35. Epilogue
35
EPILOGUE
I cast my eye over the new gallery. Not a thing looked out of place. Esmé had fit the space out alone. Modern, sleek and understated—just like her. She’d named it Galleria dei Piaceri. The name could be roughly translated as Gallery of Pleasures. Heat filled my body. The two of us had certainly tested out the name since she moved to Italy.
Though not a permanent move, she’d bought a little apartment in a piazza close by. I spent so much time there, my grandfather joked he’d forgotten what I looked like. Esmé and Gio got on like a house on fire. She’d breathed life into him. Despite their business relationship, he and my grandmother treated her like one of the family. That suited me just fine.
“Es?” I shouted. My voice echoed around the exposed brickwork and the high stucco ceilings. She’d been a ball of nerves all week, but I’d helped keep her on an even keel with plenty of coffee and a heavy dose of what we did best—play.
I pulled my brows together. Where was she? I swear she’d been here just a moment ago, bent over her desk, checking some detail in her outsized folio. The subtle movement of her bottom beneath her dress as she wrote had mesmerised me .
With Esmé in my peripheral vision, I’d struggled to keep my mind on my conversation with Antonio.
AltoNube—and our entire adventure tourism empire—was soaring. I’d always seen Antonio as the money man, but he had a knack for marketing too, launching MattitudeX into the stratosphere. With a new lodge planned in Canada and heavyweight brand deals rolling in, I couldn’t be happier.
Still, my favourite place to be was with Esmé. Splitting my time between my business and the gallery meant I was finally helping fulfill my grandfather’s dream. And more importantly, spending plenty of time with the woman I was completely in love with.
“Are you there?” I called.
“Mhmm,” came a muffled response.
I walked around the corner, inhaling a slug of Es’s delicious perfume before I saw her.
She stood at the little window next to the storeroom, her nose nearly pressed against the glass. With her hands clamped at the sides of her head, she pulled her skin back, tightening her features.
“What are you doing?” I asked, sliding a hand over her back as I caught her reflection in the glass.
She met my gaze, her eyes gleaming. “Nothing. I’m just checking out what I’d look like if I had a facelift.” She gave a flick of her eyebrows. “Now I’m a cougar, I need to keep myself in tip-top condition.”
I shook my head. “Please, stop it." I tucked in behind her, letting my cheek brush against hers. "Four years doesn’t make you a cougar—it barely makes you an experienced house cat.”
She giggled, nudging me with her elbow. “I’m only experimenting. Estelle has offered to fly Iris and I to Switzerland to get some work done. Neither of us would go, of course, but I was wondering how I’d end up looking.”
Estelle du Comtois, Luc’s grandmother, was known for her love of health spas and her flamboyant clothes. I shook my head, staring into the window alongside Esmé. “I love you, and I’d never stop you from doing anything you want, but if you ever change your face, there’ll be dire consequences. And…,” I kissed her pink cheek, “I’d much rather you did any experimenting with me along for the ride.”
Esmé removed her hands, and her face dropped into its usual natural beauty. She turned to face me. “That’s fighting talk.”
“Not really, unless fighting’s the kind of experimenting you had in mind. You’d look great in boxing gloves and a pair of tiny shorts.”
Esmé tipped her head, offering me the swathe of creamy skin at her neck. I obliged, pressing my lips into her. “But I love you just the way you are. You’re beautiful and if you so much as go near a scalpel, I’ll go and live in that Alpine monastery Marianne Rossi is so keen to visit.”
She turned to me, her eyes wide with delight. “You wouldn’t.”
I quirked a brow at her. “I might. I could commit myself to a life of silent squirrel-keeping. You never know. I might obtain Nirvana while I'm there.”
She giggled. Though Marianne and Alessandro had eventually invested in the new gallery, Marianne remained a slightly irritating thorn in Esmé’s side. There was rarely a day when we didn’t hear from her.
Es ran her hand over my chest. Under her fingers, the cool fabric of my shirt dragged over my skin, sending a shiver straight to my trousers.
“Are you saying I don’t deliver you to Nirvana?” Her voice was husky and low.
I pulled her close, my fingers curling into the fabric of her dress. “Every single time. But I’ll be honest—I’m a little worried you’ll wear me out. Maybe one of those old monasteries has a secret spring of eternal youth. I might need it.”
Our lips hovered millimetres apart as I pressed into her. She glanced down, then shook her head with a sigh. “Not this morning. If we don’t get a move on, we’ll be dealing with eternal drama—not eternal youth.”
