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A sudden jostling of the boat pulled Maya out of his grasp and back to her senses. For a moment neither one of them spoke or moved.

Something shifted in the vicinity of her heart. It all suddenly made so much sense. Having Vito’s lips on hers had set her nerve endings on fire. Had she ever felt such a jolt to her insides when Matt had kissed her? She didn’t have to think hard to come up with the answer. With Matt, there had never been fire. Or any kind of electricity. She’d been fooling herself. She had to admit, once and for all, that the attraction to Matt had been more about finding a place for herself. In her defense, she really hadn’t known. Not until now, when she finally had something to compare it to. Now that she’d met Vito.

Dear heavens. What had she gotten herself into? Maya struggled for some composure. She would take this experience with Vito for what it was. A magical, enchanted evening that had opened her eyes to what true passion really could be. As temporary as it was.

Vito stuck the handkerchief into his pants pocket and turned back to look out toward the city.

“Tell me, is the wine as good as the bottle you enjoyed in your hotel room the day of your uncompleted gondola ride?”

Maya ducked her head, trying to recover some semblance of control. “I have to be honest and say that I don’t really remember. I didn’t really bother to try and savor the taste of that wine. The point was just to drink it fast enough to flush away the harsh memories.”

“Well, then we’ll make sure you get to enjoy every drop of the wine you’ll be served tonight.”

“I will. And I’ll make sure to enjoy it slowly,” she said, reaching for some kind of normal conversation though she was still shaking inside, from the effect of his kiss as well as all the realizations that had come with it.

He nodded with a smile. “Quite slowly.”

They watched silently as they drifted out farther into the lagoon. The palazzo and cathedral they’d toured just yesterday were both lit up majestically against the Venetian skyline.

“It’s not difficult to see how a city such as this inspires such unforgettable art,” Maya commented. The view before her would compel most people to try and capture it in some type of permanent way.

Vito turned so that he was facing her profile; she couldn’t bring herself to look away from the city lights. “You really are quite visual, do you realize that?”

“So you mentioned. You said more than once during our St. Mark’s and palazzo tour that I had ‘a good eye.’ To quote you directly.”

“So I did. It happens to be the truth.”

“Well, I’m going to take it as a compliment.” She tipped her head in a slight bow. “Thank you, my good sir.”

“You’re quite welcome. And it’s most definitely a compliment. Too many people sleepwalk through life without appreciating or so much as noticing the beauty that surrounds them. You are clearly not one of those people.”

“I’m glad you think so.” Though it didn’t really do anything for her, did it? This talent she had that Vito seemed to want to point out. She was stuck at a dead-end job with her personal life in shambles. She would have much preferred a talent for recognizing lying, cheating scoundrels before accepting their marriage proposals. She still hadn’t told anyone back home about her broken engagement. That thought gave her pause. She wasn’t hurt anymore so much as angry with Matt. How dare he put her in the position of having to disappoint her beloved family? She’d worked so hard all her life to avoid doing so. Yet another realization that she wasn’t hurt so much as she was angry.

“You’re scowling,” Vito commented.

Maya groaned inwardly. She refused to let Matt intrude on any more of this fantasy night. Her feelings for him were growing duller by the minute. As if he were some kind of distant memory of a past mistake she’d never be foolish enough to make again. Not now that she’d met Vito. She flashed him a wide smile. “Not anymore.”

The moon appeared from behind a cloud and silver light fell over the surface of the water.

“So, tell me what you do back in Boston, cara. It occurs to me we never discussed how you spend your days.”

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