The Pairing(120)

Thank you especially to Anthony Bourdain for World Travel, No Reservations, and just about everything.

As for the brilliant experts and locals who taught me about history, food, and drink, a written thanks here hardly feels like enough. Thank you to my Florentine history guide, Gian; to my Barcelona chocolate guide, Carla; to my tapas guide, Boris of Food Lover Tours (who told me the wine bottle story that Fabrizio tells in the Naples section); to Pierre, who drove me around Paris in an antique Citro?n; to Angelo for the Vespa tour of Rome; to Ciao Florence Tours for a sweaty and magnificent day trip through Tuscany; and to Michelle for the Parisian pastry tour. Thank you to Sara of Villa Le Barone for answering my questions about which specific flowers and trees would be in bloom during late August/early September in Chianti. Thank you to my friends Carol Ann, Brenden, and Joey for joining me in France and Spain and speaking more French than me. Huge, huge thanks to Sarah Looper of il Buco for looking over my pages and saving my life with your big somm brain.

Thank you, as always, to my best friend and writing partner, Sasha Peyton Smith, for always encouraging the most indulgent choice; to my family for your unwavering love and support; and to the love of my life, Kris, who was unflaggingly patient as I made so many messes in the kitchen and accumulated so many bottles of wine over the course of writing this book. Thank you to all of my friends who devoured early drafts and told me exactly how horny was horny enough.

And of course, thank you, Reader. I hope you finish this book with a desire to have a second helping of something delicious, try something you can’t pronounce on a menu, and make the most indulgent choice. Settle for nothing less than the most.

Love you. Sluts forever.





ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Sylvie Rosokoff

Casey McQuiston is a No.1 New York Times-bestselling author of romantic comedies, including One Last Stop, I Kissed Shara Wheeler, and Red, White & Royal Blue, whose writing has appeared in The New York Times, Condé Nast Traveler, and Bon Appétit. Born and raised in southern Louisiana, Casey now lives in New York City with a poodle mix named Pepper.