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“I’m coming,” I answer as confidently as I can muster.
I don’t trust at all that he has gotten everything figured out. But I can call from the plane and have someone at work handle all the business things that need handling this week or for however long we are staying. This week, I just need to enjoy myself.
I step into the elevator, still holding on to Asher’s hand. He presses the button for the ground floor, and the doors close, locking us inside. I feel trapped, like there is no escaping now. I need to stop worrying about it now though. Now, I just have to enjoy the ride and try not to fall in love with the handsome stranger whose hand I’m holding.
“Venice. Is that really where we are going, or is it one stop on many?” I ask as I take my seat next to Asher on the flight to Venice.
He sighs. “I can see that you are going to drive me crazy with questions from now until the trip ends.”
“Yep,” I reply.
Asher rolls his eyes. “Fine. We are starting in Venice because I heard it’s beautiful and romantic, and I figured that is what is needed for our first night as a married couple.”
My heart is racing in my chest as I think about what Venice is going to be like. I live in one of the most beautiful places on the planet and have traveled extensively on business, usually to the poorest places in the world. But, now, I get to go experience the beauty of another place.
“And then?” I ask because it seems like there is more up his sleeve than just going to Venice.
“And then we are going to backpack across Europe. Stay wherever we can find a place to stay or sleep in a tent. It will be a great adventure, waking up every night in a new place, not knowing where or what we are going to be doing the next day.”
I smile, but it doesn’t sound at all exciting. It sounds terrifying. I like control too much to be okay with his plan. Maybe once we get to Venice, we will love it so much that we just stay there. Or maybe I can arrange for us to visit several places in Europe while we are there.
Asher grabs my hand and kisses me on the lips. My eyes close when his lips touch mine, and I feel the softness of his lips before his tongue moves with mine.
When he leans back, he grins. “Are you relaxed now?”
“Mmhmm,” I say with a goofy smile on my face.
He quickly kisses me on the forehead. “Stop worrying. Stop trying to control everything. Just relax.”
I lean my head back in my chair and close my eyes, trying to do just that. When I open them again, I see Asher staring at me. Happy to be doing nothing more than just watching me, it seems.
He slowly puts his arm around me, and I settle in against his chest and close my eyes.
“Just sleep. When you wake up, we will be in a whole new world.”
I smile and take a deep breath as I close my eyes. Immediately, I feel sleep coming for me. I didn’t realize how tiring it was to plan two weddings this week. But, for now, I get to sleep.
* * *
It’s early morning by the time we land in Venice. I slept almost the whole flight, only waking when they served us breakfast before we landed. I have no idea how Asher managed the flight. I slept against his hard chest, and somehow, he must have slept, too, because he seems to be just as rested as I am when we depart the plane.
As we leave the cab that brought us to our hotel in the heart of the city, I don’t get to focus on how beautiful the city is. Instead, all I can think and worry about is how there is no way he brought everything that I’d need in the single backpack that he has slung over his back. No way.
Asher rolls his eyes at me and takes my hand, like I’m a five-year-old child he has to corral. He leads me into the lobby of the hotel and over to the front desk.
“Are you checking in?” the man behind the desk asks in English with a sharp Italian accent.
He can already tell that we are American tourists, just from looking at us.
“Yes. I’m Asher Calder.”
“Ah, the honeymooners!” the man says.
He grabs a key that looks to be an actual key, not a card, and that’s when I realize this isn’t a hotel. At least not what I think of when I think of hotels.
The man starts scurrying us along as he starts speaking in Italian, much too fast for either of us to understand. But we follow until we get to a room at the top of the stairs. The man opens the door for us with a large smile on his face. He hands Asher the key and then says something else I can’t make out before leaving us here.
Asher sets the backpack down on a chair as we both look around the room. It’s beautiful. Smaller than I’m used to but definitely full of beauty and charm. It feels as if we stepped into a different time though. The bed looks to be an antique although the bedspread is a beautiful material of red and gold. The nightstands also look to be solid wood with deep carvings on them, nothing like the stark coldness of hotel rooms back home.
