I lay in the lounge chair next to the water, my body drying off after my dip in the water. The pool overlooked the rest of the property, including the barn and stables in the distance. I could be out there working my ass off in the heat, and I was glad I was lounging by the pool today instead. I was there every single day of the week, so it was nice to do something else for a change. “How are your art classes going?”
“There are days when I love it and days when I don’t love it so much.” She swam to the steps of the pool and sat down so most of her body was still submerged in the water. “The days I love it are days when we’re actually painting. The days I hate it are when we’re learning about art history and blah, blah…” Her sunglasses covered her eyes, but it seemed like she was rolling them. “I understand why it’s important to understand the various periods of art history and whatnot, but sometimes it’s a real snoozefest.”
I chuckled, finding Vanessa’s personality refreshing. Conway and his father were both intense men, quiet and constantly brooding. They said very little with words and spoke more with their silence. His mother didn’t share that level of severity, but she wasn’t as blunt as her daughter. Vanessa was totally real, spitting out her honest thoughts regardless of how they made her look. She wasn’t committed to being the perfect student. There were things she didn’t care about, and she was upfront about it.
“Did you go to school?”
I tried not to pause for too long before I gave my response. Lying was a lot more difficult than I realized. Whatever I said to her, I would have to remember it and repeat it to the rest of his family. “I went to college for business, but I dropped out when I couldn’t afford it anymore. I moved here to pursue a modeling career because it didn’t cost any money.”
“I heard university in America is expensive. My art school isn’t cheap, but that’s because it’s private.”
“So you want to be a professional artist?”
“I guess,” she said. “There’s no such thing as a professional artist. I guess I just wanted to get better at my art since I enjoy doing it. More than likely, I’ll just work for the winery and do a few pieces on the side. But I wanted to try something different now rather than regret it later.”
“Makes sense.”
“My parents think I’m a great artist, but they’re my parents…of course, they’re going to say that.”
“What does Conway think?”
“He says my paintings are amazing.” She shook her head slightly. “But he’s blind like my parents.”
“Seems pretty sweet to me.”
“He can be sometimes,” she said. “He pretends he hates me with some of the bullshit he says, but all of his actions indicate otherwise. He’s more protective of me than my own parents. It’s ridiculous. Is he like that with you?”
I couldn’t hold back the chuckle that launched from my throat. “Very.”
“How do you stand him?” she asked seriously. “He’s too much sometimes.”
I knew he cared about his sister a lot. I saw it every single time he was around her. Her opinion of him meant the world to him. If it didn’t, he wouldn’t have compromised with me. I knew he didn’t want to do it. He didn’t want to treat me like a real person. He preferred to keep me as a prisoner that he could enjoy whenever he felt like it, but his sister’s opinion humbled him. It forced him to be a better man. And I liked it when he was a better man. “He has a lot of good qualities…even though he doesn’t show them too often.”
“But he must show them to you more often than the rest of the world. Anytime I see him on TV or at work, he’s like a robot. He doesn’t even seem happy. He’s so focused, and he looks totally miserable.”
“He just concentrates really hard…” And looks incredibly sexy as he does it.
“So that’s how you met? You became one of his models?”
“Yeah. I auditioned to be in his lineup, and it just took off from there…”
“When did you move in?”
I tried to keep my timetable straight. “About a month ago.”
She left the steps and started to swim across the pool. She moved to the other side and leaned against the steps over there. “Does that mean you love my brother?”
This whole conversation was a lie, so it should be easy for me to spit out another one. But when I thought about the way Conway made me feel, I didn’t know what to say. He was kind to me when I first met him. Sometimes he spat out rude comments here and there, but he was still good to me. He was gentle with me, even made me feel safe. If he were totally evil, he wouldn’t have given me an advance in pay. He would have told me to get on my knees and work for it. And he certainly wouldn’t have dropped a fortune just to save me. When I considered all of that, I knew I respected him.