Half Empty (First Wives, #2)(4)

She was already practicing what to say when they gave her hell.

“As soon as Avery reminded me of the meeting, I went on a quest to see all of Venice. I bought these gifts in my rush to see everything.”

Avery wouldn’t buy it.

Lori, a divorce attorney by day, would know damn well she was lying but wouldn’t call her out.

Then there was Shannon. She was harder to read. She’d probably just thank Trina, pat her on the back, and then let her know if she ever wanted to talk, she’d be there.

Avery was going to take some work. Considering Trina and Avery were the closest out of all of them, Trina would do her best to sweeten the pot.

Maybe tomorrow morning she’d take the gondola ride with Tall, Dark, and Italian. She’d snap a selfie of the two of them and tell Avery she was distracted by Dante. Just the thought of Trina smiling at the opposite sex would help Avery get over her absence.

With a plan in motion, Trina finished the paperwork on the expensive glass and strolled the rest of the island without a worry in the world.



Dante was much better looking up close. “No singing today?” Trina asked when she exited her hotel at seven o’clock sharp. If she asked enough questions, she’d forget that she was on a kinda date. Or maybe she was reading into the situation.

He jumped off his gondola and approached her as if they already knew one another. First a kiss on the right cheek, and then another on the left. Trina stepped back to regain her personal space.

“If it is song you want, then song you shall have.” Before she could laugh and tell him she was kidding, he let out a note that shook the walls of the buildings around them.

Trina put a hand on his arm. “Kidding. I was kidding,” she said in English. “Shh, you’ll wake everyone.”

“You’re right. I want to keep your beauty to myself.”

He had a sly smile and a playful wink. “Come . . .” He extended his hand to help her into the small boat. “Have you been on a gondola before?”

“No.”

He shook his head, the white-brimmed hat casting shadows on his face. “Such a shame.”

“You really didn’t have to do this,” she told him.

“It is my pleasure. I’ll show you many hidden gems in my city.”

She settled into the seat facing forward. Dante stood in the back and used a single paddle to power and steer the handmade vessel. “I’ve been here for almost three weeks. I think I’ve walked every street.”

“But you haven’t sailed every canal.”

She glanced over her shoulder. “True.” Before she forgot, Trina slid her cell phone from her back pocket and pretended to take a picture of the scenery in front of her. Instead, she snapped a selfie, capturing Dante behind her. That would hold Avery over.

The city had yet to wake, and the temperature had cooled down quite a bit from the day before. “This is the best time of day,” he told her.

It was easier talking without looking at him. “How long have you been doing this?”

“Five years.”

“You enjoy it?”

“What’s not to love? I see beautiful women like yourself. Spend my days on the water and sing for a few extra euros.”

A simple life. “You make it sound romantic.”

“It’s Venezia. Even the buildings drip of romance.”

Trina looked up at the vertical brick and stucco walls in varying colors and stages of decay. “Is it really sinking?” she asked him.

“Sadly. But our government has vowed to keep the city afloat.”

One good earthquake off the coast and that government effort wouldn’t mean a thing.

“Let’s hope their efforts aren’t in vain.”

Dante put his foot to the side of a building and steered them down a smaller canal.

“Your Italian is impressive. Have you lived in Italy?”

“No. I’ve visited a few times.”

“Then you have family who taught you as a child.”

She leaned back. “I’ve only studied Italian for six months.”

He stopped rowing briefly. “Again, I’m impressed.”

His shameless flirting brought a lightness to the inside of her chest. She didn’t take him seriously. Not completely, in any event. The flirtation had to be limited in light of the fact that she needed to make an effort to leave Venice in a few days. Even if she had to switch planes in Paris, and perhaps end up delayed there for a few days, or a week. She had half a chance of convincing the First Wives that she was sincere in her struggle to get home, even though she’d be channeling Pinocchio while she smiled.

“What are you thinking of, Bella?”

“That my trip here is coming to an end.”

He grunted, and she looked over her shoulder.

His bottom lip was pushed out in a childish pout.

Trina rolled her eyes.

“We just met, surely you can stay a little longer,” Dante pleaded.

She shrugged, looked forward again. “We’ll see.”

“These words I can work with.” And with that, Dante started to sing.

Halfway through his song, the wind kicked up, and the sky above them started to darken.

“It appears that we must cut this short,” he said as he pushed the gondola toward the nearest dock. Luckily for him, the docks were on every corner.