Chapter 40. Knox
I inhaled deeply as we stepped out of the car, savoring the familiar scent of earth and fruit.
Beside me, Florian stood perfectly still, his eyes wide as he took in the landscape.
He wore the outfit we'd selected together, chinos and a sweater in a shade that intensified the blue of his eyes, on top of a white shirt.
"It's beautiful," he whispered, his voice carrying a genuine awe that pleased me.
"It is," I agreed, placing my hand at his back. "Come. Let me show you around before everyone arrives."
The stone facade of the main building gleamed in the sunlight, ivy climbing one corner. Two of the estate caretakers emerged from the wide oak doors, smiling as they recognized me.
"Mr. Knox! Happy birthday, sir," called Alex, the vineyard manager who had overseen these grounds for nearly two decades. "Everything is prepared as you requested."
I shook his hand, feeling Florian shift slightly behind me. "Alex, this is Florian. Florian, this is the man responsible for many of the bottles of wine you've tasted."
Alex's smile widened as he extended his hand to Florian. "A pleasure to meet you."
Florian's hand disappeared into Alex's larger one, his smile still tight with anxiety. "Nice to meet you too," he managed.
We had just completed a brief tour of the central building when the first of my friends arrived. I felt Florian tense beside me as the sound of car doors and voices floated up from the circular driveway.
"Remember," I murmured close to his ear, "you deserve to be here. Isn't that right?"
“Yes, Daddy.”
“Good boy,” I said.
Lucas arrived first with his partner, James, a young architect. Then came Sophia and her husband David, colleagues from my early days who had become like family.
"Rob!" Lucas called out, embracing me with the easy familiarity of three decades' friendship. His dark hair was combed back and his green eyes gleamed happily. "Happy birthday, you old bastard."
James hung back, offering me a warm smile before his gaze found Florian. He had hair the color of honey and brown eyes. I made the introductions, my hand remaining at Florian's back. He was so tense I could feel the muscles jumping beneath my palm.
"So this is the mysterious boyfriend," Sophia said, stepping forward to shake Florian's hand. Her dark eyes sparkled with warmth, her blond hair in a ponytail. "I've been dying to meet you. Robert actually uses smiling emojis in his texts now. It's disturbing."
Florian laughed. "He does?"
"Absolutely," she confirmed, linking her arm through his. "First time in the billionaires' inner circle?" she asked with understanding in her eyes. "I remember how intimidating it was when I first came. I kept waiting for someone to quiz me on which fork to use."
"Exactly," Florian admitted. "I've been practicing with all the forks, though. Why do we need so many forks?"
"Waste of time," Sophia said with a dismissive wave. "They've seen him drunk on cheap beer at college parties. The mystique is gone."
I pretended to be offended, but in truth, I was grateful for Sophia's intervention. She had been through this herself, marrying into David's wealthy family after growing up middle-class.
We moved to the private tasting room, a space I had designed myself, warm wood and stone with floor-to-ceiling windows that framed the vineyard. Sunlight streamed across the long oak table where heavy crystal glasses awaited.
Florian sat beside me, Sophia taking the chair on his other side. Under the table, I rested my hand on his thigh. He gave me a smile, the tension around his eyes easing further.
The sommelier, a young woman with an encyclopedic knowledge of wine, began pouring the first vintage, explaining its characteristics with elegant precision. "This 2015 Cabernet has notes of black cherry and cassis, with subtle hints of cedar and tobacco on the finish."
I watched Florian closely as he took his first sip, the way his eyebrows lifted in surprise at the complexity of flavor. He was learning, developing a palate.
"Robert nearly died harvesting these grapes once, when his dad was the owner here," Lucas announced, gesturing with his glass. "Tell him the story, Rob. About the tractor."
Florian turned to me with wide eyes. "You nearly died?"
David laughed, his gray hair short, his blue eyes glistening with mischief. "It's not quite that dramatic. Lucas exaggerates."
"I almost broke my leg," I admitted. "I was trying to prove I could drive the harvester better than the actual employees. Turns out, I couldn't. Turns out, that was a really dangerous decision to drive heavy machinery without proper training."
"He was showing off," Sophia added, her voice warm.
Florian's expression was priceless, a mixture of disbelief and delight at this glimpse of me outside my carefully controlled persona. "I can't picture you doing something so reckless.”
"There are photos," David promised with a mischievous grin. "Blackmail material we've been saving for the right moment."
The conversation flowed as easily as the wine, my friends sharing stories that revealed sides of me Florian had never seen, more relaxed, occasionally impulsive.
By the time we moved to the terrace for lunch, Florian was engaged in a debate with James about architecture, his earlier nervousness almost forgotten. The terrace was my favorite spot on the property, a wide stone expanse overlooking the vineyard, shaded by a vine-covered pergola.
