Read Online ''I Do''...Take Two! by Merline Lovelace - Free Book Online Page B

I think they’re cousins or something.”
    â€œWow,” she murmured as the vaporetto driver handed up their cases. “Your friend and his family certainly live well.”
    â€œSo it would seem. I don’t know the whole story, though. Carlo doesn’t talk about his background, and I’m not about to pry. All I know is that he prefers his air force rank of maggiore to the one he inherited.”
    â€œWhich is?”
    â€œPrince of Lombard and Marino.”
    â€œWhat?” Disbelief and incredulity chased across her expressive face. “Have you stumbled into some alternate universe? One populated with Ferraris and Maseratis, Italian princes and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies?”
    â€œI’ve asked myself that same question the past few weeks,” Travis admitted as a uniformed bellman popped out of a door at the rear of the landing.
    â€œBuonasera. Benvenuti a Palazzo Alleghri .”
    â€œThanks.”
    Switching seamlessly to English, the bellman gestured to a marble staircase. “The lobby is just up those stairs, signore. If you will check in, I’ll have your bags carried to your room.”
    The stairs led to a black-and-white-tiled loggia dominated by gilt-edged mirrors, six-foot-tall vases bursting with flowers and a statue of a muscular Roman goddess in flowing marble robes.
    â€œAh, yes,” the receptionist said when Travis gave his name and a credit card. “Maggiore e SignoraWestbrook. As il principe requested, we’ve put you in the blue suite. I think you will find it very comfortable.”
    Comfortable didn’t come close to describing the luxurious set of rooms. The source of the suite’s name was immediately apparent in the shimmering ultramarine brocade drapes in the sitting room. The same fabric covered the upholstered chairs and was picked up in the broad stripes of an Empire-style sofa with one rolled arm and gleaming gilt trim. A Murano glass chandelier in a rainbow of colors hung from an elaborately carved ceiling medallion, and the antique marble-topped bombé chest that served as a sideboard could have graced a medieval prince’s palace.
    Which it probably had, Kate thought as she paused in the arched entry to the bedroom to gape at its opulence. More rich brocade, more handblown glass, more sumptuously carved plasterwork...and a massive bed of silver-painted wood with four flat-topped posts entwined in gold-leaf vines. She was still taking in the suite’s splendor when the bellman arrived with their luggage. He placed their two small pieces on the bench at the foot of the bed before turning to ask if they cared to dine on the rooftop terrace.
    â€œThe view is one such as you will see nowhere else.”
    Kate looked to Travis, who endorsed the recommendation. “He’s right. Once you see Venice in the moonlight, you’ll forget that coin you tossed in the Trevi Fountain and always come back here instead of Rome.”
    â€œYou think?”
    â€œI know.”
    â€œThen the terrace it is.”
    â€œ Bene. What time shall I tell the concierge to reserve your table?”
    Since they’d eaten breakfast on the run and skipped lunch, they opted for an early dinner.
    â€œI shall see to it.”
    Silence descended after the bellman’s departure. Travis lingered at the foot of the bed; Kate stood by the windows. Her hair was a wind-tossed tangle from the drive and vaporetto ride. Her expression reflected none of the enchantment she’d displayed earlier.
    He had a good idea why and gestured to the four-poster. “Sorry about the one bed. I can bunk on the sofa in the other room.”
    She nodded, but the troubled look didn’t leave her eyes.
    â€œWe don’t have to stay here, Kate. Or in Venice, for that matter. Aviano’s only an hour away. My hotel outside the base doesn’t have anywhere near the view or elegance, but...”
    â€œIt’s not the palazzo.” She