“Oh. Okay.” When in Venice, she thought, do as the Venetiansdo.
He used his key and opened the only door on the floor. She held her breath, unsure she’d ever seen a penthouse even on TV. As she walked inside behind him and her bag, her eyes widened. The decor was similar to the lobby, but the furniture seemed hand-carved. No machine could make the flowers that spiraled up the table legs. She traced the hardwood table and stared out the huge window that overlooked the GrandCanal.
This wasn’t her world. Truly a city that was a mix of old and new, and gorgeous in the evening lights. She hugged her waist and turned toward him. “Blackwell, I’m serious, when I ask this. Why me? And this time don’t flirt. We’re not from the samebackground.”
He sat on the bed that had a string of gold vines wrapped around the bed frame. “My entire life has been planned out for me. I must marry nextmonth.”
So he did have someone else. Maybe because of her novels and stories, she never saw the appeal of being the other woman. Her skin chilled as she turned her head. “I’m sure she must belovely.”
“There is no one but you, Donna.” He patted the bed besidehim.
She glanced into his brown eyes and felt he was in earnest. She went beside him. “You mustmarry?”
His hand went over hers but otherwise he didn’t move. “Or I lose the estate my family had for over a millennia. I will marry a total stranger, if Imust.”
The name of the woman must have already been chosen. Harry might have been a bad choice, but she only had herself to blame. If she’d been forced to marry anyone, she’d be miserable. She kept her head down, but she didn’t move. His closeness warmed her. “So this trip is your last hurrahtoo.”
He reached up and lifted her chin and gave her that sexy smile of his that showed off those dimples. “How is this your end? I thought you were findingyourself.”
She laughed. True. This was about figuring out what she wanted in her life. She definitely didn’t want to be forced into marriage, but that wasn’t exactly knowing herself. She tried to explain. “I’ve always been good at doing what I’m told.” Blackwell looked surprised, but she swallowed and continued. “I never questioned anything. And I never lived, not really. I’ve always been a rules follower and a good girl who never even tried to be edgy. I had to get a job, figure out how to pay for college, take care of Grandma until shedied.”
He traced her arm with a seductive fingertip. “The woman in my arms last night wasdaring.”
With Blackwell, she’d felt comfortable enough to be slightly out of her element. She laughed a little. “I don’t know if I’m really just all screwed up in the head. I told you my fiancé left me. So when the library shut down, I was frozen. I never made a choice in my life without thinking about what was best. So this trip is about putting myselffirst.”
She closed her eyes and wiggled closer, hoping for a kiss. However, a knock sounded at the door, interrupting the moment. “Who could thatbe?”
He scooted off the bed and went to let room service in. A chilled bottle of wine, cheeses, grapes and other finger-foods were pushed inside on a cart. “Our champagne, for when we return. Come, let’s get you to St. Mark’s Church so you can supposedly see the burial site of one of the writers of theBible.”
He tipped the waiter and showed him to the door. She opened her bag and fished out her black work skirt that would do for going to church and stripped off her black t-shirt and found a black button down. “That’s something a bridegroom mightsay.”
He changed into a white button-down shirt that only made his dark features more prominent and hotter. He had no idea her thoughts as he said, “This is the place where in the 10thcentury the Archdiocese claimed to have found/stolen the body of the man who wrote the bible and brought his remains here, toVenice.”
Donna was used to showing people how to find specific books with information, so she appreciated his history lesson. She changed and fluffed her hair. “Blackwell, I’m glad you were honest with me, about needing to getmarried.”
He stared at her with slight confusion but shrugged. “Good, now let’s get going. I’m looking forward to dinner, with you on my arm and this time, we’ll eat well. Now that I saw your list, I want to make every one of your dreams cometrue.”
That’s right. Good food and sightseeing was what she wanted on that list. She needed to review it again, but for now, she took Blackwell’s arm and felt a tremble race down herbody.
Part of her wished she could do this for the rest of her life, but she knew she wished for the impossible. It was better to memorize every moment. Tonight, after dinner, she’d sleep beside him again and this time, not run in themorning.