The kitchen staff had outdone themselves. Platters of local cheeses appeared, followed by herb-crusted lamb, roasted vegetables from the estate garden, and a fig tart drizzled with honey from our own hives. Each course was paired with a different bottle.
I found myself laughing more freely than I had in years, watching Florian bloom in the warmth of my closest friends. He sat between me and Sophia, leaning forward to catch David's story about a disastrous sailing trip we'd taken years ago.
David, who had poured more than his share of the last red, leaned back and fixed Florian with a conspiratorial smirk.
“You know, you’re seeing Rob at his best, right?
Polished, responsible, the guy who probably flosses his teeth between courses.
But did you know he was an absolute menace as a teenager? ”
“Absolutely not,” I tried, but he ignored me.
Florian’s eyes flicked to me. “I can’t picture that,” he said, shaking his head. “He makes his bed every morning, and he has like, staff that could do that, but he just does it instead?”
Sophia interjected. “Wait, wait, you never told me any of this,” she said, directing the accusation at her husband as much as me.
“I was hoping he’d let it slip himself,” David replied, eyes twinkling. “But, since he’s too dignified, it falls to me.” He raised his glass in salute. “Shall I?”
I rolled my eyes, but Florian’s curiosity was irresistible.
“Please,” my boy said, “tell me everything.”
Lucas grinned. “This is about the boarding school, isn’t it? We three, me, David and Rob, were the terror of the teachers.”
David waggled his eyebrows. “Of course it is.” He set his wine down, steepled his fingers, and began.
“So, picture this: ancient stone corridors, cold as tombs in winter, all the boys in matching navy blazers, the teachers convinced they were grooming the next generation of presidents and bank CEOs. Enter Rob, who was, and I quote, ‘the best of the teacher’s pets.’”
Sophia snorted. I felt a smile twitch at my lips, remembering the weight of those blazers, the endless echo of our footsteps in those halls.
“But he also had a rebellious streak,” David continued.
“He just hid it under layers of model-student perfection. One night, our charming friend here convinced me, and about half our dorm, to break into the principal’s parlor and ‘liberate’ a bottle from the sacred sherry decanter, which we all knew he topped off every Sunday. ”
Florian turned to me, mouth open.
“It was not ‘half the dorm,’” I objected. “Maybe six of us. Seven, tops.”
David ignored me. “We got the lock open somehow, and we’re in the parlor, sherry poured, all feeling terribly adult and subversive. Then…” he held up a finger, pausing for effect “…the headmaster himself walks in. Midnight. In his bathrobe. With his dog.”
Sophia gasped, delighted. “What did you do?”
I finished the story before David could embellish. “We tried to bluff. I said we were running an experiment for chemistry class. The principal did not buy it for a second.”
“Did you get expelled?” Florian demanded, looking somewhere between horror and awe.
“No. Our dads paid way too much for them to expel us,” I admitted, “but we did get the paddle.”
Florian looked shocked now, his mouth open.
David dissolved into laughter. “Not just a paddle. A centuries-old, cricket-bat-sized board with the school’s motto burned into it.
‘Veritas et Disciplina.’ The irony, lost on none of us.
They were one of the last schools that still did it.
Old guard to the bone.” He grinned at Florian.
“I swear Rob barely flinched, but he glared at me like it was my fault. Stoic to the core, even as a juvenile delinquent.”
Florian was grinning helplessly, eyes flicking from my face to David and back. “Wait, so you got your ass spanked in front of everyone?” he asked. “Like, literal corporal punishment?”
“It was a different era,” I replied, struggling to maintain my dignity.
Across the table, Sophia was wiping tears of laughter from her cheeks. “I can’t believe I’m just now hearing about this.”
Florian leaned toward me, mischief lighting his face. “So, are you saying you’ve always been a little bit of a brat?”
A ripple of laughter rolled around the table. I reached under the edge, resting my palm on Florian’s thigh. He stiffened, just for a second, then relaxed into my touch. "I simply had a healthy respect for authority mixed with a certain appreciation for risk."
I watched Florian absorb all this, his face open and delighted, drinking in every word.
A little later, when the guests had left and the house was quiet again, I found him alone on the balcony outside our suite. He was barefoot, arms wrapped around his chest against the early evening chill. I came up behind him and pulled him back into the warmth of my body.
“Did you have a good day?” I asked.
He nodded, leaning his head back on my chest. “The best. I loved your friends, the food, the wine… I still can’t believe this is my life…” he paused, looking at me. “But I know I deserve it."
I laughed, loud.
“Good boy for learning your lesson,” I kissed his forehead. This had been my best birthday, ever.