She stared at him a moment more, took a deep breath, then did as he asked.
“Okay, now breathe.”
At the smile in his voice, a nervous laugh released the air from her lungs. He urged her forward, careful to forewarn her of any steps or uneven areas of the pathway beneath her feet. Still uneasy, she relied on her other senses to reveal clues as to what might be in store. They were outside, still near the water, since she could hear the gulls and bells and activity of the local wharves in the distance. A hint of something exotic teased her nostrils, but proved too elusive to identify.
As they continued, though, everything slowly faded into the background. Everything except Trent. The low timbre of his voice. The warmth of his body against her back. The alluring scent of whatever understated cologne clung to his skin. It dawned on her that maybe it was just him. He’d been dunked in the lake last night and still his heated masculine scent nearly overwhelmed her good sense when she’d given him that comforting hug.
“Okay. You can open your eyes.”
The rest of the world rushed back in, overloading her brain. She allowed a few heartbeats to settle her nerves, then lifted her lashes. Unexpected beauty robbed her of adequate words. Only a soft gasp passed her lips.
“Halliwell Sanders, I give you the Japanese gardens of Villa Melzi.”
They stood in the center of a stone bridge spanning the middle of a long, narrow lily pond. Intricate scrolled ironwork provided railings on either side. Colors from shoreline flowers and surrounding trees reflected on the glass-smooth surface of the murky, sun-lit water.
Hand over her mouth, she slowly spun in a circle to take it all in, noting they were completely alone. Too early for the popular tourist attraction to be open to the general public she distinctly remembered from her hours of trip planning. Through the red, yellow, and green leafed branches, she could just make out the mountains standing sentinel over the small villages and shimmering waters of Lake Como.
Lago de Como the Italian’s preferred, and today, it sounded better to her, too.
“Good surprise?” Trent asked from behind.
She blinked away the mist blurring her vision. “The best ever.”
“You said you were hightailing it back to the States, so while it’s not the Villa Carlotta, I thought you might still enjoy it. We’ve got about a half hour to explore before we have to leave for Milan.”
Still slightly breathless, she turned to face him, hands clasped together in front of her. “Believe me, it’s so much better than the Villa Carlotta.”
He lounged casually against the railing, thumbs hooked in the front pockets of his jeans. Standing there, sunlight glinting off his tousled hair because he had yet to put his baseball cap back on, he rivaled the magnificence of their surroundings.
He also looked like the cat that
ate the canary, thoroughly satisfied with his good deed. She decided she didn’t care.
“Do I get my kiss now?”
His cocky confidence brought her up short. “No.”
“You know you want to.”
Maybe she did care. She’d seen the women he dated and knew she didn’t come close to their beauty or sophistication.
Again, she reminded herself his interest was nothing more than an answer to the challenge she presented and she did her best to resist his magnetism. “You’re a real piece of work, you know that?” She kept her tone light.
“What?” he asked innocently.
“Don’t what me. Once we get to Milan, that’ll be it, we won’t ever see each other again. You’ll continue your investigation, I’ll go home. Just because you’ve charmed me with this last ditch effort to get a little something doesn’t mean I’m going to simply fall into your arms.” No matter how much I want to.
“Are we talking about sex again?”
Her face heated, but she forced a smile while walking across the bridge. “We weren’t talking about it the first time.”
He laughed after her. “You know, I think I might actually miss you.”
She snorted.
“I’m serious,” he insisted as he fell into step beside her.
“You said I was a pain in the ass.”