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‘No. But you have something else here that you had in Barcelona.’
Her eyes narrowed.
‘Me,’ he completed.
‘You?’ Disbelief tinged the very air. ‘So you reckon you are the magical solution to my panic attacks?’
‘No. Of course not. But maybe I can be a temporary sticking plaster. I promise that I will keep you safe. If you can bring yourself to believe that, maybe it will help keep the panic at bay enough to allow you to appreciate Venice. I promise you that if it all gets too much I will get you back here quickly and discreetly, and although I understand there is nothing tangible you are worried about I am more than equipped to keep you safe from pickpockets. What do you think?’
Kaitlin moved away from his presence and walked over to the window, almost as if to brave the view of the scenery again.
‘Why does this matter to you? Why not just leave me here and go and enjoy Venice?’
‘Because that would make me a complete heel. And I could use the company.’
Seeing the disbelief in her face, he dug deep. Kaitlin had shared something huge with him. Surely he could choose to reciprocate a little.
‘It’s the truth. My father died before I was born. But my mother told me that they had planned to move to Venice some day. So the city always makes me feel a little melancholy.’
Kaitlin’s eyes darted to his face. ‘That must be hard—never having known your dad.’
‘I had my mother, and she was amazing.’
‘She must have felt so blessed to have had you.’
Blessed. Daniel didn’t think so. Oh, his mother had loved him—so much that she had sacrificed her very soul for him. It was a shame it had proved such a poor investment. The bitter taste of guilt flooded him and he swiped a hand down his face. Enough. This was about Kaitlin.
She looked at him, her green eyes serious.
‘OK. Let’s do this. Doge’s Palace, here I come.’
* * *
As they approached the splendour of the palace Kaitlin caught her breath in sheer awe. Here she was, standing in front of this incredible building, and a wave of emotion swathed her—a lightness, an unfamiliar joy that made her want to laugh out loud.
Without thought she reached out, took Daniel’s hand and smiled up at him. ‘This is fabulous—thank you for your persistence.’
‘No trouble.’
But it had been—Daniel had cared enough to return for her, to convince her to accompany him, and the idea sent further warmth to her insides.
Careful, Kaitlin.
But she didn’t want to be careful; for once she wanted to go with the flow, with the thoroughly unfamiliar sense of trust.
Bad idea.
But it wasn’t. It wasn’t as if she proposed to trust in Daniel long-term. This was purely a three-day fix. If he could help her enjoy Venice then it made sense to let him. And his presence did seem to have a positive effect on her panic—sure, the swirl of unease was present, but it hadn’t escalated.
Now they stood in the slanting Venetian spring sunshine and gazed at the Gothic structure of the enormous building—an epicentre of history where political decisions had been made, where justice had been meted out over the centuries by each elected Doge.
‘It is such an influential place, and yet it has a fairytale element.’
Enhanced by the candy cane effect of huge walls of white limestone and pink marble and the series of balconies.
Daniel nodded. ‘Apparently experts say that the sense of lightness is because of the way it was built, with the loggias below and the solid walls above. That gives it an openness that was meant to indicate how powerful Venice was. Most cities back then would build more fortified castles.’
Suddenly aware that she was still holding Daniel’s hand, she looked down at their clasped fingers and wondered what to do. Placing temporary trust in him was one thing—venturing into any realm of physical contact was another. Yet letting go required an effort of will that had her alarm bells ringing again.
