Page 11 of Lucien & Olivia

“Can I get you anything?”

I turn and there’s a concierge, hands folded, waiting. Olivia bites her lip and glances at me and I nod.

“Could we get a glass of red wine for my wife?” I say.

“Actually, could I do champagne?” she cuts in. “Prosecco.”

“I’ll have a cognac. Neat.”

The concierge leaves and I sit down on the bench surrounding the firepit. She snuggles in close and crosses her legs, her hands burrowed deep in her coat.

“I know I asked you before, but do you think it’ll be Marco who takes over?” she murmurs.

I take a beat before answering because I know she’s hoping I’ll tell her no, I don’t think Marco will follow me down the twisted, shadowed path I took in life. We’ve had almost this exact conversation before.

“If you asked me a while ago, I’d have said I don’t know,” I say finally. “Now, I’m thinking he will.”

There’s a long silence and then she lets out a little sigh. She’s resigned to the future, I know she’s always felt it like an incoming storm. It’s the world she was born into, the one she chose when she told me she loved me all those years ago.

But I also know, a part of her hopes her sons get to walk away in the end. I caress her shoulder, offering her the assurance of my touch.

“You will be astounded by the things they do,” I said. “Not always happy, but they’ll do great things.”

She laughs weakly. “I know. Let’s not talk about it anymore tonight.”

The concierge appears and she straightens, taking her Prosecco. She’s so pretty wrapped in fur, diamonds on her neckand her red tipped fingers. There’s fine lines around her eyes and that stunning streak of silver glitters in the middle of her bangs. I bend and kiss the top of her head.

“A toast?” she asks.

“To what?”

She sighs, leaning back. Her eyes shift to the sky overhead. There’s a long silence where we sit and listen to the faint sounds of the violin. Tiny bits of snow tangle in her dark curtain of hair. I reach up and touch them with my fingertip, melting them so they sit like diamonds against dark velvet.

“To the rest,” she says finally.

“The rest?”

The fire flickers over her profile. I lean in so I can study her pensive face.

“We’ve had a wild life together, Lucien,” she sighs. “It’s been good, but I love this part of it so much. It’s so peaceful, I get to focus on you and the boys. I’m looking forward to the rest.”

She lifts her glass and I clink mine against it. To the rest. I’ll savor every single year I have with her.

We finish our drinks in silence. I wrap my arm around her and she nestles up against me. I can tell she’s getting sleepy, I need to get her upstairs and tuck her into bed. The concierge comes after a while and gathers our glasses and disappears. I take my wife’s hand and lift her to her feet.

“Let’s go up to bed,” I say. “I’ve got one more round in me before we sleep.”

Hand in hand, we head up the staircase.

“What do you think the boys are doing?” she asks sleepily.

“They’re probably watching slasher movies like they always do on Christmas Eve,” I say.

Olivia shudders. “I guess that’s one upside of having them spend Christmas overseas. I don’t have to watch those horrible gory movies before bed.”

We go back into our suite where the sheets are rumpled and the fire is still burning. I slip her coat off and kiss the side of her neck. She offers me a contented smile and sinks down onto the bed. I kneel and she lifts her foot to let me unzip her boots. Her breath hitches as I slide my hand up her calf and to the underside of her thigh. Touching her thoroughly before dragging the zipper down.

She slips her dress off and I help her out of it. The wine red lingerie is stunning against her skin and the dark waves falling down her back. The lace cups her breasts, her cleavage spilling over. I bend and kiss where the diamonds hang around her neck, resting just above her breasts. I skim my hand up and slip my fingers beneath her garter to grip her thigh.

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