Now I regretted introducing her to them. They’d already included her in the family. I knew Muse treasured those relationships because she didn’t have a family of her own. She loved my sister, and now she loved my parents. And they loved her just as much.
But it got me into deep shit. “I’m glad I have your approval.”
“You don’t need my approval, son. But I want you to know you have it. I’ll see you when you get back. Your mother and I want to hear about the show.”
“Of course. Talk to you later.”
“Love you, Con.”
My dad didn’t normally say that when we were getting off the phone, so I knew he was worried about me being out of the country. I was the last person he needed to be concerned about. I had even more money than he did, and my security team were retired Navy SEALs. But at the end of the day, I was his son. “I love you too, Dad.”
I boarded the plane, and the flight attendant shut the door, locking it behind me. I moved to the seat beside Muse in the center of the plane, the seat I had to take until we were in the air. I buckled myself in and rested my ankle on the opposite knee, waiting for takeoff.
“This plane is beautiful,” Muse said. “The bathroom…is like a regular bathroom. I’ve never seen that before. And the bedroom is so nice. If I could fly like this everywhere, I would travel across the world.”
And I would love to take her around the world. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Who were you on the phone with?” She didn’t ask questions like that often, but I knew she was just making conversation.
If this were three months ago, I would have told her off for asking. Now, it didn’t bother me. “My father.”
“Is he coming to New York?”
“No. Too much work to do here.”
The plane approached the runway and prepared for takeoff. “That’s too bad. I was hoping to see them.”
My parents loved her—and now she loved them. “He said my mom enjoyed seeing you the other day.”
“She did?” she asked with a smile. “She’s so nice. And easy to talk to.”
I wasn’t close to my mom the way I was with my father. But she’d been a great mom. I didn’t have a single complaint. She was smart, elegant, and did a good job raising me. As I aged, I realized most people didn’t have what I had—and I wasn’t referring to money. “She’s great.”
“My mom was always difficult,” she said. “Kinda distant with a hint of depression. She was never the same after my father died. And I wasn’t close with him either. You’re lucky your parents are so involved in your life.”
I was a grown man, and my father still said he loved me. I pretended I didn’t need to hear it, but when I felt warmth touch my soul when he showed his affection, I knew I did need to hear it. All I did was give her a nod because I wasn’t sure what else to say.
The plane took off, cruising into the sky at exceptional speed. We leaned back, our weight shifting into the seats. We stayed like that for several minutes before the plane leveled off.
“I have a question.”
I unbuckled my safety belt. “Alright.”
“Why do you live in Verona? You’re hardly at the office in Milan, so why don’t you live closer to your parents?”
I’d bought that house after living in Milan for a few years. I’d started making serious money, and I wanted to live somewhere nice and close to work. That was almost ten years ago. “I started my career in Milan, so I didn’t have much of a choice on where to live. It’s the fashion capital of the world. I was working sixteen-hour days to make it big. Once money started to come in, I decided to buy a nice place outside the city—somewhere with peace and quiet. I didn’t purchase the property with the intention of staying away from my parents.”
“But now that you work from home most of the time, why don’t you move back to Florence?”
The question was odd, and I suspected her curiosity had something to do with her lunch with my mom. “Why do you ask?”
“Your mother told me your parents wished you live closer.”
My heart immediately throbbed in sadness. I hated disappointing them. I hated knowing they missed me.
“She said your father has never gotten used to the distance.”
And now it felt like she’d stepped right on my heart.
“Maybe you should sell that place and buy something close to them,” she suggested. “That seems like something you might enjoy.”
“Did my mother ask you to say this?”
“No. But I think it would make both of you happy.”
Returning to Tuscany sounded nice. I loved the heat and the mild winters. I would love to see my parents on a regular basis. After everything they did for me, I would love nothing more than to make them happy. “I can’t move back right now, not when Vanessa is in Milan. She’d be there alone.”