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‘Glad you came?’ Daniel asked as they emerged onto the Bridge of Sighs.
‘Yes. Truly. Thank you.’
‘You’re welcome.’
They paused on the bridge. ‘Why is it called the Bridge of Sighs?’ Kaitlin asked, testing herself as she looked into the chill green of the water. If she wanted to enjoy Venice she had to get her head round the fact it was a water-based city.
‘Prisoners crossing the bridge knew it would be their last taste of freedom and open air, so they are said to have sighed as they crossed it. Other people say it is the sigh lovers make. Legend has it that if you take a gondola ride under the Bridge of Sighs as the sun sets with your significant other and you kiss then your love will be eternal.’
‘Lucky I don’t believe in love, then, because there is no way on this earth I’m getting in a gondola. Or even a vaporetto. My enjoyment of Venice is going to be on land!’
‘But your plan is to enjoy Venice?’
Kaitlin pulled in a breath. ‘If you still want my company?’
There was a pause, and for a moment she wondered if she had just made a complete idiot of herself.
‘Though if you would rather spend time alone here because of your dad and everything I understand.’
‘Shh.’
Lifting a hand, he brushed a finger softly against her lips, and she froze at the exquisite sensation that ran through her, then backed a step away, looking around to make sure no one had seen. But the throngs of tourists had no interest in them—were too busy gazing at the Palace.
‘I do still want your company.’
‘Then why the hesitation? I don’t want your pity because of what I told you.’
‘You don’t have my pity.’ His lips turned up in a rueful twist. ‘My hesitation was due to a momentary worry that I might succumb to the temptation to kiss you. The problem is, I want more than that.’
‘Oh.’
Please kiss me.
Get a grip.
There could be no kissing. Though right now Kaitlin wanted him to kiss her with a yearning so great she could taste it. But that wasn’t possible—she and Daniel weren’t a normal couple on holiday in Venice, like so many of the men and women around them, who could stop and kiss whenever they liked.
Come to that they weren’t a couple of any description. She was Lady Kaitlin Derwent—a woman who wanted an alliance that would bring glory to the Derwent name, who wanted a family, children, marriage. Daniel was a man who wanted success and all its trappings—a man who could offer no more than a few days of pleasure to any woman.
For Lady Kaitlin Derwent that pleasure would come at way too high a price. The gossip, the scandal, her parents’ fury... And more than that there was the risk of losing herself—the risk that her whole being would unravel. Daniel represented danger and disorder. Any involvement with him would be too scary. It sent a skitter of anxiety through her whole body.
‘You can’t kiss me.’ Her voice was breathless, a squeak of pure panic.
The rueful
look on his face intensified. ‘Don’t look so troubled, Kaitlin. I understand that. Forget I said anything and let’s focus on enjoying Venice. Agreed?’
‘Agreed.’ Pushing her doubts away, Kaitlin nodded.
How hard could it be not to kiss someone for two days?
* * *
Daniel glanced out of the latticed semi-circular window at the late-morning sunshine that glinted off the canal and rooftops of St Mark’s Square before turning to where Kaitlin sat at the round marble-topped table, pen tucked behind her ear.
‘What would you like to do today?’ He gestured at their now closed laptops and neat pile of papers. ‘Now that we know the ball is completely under control.’
They had spent the morning checking and double-checking that the arrangements were in place and watertight.
