My mother and sister were sitting together at the table with their glasses of red sangria. But a third person had joined them.
Muse.
She fucking disobeyed me.
In a long blue dress with her hair in curls, she looked like a supermodel ready for a fashion shoot. She wore tan strappy sandals and a large sunhat to keep the sun off her shoulders. With her legs crossed and perfect grace, she looked like the model who was the headliner of my show.
When she heard us approach, she turned to look at me.
With a big fucking smile on her face.
Oh, this was intentional.
If my family wasn’t there right that moment, I might actually have slapped her.
And slapped her fucking hard.
“Hey, honey.” Muse rose to greet me, her drink still in her hand. She walked up to me, carrying all the confidence in the world. She had me by the balls, and she knew it. She tilted her head up to kiss me, her eyes full of glee.
It was the only time when I truly didn’t want to kiss her. I didn’t want to feel those arrogant lips against mine. I wanted to grab her by the hair and yank her into my bedroom. Just when I thought I’d claimed the upper hand in this arrangement, she fucked me over. “Hey, baby.” I craned my neck down and gave her the coldest kiss I’d ever given anyone. I even kissed my mother on the cheek better than that.
She turned to my father and extended her hand. “So nice to meet you, Mr. Barsetti. Your son talks about you often. I’m Sapphire.”
My dad eyed me before he took her hand, and unfortunately, a small smile spread across his lips.
Shit.
He shook her hand and turned his gaze back to her. “It’s lovely to meet you as well.” He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.
Fuck, my dad never kissed a woman on the cheek except my sister.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Sapphire asked. “Your son tells me you like scotch. I’m a scotch drinker too.”
This couldn’t be happening.
My dad smiled again. “I’d love some, sweetheart.”
No. No. No.
“Coming right up.” Muse walked to the bar to prepare the drinks.
My father turned back to me once she was out of earshot. “She seems like a lovely woman.”
I could tell my dad already liked her—and he didn’t like anyone.
Mom joined our conversation, grinning wider than I’d ever seen her. “Why didn’t you tell us about your girlfriend?”
Muse had caught me off guard, and I didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t tell my parents the truth, so I had to lie. I was at her mercy because she’d outsmarted me. “I wanted it to be a surprise, I guess.”
Mom turned to my father. “They live together.”
My father’s expression hardened slightly. “So she’s more than just your girlfriend.”
Fuck.
Vanessa joined our huddle. “Con, I really like her. I always thought you’d be into dumb bimbos, but I guess I was wrong. She’s awesome.”
“I like her too,” Mom said. “She’s sweet.”
I kept my features steady, but a storm was brewing deep inside me. Muse had crossed a line with this. She was making my family believe in a lie—and I didn’t lie to my family. She was messing with their hopes and feelings.
I could strangle her.
Muse returned with two glasses of scotch. She handed one to my father and one to me.
She didn’t even ask what I wanted. She just knew. And she just proved to my family that she knew me too.
I definitely had underestimated this woman.
* * *
Vanessa sat beside Muse, immediately taking a liking to her. “So, when did this start?”
I sat across from Muse, and I eyed her coldly in response. If she wanted to continue with this lie, she’d be the one making it up.
“About six months.” She held her glass of sangria and took a drink before she set it down. “And then he asked me to move in with him three weeks ago.”
That last part was partially true, but I never asked her to move in with me—I told her to.
“Aww,” Vanessa said. “I didn’t think my brother had a romantic bone in his body.”
She was right. I didn’t.
Mom turned to me, accusation in her eyes. “I’m surprised my son didn’t tell me he’s been seeing someone for six months…” Disappointment was in her eyes, lots of it.
I glared at Muse harder.
“Since we work together, he wanted to keep it a secret for a while.” Muse continued to lie effortlessly, doing so well, I almost believed her too. “I did a few photo shoots with him, and we didn’t want the other models to feel like he was giving me priority because of our romantic relationship.”
“That’s why you look so familiar,” Vanessa said. “You were the headliner of his last show.”
“Yes,” Muse said. “I was. Conway is a brilliant designer. I’m honored I get to wear his clothes.”