VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS) (23 page)

Even through the haze of a nasty hangover, Travis
was able to discern
it hadn’t been one-sided
.  Vina’s response to his kisses had been
passionate at first
;
that much he recalled.  But
then…?  He rubbed
his temple where the throbbing pain was the worst
, but
it didn’t help his aching head or revive any other memories
.  Had she asked him to stop
?  Or
had they
both gotten carried away and now Vina resented him because he’d
been too drunk to know or care if was good for her too?

Well, there was no use stewing over it
right
now.  He doubted Vina would be
willing to discuss it any time soon and the truth was, he was in no condition to have a serious conversation either.  Venice was waiting for them.  He would take her on the grand tour, keep the mood light
, regain a little ground.  Then he would set her down for a nice long heart to heart. 
He’d made some huge mistakes last night, but he w
as determined to
atone for it somehow.

***

Vina was a little apprehensive when Travis returned a short time later, but to her immense relief he didn’t mention anything about what happened the night before. 
They grabbed a quick breakfast at one of the Palazzo restaurants then opted to rent a gondola rather than taking the motorboat moored at their private dock. 
Travis
was his
usual charming self, making her laugh and feel completely at ease
as the
ir gondolier steered
through the narrow waterways
and the Grand Canal
. 

Venice was breathtaking with its churches
,
palaces
,
and magnificent
gothic and Renaissance
architectural monuments.
  Occasionally, they got out to explore but kept it brief because she was anxious to visit the costume shop Travis had
promised to take her to.  Trying on the elaborate ball gowns was even more fun than she imagined, and Travis was surprisingly patient and actually seemed to enjoy
watching her parade around in them
.

Vina insisted they keep their selections a secret and af
ter arranging to have their costumes delivered to the Palazzo, they visited several shops that specialized in carnival masks.  There were so many to choose from, each of them
so
elaborate and beautifully designed, it was almost impossible to select a favorite.  Travis chose a gold mask that covered most of his face, leaving only his mouth and jaw exposed.
  The nose of the mask had been painted a deep, ruby red that curved up around the top of each eye hole.

“You’re taking longer to pick out a mask than you did the dress,” Travis
teased.

“
It’s different for women
,” she replied, reaching for another mask.  “
You don’t have to worry about color coordinating or whether it will work your hair style.  Men have it so easy.”

Vina smiled when she saw caught his expression in the mirror.  His lips were pressed together, jaws clenched, in an obvious effort to keep from disputing her claim that he had it easier than she did.  Travis had been on his best behavior today, and if he was
suffering from having to hold his tongue, it was no more than he deserved for what he’d done last night.
  Granted, his apology had been sincere, but she wasn’t ready to fully forgive him just yet.

It was a bit mean spirited of her, Vina knew, especially when they’d had such a wonderful day. 
She’d done a good job of hiding her feelings, and there had been a few stretches of time when she was able to forget and just enjoy the moment
.  B
ut
underneath the smil
ing façade
was a
lacerated
heart that was clinging to the hope Travis would do something to prove she was wrong and that he wasn’t giving up on them.

Swallowing her disappointment, Vina shooed him out of the shop under the pretext of keeping the mask she’d chosen a secret until the night of the ball
, just as she’d done with her costume
.
  Making her purchase and waiting for the clerk to box it up provided Vina with the time she needed to pull herself together.  Emerging from the shop with a smile planted firmly on her face, she managed to maintain the appearance of light-heartedness until she was alone in her suite.

Vina deposited the bag with her mask inside the closet
,
then kicked off her shoes and curled up on the bed.  Travis had seen her to
the
door but hadn’t given her so much as a peck on the cheek after agreeing to come back shortly before six o’clock.  The excitement she’d felt at seeing the Andollina’s again was dampened by her somber mood
and she seriously considered calling the Marchesa to arrange dinner for another
evening
. 

She couldn’t do it, of course.  At this late hour, it would have been incredibly rude
.  Besides, maybe it would do her some good to be around other people right now.  In fact, it might just prod Travis into admitting he wasn’t ready to call it quits if he saw how attentive the Andollina brothers were. 
They were notorious flirts with all the ladies, so she had no doubt they would
make a competition
of it. 

Vina
gnawed on her lip.  She shouldn’t even
contemplat
e
making Travis jealous. 
After all, h
adn’t she been the one to berate him
for
playing the jealous card after Cayo left yesterday
? 
But that was before you consider
ed
the significance of his reaction
, she told herself.  No, it was wrong no matter how
she
looked at it.  Wrong to incite jealousy in Travis and wrong to use the Andollina brothers
that way.
 

“Oh, what’s the use,” Vina cried despondently.
  “He doesn’t want you and he never will.”

***

The first thing Travis noticed when Vina opened the door was how incredibly
beautiful
she was.  The deep
red
cocktail dress she had on conformed to every delectable curve and brought out the fire in her hair. 
She was also wearing those killer red heels. 
The second thing he noticed was how
stiffly she held her shoulders and how
drawn her face was.
  Surely, she wasn’t nervous about dining with the Andollinas, which meant
he
was the reason she looked so tense.

