He’d made a right turn, in the opposite direction of home. “Oh, I just thought you might like to see how downtown is decorated.” Which sounded lame, because she was obviously tired. “What were you going to say?”

“Oh, um, nothing important,” she said as they approached the restaurant. The neon spaghetti sign in front of Castorini’s Family Restaurant was lit, and the little blue meatball that suddenly appeared atop the noodles before the entire sign flashed. The roofline of the restaurant was strung with festive multicolored lights for the holiday.

“I see you kept the flashing meatball,” Tessa said. “I especially love the Christmas lights you strung around it.”

“Thanks.” He gave her a little smile. “My dad kind of got used to it.”

“It’s a town landmark,” she said. “Tradition is important.”

“Yes, but so is innovation. And taking the business in new directions.” He pulled up in front of the restaurant and held his breath. And waited for her to see the surprise.

…

Yep, Tessa thought, she and Leo were about to take life in a whole new direction, too, but she didn’t have time to tell him about that now, because apparently he was planning some kind of surprise. In front of their parking spot, Bonjour! Breads stood as it had for a hundred years, awash in white icicle lights. In the window, her mom had placed a big lit-up angel with a halo of stars and sparkling fiber-optic wings, her favorite Christmas decoration. But the parking lot between the buildings was gone, and in its place was…

A little shop with a big plate-glass window, built on to the side of the building in between the restaurant and the bakery.

Tessa’s mind went blank. “Leo.” The word came out as a hoarse, mangled whisper, her throat choked with emotion. She stared at her husband, then the building, mouth agape. Leo was sitting back in his usual relaxed posture, but his eyes were waiting. For her reaction. And they were filled with love.

That’s when she started to cry.

Leo parked the van at the curb and turned to her. “Come on in, sweetheart.”

“Leo, I—” She tried again to speak.

He ran around and opened the van door for her, then led her to the new front door of the shop. The door opened to a little tinkle, a detail that didn’t go unnoticed. She looked at Leo, who was grinning from ear to ear. “Your mom’s idea,” he confessed.

Suddenly, all the lights flooded on, and there, in front of her, standing on the black-and-white-tile floor, was everyone she loved—her mom, her grandmother, her sisters. Lilac. Leo’s dad and Gia. And Noah and Jack.

The first things she noticed were the big squares of black and white tile that made it feel like she was stepping into an old patisserie in Le Marais.