VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS) (31 page)

“Let go, sweetheart,”
was all
Travis said
, and Vina had shattered into a million pieces
.

Afterwards, they lay in each other’s arms, too exhausted both physically and emotionally to do
or say
anything
.  Sometime just before dawn, she’d been roused from a blissfully deep sleep by so
*
ft, feathery kisses that became increasingly urgent as the
passion between them
re
ignited.  Travis made love to her again
, and
they
quickly drifted off to sleep just as they
’d
done before
.  E
xcept this time Vina
had a
dream.

“Travis, are you awake?”

“Hmmm,” he answered, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

“Do you believe dreams can come true?”

“I
know
they do
.”

His confident answer was accompanied by a fierce hug.  Vina smiled.  The fact that she was here in his arms was proof enough.  Tilting her head back, she returned the tender kiss he gave her with a lightness of heart she hadn’t felt in a very, very long time.

“I dreamed we were married,” she told him
, “and that I’d just given birth to our first child
.
”

“A good dream; one I’ll make sure comes true for both of us.  Was it a boy or girl?”

“A boy.”  Butterflies twirled in her stomach when she recalled how wonderful it felt to hold her baby…
their
baby.  “A beautiful, dark-haired boy, who looked just like his father.  I was sitting up in the hospital with the baby in my arms and you standing beside me.  My sisters were gathered around
the bed
and they each had a man next to them.  I couldn’t see who the men were, but I knew my sisters had found the love they’d been looking for.”

“I’m sure they have,” Travis said.

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely.  After all, your parents knew what they were doing when they paired us up, didn’t they?”

Vina’s brows drew together.  “What do you mean?  I thought they chose you because we were such good friends and they trusted you to watch over me.”

After a few moments of silence, Travis told her about meeting with her parents
to discuss their Will
.  “They knew I was in
love with you and hoped I would do something about it. 
I guess s
etting it up so we would
spend a month in the most romantic city in the world was their way of providing the opportunity we needed to see we belong together.”

“I never knew my
parents were
such
devious
schemer
s
!
 
They were right about us, of course, but I have my doubts about how sound their judgment was in choosing men for my sisters.”

“What makes you say that?”

“For one thing, they’ve paired Victoriana up with Sheldon.  Don’t get me wrong, Sheldon is a very nice man but he’s no match for someone as headstrong as she is.  The choices they made for my ot
her sisters are just as bad.  I’m going to be heartbroken if things don’t work out for them like they did for us.” 

“Oh, no you don’t,” Travis admonished.  “We have three weeks left in Venice and you are
not
going to spend
them
worrying about your sisters.
” 

Vina knew he was right.  Regardless of what was happen
ing in the lives of her sisters, there was nothing to be g
ained by
tying herself in knots because of something she had
no control over.
  Which was easier said than done…unless she found a way to keep her mind occupied, that is.  Splaying her fingers over his corded chest gave her some deliciously wicked ideas on how that could be accomplished.

“
Travis…I was just thinking…” her hand glided over his belly, “it would be a tremendous help if I was distracted by other…
activities
.”

“That’s a good idea, and I know just where to start.”

Vina tilted her head back.  “You do?” she said with wide-eyed innocence as a slow burn began to build
in her most intimate places.

“Sure.
  After breakfast we can go to the pageant…La Festa Delle Marie, take in some of the sights, and
then have an early dinner at the Marco Polo Ballroom.  I
heard
the Moon Masquerade is
a lot of fun, or we could go to La Fenice Opera Theatre if you prefer.”

Vina
tried not
to let her disappointment show.  True, painting the town would provide a distraction, but
not the kind she’d been hoping for.
 
Acid churned in her stomach as t
he first whisper of d
oubt
began
to
cre
e
p
in. 

Didn’t he want to be alone with her? 
Making love with Travis had been
…spectacular…euphoric…and unquestionably
the single most pleasurable experience in her life
. 
Maybe it wasn’t the same for him.  She’d seen some of the beautiful women he’d been with; femme fatales who obviously knew now to please a man.  Maybe she simply hadn’t lived up to his expectations.
  Maybe he regretted…
 
 

“I know that look
,” Travis cut into her troubled thoughts.  “
When
ever you don’
t like my suggestion, you get this little crease on your forehead.” He traced the line wi
th his
finger, trailing it down the side of her cheek.  “Then you mull it over for a few minutes to decide if it’s worth fussing about.”

“I do
not
fuss,” she
said with
an
indignant huff. 