“These are your friends,” he said after she’d closed the door behind him.  “If you’d rather go alone, it’s okay with me.”

Vina cross
ed
her arms, her tone challenging.  “Is it
really
?”

Travis started to say yes.  He wasn’t exactly thrilled with the idea of spending the evening with people he didn’t know, and he sure as hell didn’t want to watch while she laughed and relived
old times
with the Andollina brothers.  His eyes swept over Vina.  She would be the center of attention, her sweet smile drawing them to her like a magnet, her sexy body inciting the same raw desire that was running rampant in his own body.

“No,
it’s not okay with me,
” he replied honestly.
  “As your escort, I feel it is my responsibility to accompany you.”  Okay, so the second part hadn’t been quite as honest as the first, but he could hardly tell her the truth.  On the other hand, he
saw
the way her eyes flickered and couldn’t let her believe
he was only going due to
a sense of obligation.  “
There…uh…is another reason
I want to go
.”

“And what would that be?” she
snapped
. 

“The way you look right now
,” he said softly
.
 

She looked confused, as if he’d spoken in a language she didn’t understand.  Travis closed the distance between them, the need to touch her as necessary to him as his next breath.  Framing her face with hands
, his eyes lingered on her mouth before shifting to meet her bewildered gaze. 

“Vina,
I’m not letting you out of my sight for a minute
tonight
.
”
 

Travis felt her body tremble and
experienced a moment of triumph as he lowered his head
and gently pressed his lips
to her
s
. 
Ignoring the voice inside his head that
reminded him of
the vow he’d made
t
o give
Vina
time to trust him again
,
Travis capture
d
her mouth in a slow, seductive kiss.
 
He was powerless to stop himself, incapable of
holding back the torrent of
love that filled his heart when she gave up the fight to remain impassive and surrendered to him.

He
dropped his arms over her shoulders
,
down to her slim waist
and
pull
ed
her closer.  Gradually, Vina’s arms uncrossed, the tension in her body slipping away with the last of her resistance. 
The warmth of her hands seeped through his shirt as they inched up his chest
and curled
around his neck. 
Travis was glad now that he hadn’t waited, elated that she was back in his arms where she belonged.  This time when he made love to her…

A sharp rap on the door jolted hi
m
back to reality.
 
Travis groaned inwardly;
Cayo was here to pick them up.
 
It would be hours before he was alone with
Vina
again, hours of torturous conversation with people he didn’t know before they returned to the Palazzo.
  Irritated by the interruption and the prospect of competing with the Andollina brothers for Vina’s attention, Travis drew his head back, muttering oaths under his breath. 

“I’m sorry, Vina.  I didn’t mean for this happen.  It was a mistake to…” Another loud rap did nothing to improve his surly mood.  “I’ll get
the door
,” he said, the irritation evident in his
tone.  Vina took a step back, looking extremely sexy and very much like a woman who had just been kissed senseless.  “Maybe you should go…straighten up a little
.”

Vina stared at him for a moment, her cheeks turning a fiery red that matched her dress.
  “I…I’ll just be a minute,” she said hoarsely, then turned and walked away from him, her
measured steps as rigid as her spine.

Admonishing himself for
making Vina feel self
conscious, he went to open the door before Cayo decided to give up
on
them and leave.  Not that Travis would have minded, but
he doubted Vina would be very pleased with him.  As he’d
tried
to tell her after Cayo’s knock interrupted them, it was a mistake to
start kissing her when he knew they had to leave soon.  It left them no time to talk
and
no time
to
tell
Vina how he felt about her.
  It was frustrating as hell that they had to postpone everything until later tonight, although it did give him something to look forward to.

“Mr. Malone,” Cayo said congenially when Travis opened the door, “I was beginning to wonder if I’d gotten the wrong room.”

Surprised by Cayo’s friendly greeting, Travis offered a sincere apology and told him Vina would be along in a few minutes. 
He and Cayo exchanged idle small talk while they waited
; which thankfully, wasn’t long.  Vina
appeared
to have regained her composure by the time she
returned
.
 
She’d reapplied lip gloss and brushed her hair to a shiny glean; the only evidence
of the passionate kiss they’d shared was
the remains of
a soft
blush
.

“You look lovely, Miss Vina,” Cayo said
appreciatively.

Vina rewarded him with a warm smile.  “
Thank you, Cayo.”

She looped her hand through the arm Cayo extended and allowed him to escort her from the
room, leaving Trav
is
to trail behind them
. 
He didn’t really mind; the view Vina provided
in
her
sexy
-
a
s-
sin red high heels and the
gentl
e
sway
of her hips made the short walk extremely pleasurable. 
He followed them down the path
to
the dock
where
the Andollina’s luxurious gondola was moored
.  Travis
waited for Cayo to help Vina in
, taking
advantage of Cayo’s gesture to board next by taking the seat next to Vina.