Once upon a Dream (32 page)

A
SHORT TIME
later Claire's Italian heels clicked over the rose and white tiles that paved the
piano nobile
and down the marble stairs to the water level.

She was going to meet her own true love, not timidly and with a fearful heart as Bianca had. Claire went down the water steps of the Ca' Ludovici boldly, filled with hope and love.

Val was waiting for her there with a private launch. Claire paused on the landing. Her bags were beside his on the deck. Just the way they should be.

Clouds were gathering in the distance. It would rain soon, but the lagoon beyond the canal was a translucent aqua, blending almost imperceptibly into the sky. Claire's own horizons had expanded in the past few weeks. She would no longer try to cage her eagle. Blue sky was half covered with pearly gray clouds, but the sun shone brightly down on him. It burnished his tanned skin, struck
fire from the depths of his blue eyes. She could not change him, nor he change her.

They could only change themselves.

And they would succeed, because their love was deep and strong. Because they understood now how precious love was and how much they had to lose. And because she finally believed in his love, and that if she gave him his freedom, he would wing safely home to her.

He looked up and saw her, and his face shone. Then he raised his arms and lifted her down to him. He drew her against his chest for a long, deep kiss that poured through her like sunshine, warmed her to the core.

Val felt the difference in the way her body curved to his now, the faith that this was how it would and should be. The scent of her skin and hair were like perfume as he gathered her to him. It was, he thought, the most perfect moment of his life.

“I love you, Claire,” he murmured. “I want you and I need you. Forever.”

She raised herself up on tiptoe and threw her arms around his neck. “I love you, Val. I always have. I always will. Forever.”

The pilot cleared his throat. “
Signor, signora.
It is time to leave.”

Claire looked up at Ca' Ludovici, its faded pink and white facade luminous in the shifting light. The count was smiling down at them—and for just a moment she thought she saw another face beside his: a lovely young girl in a velvet dress, with a cloud of curling, golden Botticelli hair.

Then the image faded and was gone.

Claire's heart soared.
Thank you, Bianca! For your faith and trust in letting me uncover the truth for you. And for teaching me the courage to love.

It started to rain lightly, a faint sheen of pewter in the air, as the launch headed out of the Grand Canal. The island of San Giorgio Maggiore was wrapped in mist. They'd be back to see it soon. Venice had become their city.

Claire went into the cabin, Val's strong arm wound around her waist. Contentment filled her. Bianca was at peace and with the man she loved. And so was she.

As the launch cut through the waves of the lagoon, they curled up together on the leather couch at the back of the cabin. The drone of the engine was soothing, soft as a heartbeat. Claire felt herself drifting away. Then Val's lips were on her hair, her eyelids, nibbling the lobe of her right ear.

“Save it for Paris,” she told him with a soft little laugh.

He kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her head against his shoulder. They both glanced out the window for a last glimpse of Venice.

The playful wind off the Adriatic tossed the sheer veils of rain aside. For a magical moment the beautiful palazzi, the tile-roofed towers and domed churches, seemed to float on a molten pewter lake.

Venice vanished in the soft silver mist like a mirage. Like an enchanted island in a fairy tale.

Like a fabulous dream.