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.