“One kiss?” I whispered.
The corners of her lips bowed upward. “Just one.”She leaned into me, but stopped short, widening her eyes. “That's not monks.”
“What isn’t?” I ground out, wishing we could forget about monastic life and focus on enjoying each other.
“Nirvana. That’s Buddhism.”
I pulled my brows, a smirk on my lips. “No, that’s no good. I don’t have the right skin tone for orange robes.”
She wrinkled her nose, batting my chest playfully.
“Careful,” I whispered. “That's assault. I’ll set my squirrels on you.”
This time she grinned, and it set the very depths of my soul afire. I loved her so much.
Our lips met, and I breathed her in, curling my tongue around hers and running my hands a little higher up her thighs. Being here right now—with Esmé pressed close against my body—was all the nirvana I could ever ask for.
Our kiss deepened and Esmé let out a quiet moan, running her hands over my buttocks. But as a low clunk sounded behind us, she pulled away, looking over my shoulder.
“Was that the door?”
I brought my lips to her collarbone. “I don’t care.”
“But I do. I haven’t finished the flowers and there’s so many people coming to the opening. Your grandfather’s put the word out far and wide. It’s going to be busier than St. Mark's Square in summer.”
I chuckled. “I hope it’ll be a little less smelly than Venice. ”
I kissed along her collarbone, willing her to come back to me. But when there was a definite scrape of something on the floor, she grasped my buttocks in a vice-like grip.
“No. There’s definitely someone at the front.”
She pulled away from me, smoothing her dress. When she was happy the pleats were in place, she stared at my groin. “What about you?”
I followed her gaze to the solid bulge at my fly.
“I think a little less obvious would be better,” she said. “You don’t want to frighten the customers.”
I tucked myself in as best I could, my dick screaming for attention. “Heaven forbid,” I said. “Though my current state might fit in with the gallery’s name.”
With a smile, Esmé headed off across the floor with me close behind. Her skirt rustled as she walked.
We stepped into the bright light of the gallery front. Esmé stopped short, her mouth gaping. “Oh, my goodness!”
A woman with cascading red curls stood at the door. She held a battered backpack in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. Her summer dress was faded, and her dusty hiking boots at odds with the elegance of the gallery.
Esmé rushed to her, arms outstretched. The woman’s eyes widened before she dropped her backpack with a heavy thud.
Hoping she wouldn’t do the same with the wine, I stepped in, plucking it from her grasp. She barely seemed to notice, her eyes glowing before she shut them and hugged Esmé tight.
I watched, trying to place her. She looked like she’d just emerged from a cross-country trek, yet Esmé clung to her like a long-lost sister.
After a round of breathless giggling, the two finally pulled apart. Esmé turned to me, grinning. “This is Chloe!”
Like that helped me.
"You know, Iris’s friend Chloe—the one she worked with at Luc’s before they got together. "
Her eyes glowed as she tucked her arm through her friend’s. My heart sank. There’d be no pleasure at the gallery today.
“Chloe,” she said, as if I was a toddler or needed a hearing aid. “Fun Chloe.”
A vague recollection of a group call nudged my memory. Esmé had sat up late into the night on Zoom, chatting and laughing with Iris and another woman. I’d spent the evening crashed out on the couch with Claudette purring in my lap. Life as a gigolo could be exhausting.
“The traveller?” I asked, stepping forward, offering my free hand.
“Yes. She’s come back specially for the gallery opening.” She ran her hands over her friend’s dress. “But I wasn’t expecting you until later.”
“I wasn’t expecting you at all,” I said.
Esmé winced. “Oh, merde . I’m sorry. Chloe, this is Matteo. He’s my?—”
“Personal sex slave and all-round gallery assistant,” I said with a smile. “Nice to meet you.”
Chloe’s face cracked into a grin. “Oh. That Matteo.”
Had they talked about me?
She shook my hand. “Well, I’m glad somebody owns one. I’ve barely stayed in one place long enough to have a personal sex slave. Do you have any friends in the same line of work?”
Esmé flashed me a look, almost begging me not to mention Antonio.
“How was your latest trip?” she asked, leading Chloe to one of the beautifully upholstered antique chairs she’d bought. “It must be weird being back in Europe.”
Chloe slumped into it, fanning her face with her hand. “Are you kidding? Rome is more hectic than India, and they have far more people. I was hoping for a little quiet.”
“But you have had fun, though?”
