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My phone started to ring, but it was a number I didn’t recognize. I answered it, just in case it was him. “Hello?”
“Hey, Vanessa. How are you?”
The masculine voice sounded familiar, but I couldn’t figure out how I recognized it. “Fine…who is this?”
“You’re kidding me, right?” he asked, slightly angry. “I’ve called you before. You didn’t think I was important enough to be added to your contacts?”
After listening to a few more words, I figured it out. “Max?”
“Yes. Took you long enough.”
“Sorry. I’ll add it this time. Did you need something?”
“No. I’m calling to see if you need anything. It’s my job, remember? I know you’re staying with your parents, but I wanted to check in anyway.”
“How did you know that?”
“Bones told me before he left. And I’ve got your tracker location…”
I didn’t mind that Bones had that information, but it felt weird when someone else had it. “Good to know.”
“So, let me know if you need anything. I can get to you in two hours if you ever need it.”
“I’m not going to need anything, Max. But thanks for offering. By chance…have you talked to him?” He’d only been gone a day, but it felt like a lifetime.
“I just got off the phone with him. He landed in Sydney.”
“Oh…how long do you think it’ll be before he comes home?”
“Anxious, huh?” he asked with a chuckle. “You remind me of Cynthia.”
“I take that as a compliment.” I would worry about Bones until he returned, until I could see him in one piece.
“The job is pretty simple. He could be on the flight back in two days. The man needs to sleep.”
“Will you check in with him again?”
“I will pretty often, actually. Why?”
“Could you tell him I love him?” He already knew how I felt. I said it when he left, tears streaming down my face. I didn’t need to say it now, but I wanted Bones to understand I was thinking about him every moment until he returned.
Max didn’t tease me for it. “Yeah, sure.”
“Also, tell him he better get back to me in one piece…otherwise, I’ll shoot him again.”
Max chuckled. “There’s the woman he fell so hard for. I’ll be sure to tell him.” He hung up.
I went downstairs and joined my family for dinner. Lars made chicken piccata, salad, and fresh bread. I sat on one side of the dining table while they sat on the other. My father was dressed down in a gray t-shirt and black sweatpants that hung low on his hips. In some places, his skin hinted at his age, but his youthful physique made him seem fifteen years younger. Mom was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, what she usually wore around the house.
My father and I hadn’t talked since our conversation that morning in his office. It was quiet when I sat down, and we started eating without saying a word to each other. My mom didn’t even say anything, and she was the one always trying to make small talk.
“Thanks for letting me stay here.” I had to say something to break the silence, to interrupt the awkwardness that settled between us. While this place felt like home, I knew this was their domain now. I’d moved out of the house years ago and started my own life, so my childhood bedroom wasn’t mine anymore.
“You don’t need to thank us, sweetheart,” Mom said. “This will always be your home. Stay as long as you want.”
“Stay forever,” my father said. “We wouldn’t care in the least.”
“Be careful what you say,” I teased. “This place is pretty big. I could raise a whole family on the second floor, and you wouldn’t even know they were there.”
“You know how much I want grandkids, so that’s fine with me,” Mom said. “I would never say this to Conway, but I wish they’d decided to move closer so I could see my grandbaby more often. Milan is just so far away. If we didn’t have our winery, we would have left a long time ago to be closer to you two.”
“Well, Griffin and I will be here. I don’t know about kids right now…but eventually.”
My father kept eating despite what I said, but my mother stilled at my words. “You guys intend to move here permanently?”
“He knows that’s what I want.”
“And did he agree to give it to you?” Mom asked.
I nodded. “He knows how important you are to me. I loved living in Milan, but ever since I’ve been here, I haven’t missed it. Florence is close by, so I could open my gallery there. In the wintertime, we’ll probably go to Lake Garda because that’s where Griffin likes to spend his winters. But the rest of the time, we can be here.”
Whether my mom liked Griffin or not, having me close by would make her dreams come true. She wanted both Conway and me to be right down the road, but just having one of us would be enough. “Your father told me about your conversation this morning…”
