He patted me on the back then gave me an affectionate look. He didn’t hug me the way he usually did, our last few conversations still palpable between us. I’d done a lot of things to disappoint him, and while he still loved me, it wasn’t the same as before.
My mom came in next, and like nothing had happened at all, she embraced me on the doorstep. She hugged me tightly, like she was still the mother of a young boy. Her hands gripped me with motherly affection. “Hey, Con. You look good.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I kissed her on each cheek before I pulled away. “And you look nice, like always.”
Vanessa came next, giving me a glare instead of a hug. “Con.”
I rolled my eyes. “Vanessa.”
We moved into the dining room, where my parents greeted Muse with a hug. They talked to her for a bit before they allowed Vanessa a moment to say hello. My sister and Muse hugged, and then Dante poured the wine.
We gathered around the table and sat down, immediately breaking into the bread and butter.
I sat beside Muse, aware of how awkward this gathering was. Muse had been gone for three months, and everyone knew it was because of me. I’d thrown this beautiful woman away and forced her to return to New York and move on without me.
They all judged me for it.
But no more than I did.
My father started the conversation. “Are you happy to be back?”
“Very,” Muse said. “I was born and raised in New York, but Italy is my home. This place is my home…” Her eyes shifted to me for a moment. “And it’s nice to see you guys again. You’ve always been so nice to me, made me feel welcome.”
“Because you’re a sweetheart,” my mother said affectionately. “And any woman who can get my son to straighten up is wonderful in my opinion.”
Muse smiled then tore off another piece of bread.
Vanessa kept up her glare. “Don’t fuck it up again, alright?”
My father snapped his head in her direction. “Vanessa.” He only used her name, but that was enough to get her to settle down.
Vanessa dropped her glare and avoided his gaze by drinking her wine.
My sister annoyed the shit out of me, but her heart was always in a good place. “She’s right. And don’t worry, Vanessa. I won’t.”
She raised her glass to me. “I’ll drink to that.”
Muse couldn’t hide the smirk on her face.
We dug into our meal, and like the last three months had never happened, the conversation started to feel normal. Vanessa talked about school, my mom mentioned the winery, and they asked Muse what she would be doing while living here.
“I’ll still be helping Conway with his business,” she said. “He just submitted a new line of designs to his assistant. He’s trying to push the release right before the holidays.”
“That’s great, Con,” Mom said. “I’m glad to hear you’re back at work.”
Only because my inspiration had returned. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d stared at that sketchbook without a single thought in my head. When I jerked off to her pictures, I wasn’t inspired by that either. She was wearing another man’s lingerie, pieces I didn’t respect, so that didn’t unleash my creativity either.
Only when she was back in my arms and under my roof did I put my pencil to the paper. I let the emotions and hormones guide my hand, and I constructed something that was vaguely apparent in my mind.
“Will you be doing any modeling?” my father asked.
“No.” I spoke before Muse had a chance to answer. After seeing sensual pictures of her online and in magazines, I was determined to hide her from the public eye. As long as she was my woman, the only time she would be photographed was when my arm was wrapped around her waist.
My father gave me a look of amusement. “No surprise there.”
“I enjoy helping with the horses,” Muse said. “But now that winter is coming, I’ll need to find something else to do. I would try cooking, but Dante is very particular about who he allows in his kitchen.”
“Why don’t you just do nothing?” Vanessa asked. “It’s what most women do when they’re with a rich dude.”
“Because I’ll get bored,” Muse said with a chuckle. “I can only work out so many hours a day. After that, I need to do something else. Working in the stables is nice because there’s always something to do with the horses. But once winter comes, Marco won’t need me anymore.”
“Maybe you should take some classes,” Vanessa said. “Learn Italian.”
“Yeah,” Muse said. “That’s a—”
“She’s not taking any classes,” I interrupted. “If she wants to learn Italian, she has me.”
Vanessa took a long drink of her wine, showing her obvious irritation for me.
Just like when I was a boy, I wanted to rip off a piece of bread and throw it across the table and hit her in the face. “Father, how’s the winery?” There was always something new going on at the family business, so that should get them talking for a while.