Take Me (Take Me 1)

“What are you doing?”

She didn’t want to slap their hands away, but she had no idea what was going on, and it unnerved her.

The days with Travis had showed her that she had a bold side, but that boldness didn’t include getting naked with a bunch of strange women in the middle of a crowded piazza.

An old woman motioned for the others to cease their ministrations for a few moments. In her arms she held a white dress. Lily looked closer. “Of course,” she murmured with a smile, “a wedding dress.”

All of the women except her were wearing wedding dresses. She must have looked out of place. Smiling at the women, she hoped to make up for her earlier behavior. ” Grazie.” She pointed at the dress. “Bella.”

New smiles on their faces, the women converged on her again. Her dress was removed, and the wedding dress was slipped over her head. It fit beautifully, layers of antique lace with corset strings in the back to mold it to her figure. Her hair was brushed and primped, her face was made up, satin shoes were slipped on her feet.

“I feel like Cinderella,” she said and several women nodded their heads vigorously.

” Si,” they said, “Cinderella!”

The final touch was a thin lace veil. It lent a soft, shadowed, extraspecial glow to the entire evening for Lily.

The elder whistled, and the band began to play. Everyone in the piazza stomped their feet and clapped in time to the music. Lily was led out from the olive trees with pride by the women who had dressed her.

She held her head high. She knew she looked beautiful, and she couldn’t wait for Travis to see her.

She hoped he had his camera with him. She wanted to show Janica and Luke pictures when they got home. Otherwise, they would never believe her story of getting handpicked to be a part of the Festival of Weddings in the heart of Tuscany.

She felt a light buzzing across her skin. She knew Travis was watching her. She searched the crowd, but she couldn’t find him. She hadn’t thought to look at the stage in front of the church, however. Which was precisely where Travis was standing.

With a man who looked remarkably like a priest.

And Travis seemed to be playing the groom.

Which made sense, she supposed after a moment’s confusion, since she was clearly playing the bride.

He blew her a kiss, and Lily beamed and blew him one back. He reached out with his right hand and caught it, then pressed his hand to his heart. The elder presented her to Travis, and when Travis took her hand, the crowd cheered again, the noise level rising tenfold.

“They don’t mess around with their festivals, do they?” Lily said with a grin. “This looks just like the real thing, doesn’t it?”

Travis looked stunned, and Lily was pleased that she had surprised him in the beautiful gown. Finally, he managed, “You look beautiful, Lily. The most beautiful bride in the world.”

“You say the sweetest things,” she teased. “What a fun game this is. I love your sash.”

She let the bright red, orange, and yellow striped silk tied around Travis’s waist slide through her fingers.

“Were you worried when they started to undress you?” she asked, but right then the man playing the priest raised a flag, and the crowd silenced.

The man began speaking. Lily couldn’t understand a word he said, so she let herself relax into the perfect evening with the man she loved. She squeezed Travis’s hand, and he squeezed hers back. Shivers ran up and down her spine at the look in his eyes, like he wanted to eat her up and worship her for the rest of time. Marriage was the furthest thing from her mind. She might have been in love with Travis most of her life, but they had spent less than a week together. Still it was fun to play make-believe.

The lyrical foreign language washed over Lily like the warm breeze that held essences of olives and sweet sunflower petals. With Travis’s hands holding hers she knew the deep contentment she had been searching for her whole life. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply of love, of life.

The crowd cheered again, and Lily opened her eyes. She wanted to sing out her pleasure for the whole world to hear. Giving in to a spontaneous urge, Lily unthreaded her hands from Travis’s, lifted her veil, and pulled his mouth closer, her hands wrapped into his thick, soft black hair.

She felt his grin without even seeing it. Their lips touched, and flames exploded. She tasted his lips with the tip of her tongue, and he groaned. In an instant, he was devouring her, and she was sinking into him, body and soul.

Gasping for breath, Lily murmured against Travis’s lips, “Let’s get out of here.”

Travis looked into her eyes with such intensity it seared her soul.

She licked her lips suggestively. “I’m not sure they were exactly looking for a live sex show up here, do you?”

Travis grinned. “Is that what we’re doing?”

Lily ran a finger down his cheek. “Kiss me like that again, and I’m pretty sure that’s what they’re going to get.”

Travis threw his head back and laughed, the beautiful sound echoing off the centuries-old stone buildings.

The priest took a step forward and took each of their hands in his. The crowd silenced to a hush.

Lily’s breath caught in her throat at the power that coursed through the mock-priest’s hand into hers.

Suddenly, everything seemed so serious. Several of the men who had dressed Travis joined them on the stage, holding violins. Three men played a haunting melody while the fourth sang the poignant lyrics. Even without being able to understand the language, Lily knew the song was about the truest kind of love.

“What a beautiful song,” she said to Travis, hardly able to believe that they were getting such a wonderful serenade on the spot like this. Travis didn’t reply, but stared holes into the men, and Lily’s pulse raced a bit faster.

“Are you okay?” she whispered.

Travis blinked hard and seemed to surface again. “Fine,” he said, and Lily didn’t want to ruin their perfect evening by probing too hard, so she turned her attention back to the mesmerizing music.

The elder who had dressed her stepped out from behind the priest and handed Lily a thin green glass vase. Lily looked at the vase with surprise.

“Is this our door prize?” Lily asked Travis.

Travis shook his head. “I think we’re supposed to smash it to the ground.”

Lily gasped and held it to her chest. “No! I don’t want to. How else will I remember this day?”

Looking serious again, Travis said, “I doubt that’s going to be a problem.”