Maureen encouraged Nicholas to talk about the family history for a few minutes more. Jennifer added details along the way. Henry’s father was more enthusiastic by the minute, launching into tales of great battles between clans and weddings that brought forth change and unity.
“So, you enjoy weddings, then?” Maureen asked, taking a delicate bite of her food. Nicholas paused, his face tight.
“Yes … I suppose I do.”
“And you have a great appreciation of art in all its forms?” Maureen went on.
“Yes,” Nicholas said, suddenly looking up at his son.
“I think we shall get on very well, Nicholas,” Maureen said, grinning. “You don’t need to play that old gruff act with me.”
Jennifer laughed out loud and clapped a hand over her mouth. Nicholas looked at her sharply, but he was grinning.
“Father?” Henry asked, obviously worried. Nicholas sighed.
“I am sorry, my boy. But this conversation has actually revealed to me why I was skeptical of your path. The men of this family have always been builders. Builders of wealth, of structures, of boats. It was always the women who appreciated and made the art. When you went into art dealing, I felt it was beneath you.”
Nicholas looked at Olivia, his expression softening.
“There was much about your life I considered to be beneath you. I did not stop to examine where these feelings were coming from. I knew that Olivia was your fated mate and that with her, you would stay … but I felt that nothing in this world was good enough for you. As if there had been some kind of cosmic mistake.”
Henry’s eyes were wide as he stared at his father. Jennifer reached out and patted Nicholas on the hand.
“I acted the way I did because I love you so much,” Nicholas said softly. “I wanted more for you, always more. I lost sight of the fact that you had to choose your own path to be happy. Please, forgive me.”
Henry sat frozen. Then he got up and hurried around the table. Nicholas stood, and father and son caught each other in a brief but powerful embrace. Both alphas quickly let go and brushed off the moment of affection, but it was clear to all the women that a rift had been healed.
“And I thought I was going to have to put a muzzle on you,” Evelyn muttered, glancing at her mother from over the top of her wine glass. “I really had no idea where you were going with that.”
“Whatever do you mean?” Maureen said innocently. “I was just commenting on the beautiful art in this house.”
Jennifer giggled. “Genius,” she said softly.
“All right, all right,” Nicholas said, waving his fork in the air. “Let’s not make a big deal out of this, okay? I promise not to be so gruff and to be more open-minded about my son’s choices. Now let’s put this to rest.”
“Hear, hear,” Olivia said, raising her glass. Everyone leaned in to tap and take a sip in honor of Nicholas’s vow.
“Would you like to come to an event?” Olivia asked, looking at Nicholas. “It’s very modern … I’ll be covering it over social media. But there will be a wide selection of art to be seen.”
“It’s going to be our first combined show,” Henry said enthusiastically. “Some of my creators don’t mind coming out of the shadows for this, and it’s going to be a celebration of our companies coming together. Instead of competing, Olivia and I will work together to make art accessible to everyone.”
Nicholas looked a little lost. Jennifer reached out and patted his hand.
“We’d love to go. I think that sounds like a fantastic idea.”
“It really does,” Evelyn said. “I know you were planning on taking more traditional artists, Olivia.”
“Yes, but a lot of them didn’t want shallow promotions,” Olivia replied, sipping her wine. “It took collaboration with Henry for them to understand social media doesn’t have to be tacky.”
The conversation carried on a while longer, discussing the artists both of them were showcasing for their big joint event. As lunch wound down to a close and tea was served, Henry suddenly got very quiet.
“Now or never, dear,” Jennifer said out of the blue. Nicholas looked at her in alarm.
“Whatever do you mean?”
“Wasn’t talking to you,” Jennifer whispered. Henry looked panicked.
“What on earth is the matter?” Olivia cried.