Travis laughed; a deep, sexy
sound
that curled her toes and
touched her in places she was desperately attempting to ignore at the moment. 
It was an exercise in futility
, of course.  It simply wasn’t possible to keep her hormones from working themselves into a frenzy when
she was so acutely
conscious
of
what they’d spent half the night doing. 
Well, she wasn’t about to keep quiet about her feelings and allow them to fall into the same miscommunication trap
that had nearly destroyed their relationship before.

“I don’t want to do any of those things,” she blurted out.  “I don’t want to leave the suite at all.  As a matter of fact, I don’t even want to get out of bed!”

“Thank God,” Travis sighed.  He threw back the covers and
rolled over, pinning Vina beneath him
.  “We can order room service later…”

“Much later.”

“Promise
me
something, sweetheart.  Promise
the masks will stay off and that we’ll never hide our feelings from each other again.”

Vina laced her arms around his neck.  “I think I can safely say I’ve had my fill of masquerades.”

“
Speaking of masquerades;
I don’t think either of us enjoyed the Ball last night.  I’m sorry I
spoiled
it for you,” he said solemnly.

“
You can’t take all the blame.  I did a pretty good job of ruining it for myself. 
The
Andollina’s
must
think I’m nuttier than a fruit cake.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it.  Max under
stood what was going on.  I’m sure he explained it to the others, assuming they didn’t figure it out on their own.”

“Travis…you know nothing happened between Max and I, don’t you?  When you saw us together at the pool, he was
only
trying to comfort me.  He asked if you knew I was in love with you and I fell to pieces on the poor man.”

“I know.  Max told Stefana what happened and she told me.
”  He kiss
ed
her softly on the lips.  “Enough talk for now.  I want to make love to you again.”

“Just one more question, I promise.  Then you can have your wicked way with me.  Just before we left, you and Max exchanged a few words in Italian.
  The curiosity is killing me.
”

Travis chuckled. 
“
If you must know, Miss Curious, h
e asked me if I was in love with you.”

“Wh-what did you tell him?”

The first morning’s rays were just beginning to streak across the room, but even in the dim light, Vina could see the answer reflected in his eyes
before he’d even spoken a word
.

“
The truth,
” Travis replied softly.
  “I love you,
Vina. 
I always
have and I always
will.”

***

They spent the better part of the day in bed
; t
alking and laughing, making plans for the future
,
and ultimately
making love
.  T
hey
only left
the bedroom
when nature called and once in the early evening to take a shower together. 
Meals were ordered up from room service and eaten outside on the bedroom balcony
so they could enjoy the breathtaking view.  It was the only time they got dressed, if you could consider donning robes and nothing else as being dressed. 

That night as she was drifting in that
shadowed land somewhere between being asleep and fully awake, Vina thought about the lists she and her sisters
had
made;
each of them
identifying
the
qualities they felt were
imperative for the perfect man to possess.

Drop dead gorgeous, she’d jotted down. 
Killer smile, g
reat kisser, passionate lover. 
The rugged, outdoor
s
type; someone who knew how to enjoy the simple things in life.  Strong and intensely male, but who wasn’t afraid to show he had a heart. 
She’d known exactly what she wanted in a man, and
now
it made her wonder.  D
eep down inside, had she known
she was listing all the things she already knew existed in one man?  Vina smothered a giggle.  She might as well have
written
Travis’ name at the top of the
page
!

She only wished her parents were alive to see how deliriously happy she was.  They would have been thrilled
to know Vina had succeeded in granting their last wish; to find her true love, her destiny, her heart’s desire.

Her
thought
s strayed to
Sophia, and a
lso
Victoriana, Maria, and Kelsey
.  Were
they
as happy as she was
right now?
 
W
ere they lying in their lover’s arms as she was doing, thinking about their sisters and hoping they’d
all
miraculously found the
man of their
dreams
?
 
What a fabulous reunion it would be if things worked out as wonderfully for them as they had for her.
 

It was going to be difficult leaving all this beauty and splendor behind
, but she was anxious to start her new life as the wife of Travis Malone. 
Venice truly was magical and she was going to miss
it. 
She’d found love here. 
F
ound a great
er
sense of inner peace and happiness than she’d ever thought possible. 
But in her heart, Vina knew
it wasn’t really the romantic city that had given her these amazing gifts; it was the man lying beside her. 

No, i
t
doesn’t
matter where
we are
, Vina thought with a contented sigh
.  A
s long as she and Travis were together, the
y would carry the magic
of Venice
with them
always
.

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