Fee set a platter of pasta in the middle of the candlelit table on the patio and smiled. “That’s the last of it.”
“Smells wonderful, vita mia.” Marco pushed to his feet and reached for the wine bottle.
“Thank you, my paramour.” Fee flashed a quick grin at Marco, then sat beside him and looked at me. “So your father didn’t fess up to anything, I hear, Luc.”
A knot formed in my gut as I swept up my refilled glass and took a deep drink, hating that the question had been posed in front of Natalie, trying not to look at her from the corner of my eye at the same time. The Romano red was sweeter than my father’s wine but I didn’t care. Tonight, it was the one indulgence I was allowed, and I didn’t care if I got shit-faced drunk. In fact, I was counting on that happening so I could keep my hands off the woman at my side.
“No.” I swallowed, trying to act calm and casual when I was literally on fucking fire. “Not really a surprise, though.”
I couldn’t stop myself from noticing Natalie’s reaction. Even in the dim lights interwoven through the wisteria and pergola above, I could see the way her jawline tightened at my words, telling me loud and clear keeping my distance was my latest master fuckup. And, dammit, who could blame her? This conversation was quickly making it sound as if I was hiding things from her, which, technically, I was, but...
Shiiiiit.
I swallowed another mouthful of wine.
“Marco said Dante was in pretty bad shape.” Fee spooned pasta onto her plate.
Natalie’s back stiffened. For a second, as Fee passed her the bowl of fettuccini and she reached for it, her silky dark hair swaying over her slim shoulder, I thought I saw smoke rise from her ear.
Holy hell, we needed to get the subject off my damn family before I had a massive coronary.
“No, he wasn’t,” I managed, watching as Natalie took a small helping of pasta and shoved the bowl my way without even looking at me. “We patched him up, though.”
“In a day or two, he’ll be back to his normal sarcastic self.” Marco grinned across from me as he moved a slice of porchetta from the platter to his plate, then handed the serving tray to Fee with a kiss to her cheek. “Don’t worry, vita mia.”
Natalie reached for her wine and downed a large sip, quickly averting her eyes as Fee turned and kissed Marco on the lips and the two exchanged whispered words.
My discomfort ramped up even more. I’d never been bothered by Marco and Fee’s familiar displays of affection, but tonight, every time Fee casually ran her fingers over Marco’s arm or Marco nonchalantly skimmed his lips against Fee’s temple, I felt a jolt in my own skin. Not from them but from remembering what it felt like when Natalie had touched me like that back before our relationship had turned to pure shit.
I downed half of my wine, hoping it would settle this craving inside me. It didn’t. And at my side, I could tell Natalie was just as uncomfortable as me, but for very different reasons.
Thankfully, Marco took pity on me and steered the conversation away from Dante and our meeting with my father earlier in the day and drew Natalie into a conversation about the wine and her walk through the property while we’d been gone.
Natalie answered where appropriate, but I could tell from her tone she was itching to get out of this dinner as quickly as humanely possible. And bloody hell, I wanted that too, but I was dreading taking her back to the cottage because I didn’t have a fucking clue what I’d do with her when we got there. Or how the hell I was going to keep my hands off her once we were alone.
“Okay, let me see that ring,” Fee said later in the evening when the conversation waned, reaching across the table for Natalie’s hand. “It’s been blinding me all night.”
Natalie’s shoulders tensed, but she lifted her hand from her lap and stretched her arm across the table so Fee could take a closer look.
“Wow.” Fee turned Natalie’s hand right and left so the band caught the light just right, shimmering in the warm evening air. “That’s some ring.”
Natalie shrugged. “I suppose. I’m not all that wild about butterflies.”
“Why not? They’re one of the most amazing creatures on the planet.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” Natalie glanced my way with cold and very unfriendly eyes. “I guess I’m just not a fan of what butterflies represent.”
Fuck. Me.
“You’re not a fan of hope? Of strength? Of resilience?”
When Natalie shifted her gaze Fee’s way, Fee said, “The butterfly is revered in almost every culture. In early Christianity, it was a symbol of the soul. In China, the butterfly represents joy and bliss. In Native American cultures, it’s considered a miracle of resurrection. And all over the world, the butterfly is a figure of power, not only because of its ability to transform and adapt, but because it’s a metaphor for the never-ending cycle of life.” She looked down at Natalie’s ring, turning it once more. “The butterfly’s a pretty damn amazing symbol, if you ask me.”
Natalie didn’t respond. Just looked down at the ring with an unreadable expression. And in the silence, I couldn’t stop myself from wondering what she was thinking. Or keep from hoping like hell she’d actually heard what Fee had just told her.
Fee glanced my way. “Harry Winston?”
I didn’t respond. I didn’t need to, though. I saw the way just the question made Natalie’s back stiffen.
Fee’s gaze drifted back to the ring. “I’m going to guess at least nine carats. Probably ten or eleven. And definitely custom.”
Natalie still didn’t look my way. But to Fee, she said, “How do you know so much about diamonds?”
Fee grinned. “Personal hobby.”
With his arm slung over the back of Fee’s chair, Marco huffed and reached for his wine. “Personal obsession, more like.”
Fee slanted him a look. “Someday, I’m going to have the most gaudy, expensive diamond on the planet.”
Marco leaned close and kissed her cheek again, and watching made me wish like hell I could kiss Natalie like that. On her cheek, on her neck, on every inch of her fucking luscious body.
Since it was pretty clear I was getting the cold shoulder tonight, I downed the rest of my wine instead.
“I’d buy it for you now if you’d let me, vita mia.”
Fee playfully leaned away from Marco’s lips and shook her head, still smiling. “Not now, paramour.” With a conspiratorial glance my way, she added, “But hopefully soon.”
I frowned, knowing just what the hell Fee was insinuating. Just as I knew what she wanted me to do was the very last thing I was even close to ready for.
Fee was unfazed by my reaction. She went back to studying Natalie’s ring, not the least bit intimidated by me—dammit. “The wide band is an interesting choice. Most women don’t wear bands quite so big. Makes a more dramatic statement than a solitaire, though. You did good, Luc.”
The praise was lost on me. The only person I’d wanted to impress with the ring hadn’t said a damn thing about it until now. And considering that now I knew she pretty much hated it, I wished she hadn’t said a word.
Natalie swiped up her wine as soon as Fee let go of her hand. “He had to go with a wide band to cover the slave marking he tattooed on my finger.”