“Ah, mon ange.” She kissed both my cheeks. “I have missed you.”

“Missed you too, Mamie. You’re looking well.”

She waved me off with casual grace, then grasped my arm. “Have you asked her?”

“Not yet.” Amalie had sent me the engagement ring Jean Philipe had given his bride. The deco cushion-cut diamond ring was just Emma’s style, and it meant something to me. I wanted her to have a piece of my family’s history.

“Soon, eh?” Amalie coaxed. Her grin was smug. “I knew you two belonged together. I just knew.”

I rolled my eyes but then shook my head with a smile. “Yes, yes, you’re very smart.”

Emma came out just then, pausing in the doorway when she caught my gaze and smiling wide. The climbing roses that covered the wall momentarily framed her in a wash of crimson. A sense of peace flowed over me. Not for the first time and certainly not the last. Finally, I had found myself. With her.

And life was good.

SOME PASTRY TERMS

Chef de pâtissier: pastry chef

Gâteau: rich, elaborate sponge cake that can be molded into shapes, typically containing layers of crème, fruit, or nuts

Pâtisserie(s): pastry/pastries

Brioche(s): a soft, rich bread with a high egg and butter content

Pain aux raisins: a flaky pastry filled with raisins and custard

Chaussons aux pommes: French apple turnovers

Pâte à choux: a light, buttery puff pastry dough

Éclair: oblong dessert made of choux pastry filled with cream and topped with icing (often chocolate)

Tarte au citron: lemon tart

Macaron: a meringue-based confectionary sandwich filled with various flavored ganache, creams, or jams

Croquembouche: a cone-shaped tower of confection created out of caramel-dipped, cream-filled pastry puffs and swathed in spun sugar threads, often served at French weddings or on special occasions

Saint-Honoré: a dessert named for the patron saint of bakers and pastry chefs

Pâte feuilletée: a light, flaky puff pastry

Vanilla crème pâtissière: vanilla pastry cream

Hazelnut crème chiboust: a pastry cream lightened with Italian meringue

Paris-brest: a wheel-shaped dessert made of pâte à choux and filled with praline cream. Created in 1910 by chef Louis Durand to commemorate the Paris-Brest, a bicycle race.