Divine in Lingerie (Lingerie 9)

“What about Vanessa?”

“Don’t worry about her. She’ll be happy for us.”

“I don’t know…she just lost the man she loves. She doesn’t want to watch anyone get married.”

“We’re family. It’ll make her happy.”

“I feel selfish for even thinking about it…”

I lowered my face so I could rest my forehead against hers. I spent every waking moment with this woman, and the time we spent preparing for the baby made me love her in a new way. I felt like we were a family even though we weren’t married yet, even though we didn’t have a child yet. It was hard to believe I was ever a jerk to her in the past. “You aren’t being selfish, Muse. The world doesn’t stop because of Vanessa.”

“I want to go to Florence and see her. Make sure she’s okay with it.”

I loved my sister, but I didn’t need her approval for anything. “That’s unnecessary.”

“I want to check on her anyway. Then maybe we could do the ceremony at your parents’ place. I’ll just have to get my dress let out…”

“You know I can do that for you.”

“You aren’t supposed to see the dress, remember?”

“Then Lars can do it.”

“No, he’s too old for that.”

“Trust me, he enjoys it,” I said. “Doing stuff for the family keeps him happy. So, you want to do this?”

She nodded. “I want to be Mrs. Barsetti.”

Hearing her call herself that only made me want her more. I couldn’t wait to hear people call her that, to refer to her as my wife. She wore my last name just as well as she wore my lingerie. “I do too.”

According to my father, Vanessa had her own gallery in Florence. It was in the center of town, right next door to a bakery. Her apartment was above the gallery, a two-bedroom space my father approved of. A cobblestone road was in front of it, the sidewalk packed with motorbikes. People were walking down the sidewalks, their coffees and shopping bags in hand. Florence was different from Milan because it was much smaller, packed with antique shops and small restaurants.

Muse seemed to love it as much as Milan. “I like it here.”

“It’s the capital of Tuscany.” I parked on the side of the road, squeezing in between two small cars. My father told me this was where Vanessa had been spending her time. She was still just as devastated as she was a month ago, never leaving her gallery or the apartment upstairs. She kept to herself, dealing with her misery in solitude. I didn’t just come here because Muse wanted to check in on my sister.

I was worried about her too.

She’d made her feelings for Griffin very clear, that she loved him in a way she would never love anyone else. I could hear the sincerity in her voice when she spoke, the way it cracked a little when there was so much emotion in her throat. I recognize the love in her eyes, because it was the same love that was in mine.

I was happy Griffin was gone, but I was sad my sister was in so much pain.

Muse and I entered the gallery, and fortunately, no one else was inside. The walls were covered with paintings, and I wasn’t surprised that most of them contained the man she loved. There was one image in particular that was too uncomfortable for me to look at. It showed him in her bed, shirtless with the sheets around his waist. I didn’t like to picture Vanessa with men, even though I wasn’t ignorant to the fact that she was a grown woman. It made me sick to my stomach.

Muse glanced at all the paintings, and instead of being disgusted by the one I hated, she actually smiled when she looked at it.

I grabbed her arm and gently pulled her away, not wanting my fiancée to look at Bones shirtless. The guy might be an enemy to my family, but there was no denying he was a handsome man.

Vanessa came around the corner, wearing jeans and a white V-neck. Her dark hair was pulled back in a loose bun, and there was no denying she’d lost several inches around her waist. She was already thin to begin with, and she didn’t need to lose any weight. The scar from the gunshot was still visible on her left arm. Her olive skin contrasted against the white shirt she wore. It took her a moment to recognize us because it seemed like she was deep in thought. “Sapphire? Conway?” She blinked a few times before she finally allowed a smile to creep onto her lips. “What are you guys doing here?”

“Wanted to see your new gallery,” Muse said. “And it looks amazing. You did a great job with it.” Muse moved in and hugged her, turning slightly to the side to get her stomach out of the way. She held Vanessa for a while, supporting her friend with a warm embrace.