Crash Into Me(73)

I followed him out the enormous glass doors to a balcony that overlooked the Grand Canal of Venice. Gondoliers steered their boats through the water past hundreds year old pink and gold colored gothic buildings. These were the places I'd spent hours fantasizing about as an undergrad art student, and here I was staring across the water at them from my very own balcony.

"Oh my God, Tristan...it's the most incredible view I've ever seen. Thank you."

He said nothing and after a few minutes of staring at the beauty in front of me, I turned to see him watching me. "What? Am I gushing too much?"

Shaking his head, he smiled. "No. I'm happy you love this like you do. And I'm happy I'm the one who could give you this."

He kissed me so tenderly I thought I might cry. There I was standing in a scene straight out of a picture with a man unlike anyone I'd ever met and he was saying he was happy because he'd made me happy. If there was a luckier woman than me, I couldn't imagine how.

"I thought we'd visit the museums tomorrow. Would you like that?" he asked as he nuzzled my neck. "I figure it's about time I see some art in this city."

"I'd love that! Is it too late to go today?"

Tristan lifted his head from kissing my shoulder and cocked one eyebrow. "Aren't you tired from the flight?"

"No way. I'm in Venice, baby. I could probably stay up the whole time we're here."

"Well, I'm exhausted. Plane rides do that to me. I thought we could stay in tonight and have dinner before we spend some more time out here on the balcony."

I knew the flight had been stressful for him. Each time we flew anywhere, he grew quiet. More than once on the flight there, I'd noticed his knuckles were nearly white as his hands tightly gripped the armrests on his seat. It wasn't surprising after what he'd been through.

Standing on my toes, I stretched to kiss him on the cheek. "I think that sounds perfect."

That smile I loved came out and he hugged me tightly. "Good. I'm going to speak to the concierge, but I'll be back in a few minutes. You stay and enjoy the view."

"Yes, sir. I can do that, sir," I joked.

"Sir? Be careful. I hear your boss is a real bastard. Seems he's miserable to his employees. Never smiles, I hear."

"Oh no. He's nothing like that. They just don't know the real man. I'm not worried. He's pretty fantastic, actually."

Tristan turned to leave and stopped as he opened the suite door. "Just pretty fantastic?"

"Okay, he's extraordinary, but he doesn't flaunt his extraordinariness all the time," I said with a wink.

After he left, I turned back to look at the view from our balcony. That's how I thought of things. Our balcony. It had a romantic ring to it. Leaning against the wrought iron railing, I scanned the canal below and saw couples in love on their gondola rides enjoying the beautiful Venice evening. It was the most enchanting thing I'd ever seen in person, and I felt like I needed to pinch myself to be sure I wasn't dreaming.

I didn't know how long I stood there, but when I finally looked up from the romantic scene below, the sky was dark and the stars that twinkled overhead made it look like the perfect painting. The sound of the suite door closing signaled Tristan's return, and I turned around to see not only him but three uniformed waiters with trays full of food.

He opened his arms wide as the men set the table across the room. "A feast fit for a queen, my lady."

I was embarrassed for a moment, but the waiters didn't seem to care who was in the room, so I took Tristan's outstretched hand and let him kiss me in front of them. "It's so much food."