AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Life is the most complete it can possibly be in this moment. Slade leans down and kisses me, solidifying this slice in time in my memory forever. The man, the setting, the mood—all of them combine to create perfection.
In some spots, there are so many gondolas, I’m not sure how we don’t collide, but we don’t even scrape against another one. The gondoliers are quite skilled at their jobs.
Our ride is only twenty glorious minutes, but I’ll never forget it. Not in a million years. It’s etched on my heart.
“Wanna get lost in Venice with me?” Slade asks with a lift of his eyebrows as he helps me off the gondola.
“Lead the way. I’ll follow you anywhere.”
He kisses me, and a few tourists whistle at us.
We wander the city for a couple hours, getting lost in all the nooks and crannies. We snack on a plate of finger foods—cicchetti—including fried mozzarella-filled rice balls, fried meatballs, and bread slathered withbaccalà mantecato, a whipped salt cod. Seafood’s not my thing. It’s different, but delicious, to my surprise.
“Mom said to try the local food. She was right,” Slade sighs as he chews his last bite.
We’re sitting outside at a corner table in the shade.
“I’m stuffed.” Jet lag is catching up with me again.
“Should we call it a day? I’m beat and ready to go back to our hotel. How about you?”
“I think a certain hot tub on a terrace is calling our names.” In spite of the hot temperatures outside, the hot tub sounds relaxing.
“You might be able to convince me to hop in with you. I mean, maybe. There might be something good on TV, though.” In spite of Slade’s deadpan face, I know he’s messing with me.
“You need a spanking, buddy.”
He raises his eyebrows at me. “Is that a promise?”
“This is the city of romance and you want me to spank you?” I can’t hide my smile. I’m also happy to see Slade has stopped worrying so much about tomorrow.
“Is that not romantic? You and me.” He points to me and then to himself, then claps his hands together, making the sound of a spanking. “This might not work out then.”
“Quit while you’re ahead,” I tell him, as we get up and start walking hand in hand toward our hotel.
“Could be a deal breaker. Just saying,” Slade mutters.
I chuckle under my breath in an attempt to hide my mirth. Joss was right. The more I smile and laugh, the sillier he gets. Secretly, I love it. I finally let go of my control, allowing a loud laugh to escape. It rings through the air, drifting away on a current of wind. I don’t care if I’m encouraging him, he makes me happy.
When I glance at him, he has a smile on his face too.
The return to our room is a blessed relief from the hot temperatures of the day. We spend about an hour cuddled up on the couch watching TV, drinking water, letting the air conditioning cool us down, and resting our aching feet.
“Hot tub time?” Slade asks.
“Sounds good to me.” It’s early evening and the temperature has cooled down a bit.
We both change into our bathing suits. I brought a tankini with me. I refuse to make our vow to keep this trip chaste harder than it already is. Of course, in that case, sitting in a hot tub together is probably not the best idea.
Never mind. Apparently, I’m a vixen. In a tankini. Scandalous.
We meet on the terrace and slip into the bubbly hot tub. It feels good on my still-aching feet. We didso muchwalking today.
“Our alone day was short, but perfect.”
“Yes, it was,” I agree.
The view of the lagoon is unbelievable. The blue water is smooth as glass, only interrupted by the passing of many different types of boats. A cool evening breeze licks at our skin. The moment is perfection, only interrupted by a loud sigh from Slade.
