‘This was the perfect end to a perfect evening,’ she said as the gondolier tied up the boat at the jetty by St Mark’s Square and helped them off the gondola.
‘We haven’t finished quite yet,’ Roland said. ‘Remember tangoing by the Seine? Now we’re going to do the same in St Mark’s Square. Well, not necessarily dance the tango—it depends what they’re playing.’
As they walked into the square, lit by more of the pretty globe-shaped lights, Grace realised what he meant. There were tables and chairs outside Florian’s and Quadri’s, the two oldest caffès in the city, and a couple of small bands played on stages underneath gazebos.
Roland spun her into his arms and began to dance with her. Other couples were doing the same, she noticed, so instead of protesting that they were going to make a spectacle of themselves, she relaxed and gave herself up to the sheer pleasure of being held by Roland.
* * *
Grace looked so beautiful in the soft light of the square, Roland thought. Tonight, she was really shining—relaxed, happy, enjoying the music and the dancing and the sheer romance that was Venice.
And he, too, was being seduced by the place. To the point that when they got back to the hotel and he’d unlocked the door to their suite, he actually picked her up and carried her across the threshold.
Then he realised what he was doing, and set her back down on her feet. ‘Sorry. I got a bit carried away.’
She smiled and reached up to stroke his face. ‘I think you were doing the carrying. Literally. And the answer’s yes.’
He sucked in a breath. Was she saying...? ‘But—’
She pressed a finger lightly against his lips. ‘No strings,’ she said. ‘That’s what we agreed. And tonight’s just you and me and Venice.’
‘Are you sure about this?’ he asked.
Her eyes were almost navy in the low light. ‘I’m very sure.’
‘Grace, you don’t owe me anything. I didn’t bring you here expecting you to sleep with me in exchange for the trip.’
‘I know, and that’s not why I’m saying yes.’ She took a deep breath. ‘It’s because I want to. I know there are no strings and this is just temporary between you and me—but you’ve swept me off my feet this far, so let’s go the whole way.’
He needed no further encouragement. He picked her up and carried her across the threshold to his bedroom.
And then he got to live out the dream he’d had the previous weekend. Unzipping her dress, sliding it off her shoulders, kissing every centimetre of skin he revealed—and finally losing himself in her warm sweet depths.
That night he fell asleep with his arms wrapped round her and her arms wrapped round him, feeling more at peace with himself than he had in way too long.
* * *
The next morning, Roland woke first. Guilt flooded through him. He really had let the romance of Venice carry off his common sense, last night. Even though Grace had told him that she was sure, he shouldn’t have let things go this far.
So what now? Would her feelings have changed this morning? Would she regret it? Would she want things to be different? Or would they both be able to blame it on the romance of the sunset and the music?
She was shy with him when she woke, and he knew he had to break the ice.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I, um...I guess last night shouldn’t have happened. I apologise.’
‘Don’t apologise. It was just as much my idea as yours,’ she said. ‘It wasn’t part of our deal. We got carried away by—well, by Venice. So we can pretend it didn’t happen.’
If she’d wanted last night to be the start of something more, now was the perfect time to say so. The fact that she hadn’t made it clear to him that she intended to stick to the terms of their arrangement.
So today was their very last day together.
This was going to be goodbye.
As far as he knew, the landlord hadn’t contacted her any more about the situation with the flat, so she might still need to be his house guest for a while. But Bella and Hugh were due back from their honeymoon tomorrow, and it was more than likely that as soon as Bella learned what had happened, she would insist on Grace moving in with her.
And then he and Grace would be polite and distant strangers.
That was what they’d agreed, so why did it make him feel so antsy?
‘I, um— There was something I wanted to show you this morning,’ he said. ‘Shall we go exploring straight after breakfast?’