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I peered out the window, the sight of the downtown skyline of Venice taking my breath away.
"We have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow prior to the start of the festival." His tone was purely business. "I suggest you get as much rest today as possible."
The city on the water was close enough that I could see and smell the blue. I'd always wanted to study abroad in Europe and now I was here. I was here—and everything that hung between Jacob and I kept me from playing tourist and bouncing with glee.
“A response, Miss Montgomery.”
I wrenched my eyes from the window and turned to him. "Fine."
Satisfied, he turned back to the tablet in his hand, his fingers gliding across the screen. "My liaison here, Allegra De Luca, will meet us landside and from there, take you to your hotel to get settled."
His fingers stopped sweeping but his attention was still on his screen. My attention was squarely on the roundabout way he’d let me know that we wouldn’t even be at the same hotel.
Questions rushed around in my head. My hotel? So we're not even staying in the same place? We're separating? I figured you'd need me. Don’t you need me, Jacob?
All of them were left unanswered as the plane came to a stop and the pilot announced that we were free to move about the cabin.
I stole a glance at Jacob stuffing folders into his briefcase, slowly unbuckling my seatbelt. "So you’re not going to drop me off at my hotel?"
"I have business to attend to. You'll not find a better companion than Ms. De Luca." He stood up and paused, allowing me to pass first. "After you."
I pushed my shades up to the bridge of my nose and clutched my bag, mumbling a thank you to Maggie as I exited the jet. Once outside, I turned in a slow circle, scanning the landing strip for Allegra De Luca. A name like that screamed jet black hair and a sophistication to match the beauty of the Italian city sparkling in the distance.
I gasped when I felt a hand on the small of my back then cheesed from ear to ear when I realized the hand belonged to Jacob.
Visible amusement colored his eyes before he slid his sunglasses into place. "Ms. De Luca is waiting."
I walked in step with him, his hand on me a gesture that probably meant nothing; but I couldn’t help but read into it. Maybe we still had differing views about what was actually going on between us, but there was no mistaking the intimacy as he made a slow circle at the curve of my back, right?
I tilted my head in his direction, wanting to bring it up while he was being touchy feely, but my mouth hung open in surprise as a deep, throaty laugh spilled from his lips.
No--it had to be jet lag, because Jacob Whitmore barely smiled and he definitely didn’t laugh. But another baritone volley erupted beside me and there was no mistaking the source. I stared at him in shock, a smile cracking through the stone. The hand was gone as he breezed toward an older woman standing beside a black sedan.
There was no time to be offended, even though it was obvious that this 'Allegra' person was behind his complete 180. I watched him embrace the older woman and spin her in a circle.
She was Allegra…and I’d never been so relieved in my life.
Allegra was about his height, but wider than Jacob. She staggered a bit when he finally released her, giving him a shove that sent him stumbling before he went back in for a bear hug.
Up close, I saw that despite Allegra's muscular physique, her face had gentle curves, intensified by bright, olive colored eyes and a lazy smile. She wore a gray blouse tucked into dark wash jeans but still looked efficient and professional. Her midnight colored hair was cropped short and specks of gray weaved throughout.
Her eyes shot to me as I got close. “Buongiorno.”
Jacob turned and eyeballed me, suddenly remembering there was a second in his party. "Oh, uh, Allegra, this is Leila Montgomery. My new personal assistant."
"Miss Montgomery," Allegra said warmly. Her thick accent wrapped around each word, turning even an introduction into something exotic. "It is nice to meet you."
I accepted her extended hand and shook it firmly. "It's nice to meet you too."
"Ms. De Luca will accompany you to your hotel while I take care of some other matters," Jacob said crisply.
Allegra's dark brows furrowed. "Surely Miss Montgomery would be better served by a familiar face? She's in a strange country, Jacob."
I bit my lip to keep from letting out a ‘Yeah!’, but decided I liked her. I had a feeling not many people questioned Jacob Whitmore.
"That may be true, but I couldn't think of anyone I'd trust with this more than you." He said, not budging an inch. He turned his attention back to me. "I'll see you in the morning.”
