Swept Away by the Venetian Millionaire

Not on Maya. She could see clearly what a master work of art this whole building was. And she appreciated it.

Their tour guide was explaining the influence of Byzantine architecture on the cathedral and the religious importance of the mosaics. He then launched into the history of the artwork and when it was completed, what previous works the art had been influenced by. Maya politely nodded at his words without tearing her eyes away from the walls and the dome overhead.

Angelo continued to dart glances his way as he spoke. Vito wanted to tell the young man to relax. No doubt he was wondering why Vito Rameri, of all people, would be participating in a guided tour of San Marco.

If he only knew.

Maya sighed. “The pictures I’ve seen in various books can’t compare to the reality of this place.”

“Pictures can’t do justice to a true masterpiece.”

“No. They can’t. I knew the mosaics were mostly done in gold but I couldn’t have imagined the sheer luminescence of the effect.”

Angelo interrupted them with a none-too-subtle clearing of his throat. “Should we continue on toward the apse?”

Vito motioned for him to lead the way and placed a hand on Maya’s elbow.

Despite his own prompt, Angelo didn’t move. He stood staring at the two of them, his gaze dropping to where Vito held Maya by the arm.

Great. Depending on who this young man’s mentoring professor was, this little outing might very well fuel a fresh new round of talk among Vito’s acquaintances. Vito wasn’t sure he could deal with a gossip storm again. The last one had nearly destroyed him. He let go of Maya and dropped his hand to his side, clenching it in anger and frustration.

Angelo blinked and lifted his chin, as if summoning the courage to speak. Vito could guess what was coming and sought in vain for a way to head him off at the pass.

This was the reason he preferred to stay home.

“Scusa, per favore,” Angelo began. “Are you not Signor Rameri?”

Vito merely nodded, hoping against all hope that the young man would just drop the matter once it was confirmed.

No such luck. Angelo thrust his hand in Vito’s direction and spoke in Italian. “It is an honor to meet you, sir.”

Vito had no choice but to shake the other man’s hand. “Thank you for your kindness,” he responded, reverting to English for Maya’s sake. This was her day, after all. He had no desire whatsoever to make any part of it be about him. Angelo would just have to understand that.

For her part, Maya was giving them both a curious look.

“Do you two know each other?” she asked.

Angelo chuckled nervously. “Anyone studying art in Italy, or most anywhere else in the world for that matter, knows of Signor Rameri.”

Maya turned to give him a look, one eyebrow raised. “Of course. How silly of me.”

“If we could continue,” Vito prompted.

“I would not have expected to be giving you a tour when I signed on for this job,” Angelo said, obviously taking the hint that speaking English was the polite thing to do.

“Life is full of surprises.” Some of those surprises were bigger than others, Vito thought. Some surprises came in the form of a vicious sucker punch and turned a once-content life full of purpose into a shattered mess.

“I knew I was right,” Angelo continued.

“Right about what?” Vito asked, despite the trepidation warning him to just ignore the statement.

“About all the incorrect rumors. I argued to everyone who would listen that you were not, in fact, retiring.”

Vito wanted to tell him it was none of his business. The only person his career concerned was Vito himself. Bad enough his cousin was a thorn in his side on the subject. Like he’d told Leo earlier, he would go back to work in the studio when he was good and ready.

“Retiring?” Maya asked.

“Why else would you be here if not for creative inspiration?” Angelo looked quite smug about his reasoning skills. He had no clue just how completely off his theory was.

“Rumors are the devil’s playthings,” Vito declared with a finality he hoped would compel everyone to just drop the topic.

But Angelo had still more to say. “No one can blame you for taking a sabbatical given everything that happened. I knew it was just a matter of time before you came back.”