Chloe grinned. “It’s been amazing. But it’s time for a break. ”
“No more travelling?” Esmé asked.
“I haven’t decided,” she said. “But as Iris reminds me religiously, I can’t hold off growing up forever. She and Luc tell me I need to settle down—that I’m not getting any younger.”
I opened my mouth, about to suggest Chloe consider going with Luc’s grandmother to the spa for a facelift. Esmé’s eyes met mine, though, and she gave a tiny shake of her head. They held a glow of mischief, as if she knew what I’d say.
“Will you hang up your backpack for a while, then?”
Chloe stretched back into the embroidered cushion. “I’m not sure. Luc keeps offering to line me up with a nannying job for one of his friends until I can work out what to do.”
“Who?” asked Esmé
“Someone down on the coast. A single dad. He needs help looking after his kid for the summer, apparently. Luc’s invested in his restaurant. He has a house with a separate apartment, so it won’t be like we’ll be living in each other’s pockets. I’m not sure I’m cut out for the responsibility, but the way Luc describes the beach—I’m tempted.”
“Maxime?” Esmé, murmured. “He’s the only one of Luc’s friends I know has a child.”
Chloe nodded. “That rings a bell.”
Esmé’s mouth formed a tight line. “Wow. Okay. Well, if anyone can soothe his prickles, you can.”
The tiniest line formed between Chloe’s brows.
“But you look incredible, if a little sweaty,” Esmé said, placing a hand on her friend’s shoulder. “Do you want a shower?”
Chloe wrinkled her nose and smiled. “I’d love one. I apologise if you can smell me. Long-haul flights and bus journeys have a unique scent.”
“I have an apartment around the corner. I’m sure Matteo wouldn’t mind holding the fort while I show you.”
She looked at me, her eyes full of warmth. Even if her invitation meant no return to our earlier clinch, how could I say no?
“No problem.”
Es took her friend’s hand, pulling her out of the chair. “And you must stay. Unless of course, you’ve booked a hotel.”
Chloe laughed. “I’m not that organised.”
I grimaced. Maybe Chloe wasn’t ideally suited to life as a nanny, after all.
“Then stay with us. It’ll be fun.”
My heart sank when Chloe grinned and nodded at Esmé. I wanted her to have fun, but I’d wanted us to celebrate the gallery opening together on our own—later, with a bottle of wine and preferably naked.
“Is that okay with you?” she asked.
“Of course,” I said, taking her hand.
She curled her fingers around mine, then sent me a glorious smile, that made my dick nudge.
Chloe smiled too, only hers was playful. “I’ll let you two say goodbye. You probably spend all day together, but sometimes, three’s a crowd. I’ll wait outside.”
I couldn’t be more grateful. I didn’t want a return of the monster erection I’d sported earlier.
Esmé took my hand and led me to the back of the gallery, pushing me against her desk. She brought her lips to my ear.
“I’m sorry, Chloe and I haven’t caught up in ages. I don’t want to leave her without a place to stay.”
I almost mentioned that Iris could organise her a room in whatever palatial hotel she and Luc had booked into, but it was good to see Esmé happy. Having Chloe to focus on would help take her mind off the opening.
I kissed her upturned nose. “I understand, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy about it.”
“You’re not?” she whispered, bringing her lips to mine. Hers trembled a little at the corners. She knew I was completely fine, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t take advantage of the situation.
“I’m not. I’m furious.”
“Oh dear,” she said, pressing her knee against the growing “interest” in my trousers.
“It’s horrific,” I murmured, my heart beating faster. “And I expect you to make it up to me very soon. But I warn you, my demands will be heavy and extremely thorough.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Really?” Esmé ran her hand over my length, and I sucked in a breath.
“Absolutely. They’ll involve a lot of imagination and what we’ll do will be absolutely wild. Filthy. I just want to make sure you agree. Once we start, there’ll be no going back.”
She stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips to my ear. “Why would I ever want to go back? I love your kind of wildness. I’ll have to check my diary, though. Make sure I can find some time when the dust has settled here.”
Her eyes glowed, and my heart exploded with love. I adored it when she played along. She made sure I knew who was boss.
“I’ll wait,” I said, my breath coming fast. She closed her hand around me and brought her mouth to mine.
“I love you,” she murmured, then closed the gap between us.
As our lips met and our tongues entwined, I didn’t care about anything else. I wanted Esmé with me, wild or tame. She was everything I’d ever wanted. And the dust could settle whenever it liked. We had forever.