paté and assorted condiments. Enjoy!”

The next few hours were a blur of one delectable dish after another and an assortment of wine tastings that perfectly complemented each course—everything from spicy tuna tartare to a silky lobster bisque, duck confit and a sliced chateaubriand topped with orange-scented poached lobster. They finished with a crème brûlée that was a swirl of dark chocolate and coffee flavors.

When they were completely and totally finished, Nick walked up to the table.

“I hope you enjoyed the tasting?”

“It was amazing, incredible. Thank you so much,” Julia said.

Bella smiled. “Insanely delicious. Truly the best food I’ve ever eaten. Thank you, Nick.”

He grinned. “I’m so glad you both liked it. I had a lot of fun with the menu.” He glanced at Julia. “I’m sorry you have to go home tomorrow.”

“I really wish I could stay longer. But I’m heading out first thing in the morning.”

“I’m going to miss her,” Bella said wistfully. She’d gotten used to having her sister’s company. It was going to seem quiet once she’d gone.

“A few of us are going fishing tomorrow. To that same spot I took you. My cousin Andrea and Marco, who also works at the concierge desk. Why don’t you join us? It’s supposed to be a gorgeous day.”

Bella smiled. “I’d love to. I was wondering what I was going to do with myself tomorrow.”

“Perfect. Meet us out front at noon tomorrow and bring your lucky lure!”

Chapter 21

“I think you should go out with him at least one more time.” Lucy had stopped by Paula’s cottage Sunday afternoon before they went to family dinner at their mother’s house. Neither one of them wanted to have their dating lives dissected over the dinner table, especially if Aunt Vivian was there. She could be relentless with the questions.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea.” It wasn’t that Paula didn’t like Jason. He was a nice enough guy. But she hadn’t felt a single spark on their date the night before. He took her to The Gaslight, which was a great date spot, with good food and live music. It was a fun night. She felt like she was having dinner with a friend, though, so she wasn’t sure if it was fair to him to waste his time with another date.