VINA IN VENICE (THE 5 SISTERS) (27 page)

“I’ll make sure of it,” Max told the doctor, his expression stern.

Vina waited until after the doctor left to
address
Max’s comment.  “You don’t have to take me back to the Palazzo,
Max.  I’m sure Cayo can help me
up to my room.”

“I hadn’t planned on taking you back,” he informed her
.  “You
’ll
stay in one of the guest rooms here so we can k
eep an eye on you and make sure t
he doctor
’s
instruct
ions are followed
.”

“
But I have to go back to the Palazzo!  Max, you don’t understand,”
she pleaded, her
voice growing frantic
.  “If I stay here,
it will only confirm what
Travis
already believes.” 

“And what is that?
  T
hat we are having an affair?  That you
’re
spending the night in my bed while he
’s
off lick
ing
his wounds?
  He should have stayed and demanded to know what was going on,” Max
asserted
.  “
Malone doesn’t deserve you if
he’s not willing to fight for you.”

“
You don’t know him like I do,” she
said
heatedly.  “He’s a good man…the
best. 
It’s just…w
hy would he fight for a woman he
believes
is having an affair
with someone else?”

“You think it’s proof that he doesn’t love you, don’t you?”

Vina nodded solemnly.  “At least I didn’t make a fool of myself by telling him how I felt.”

“It seems to me both of you would benefit from being honest about your feelings for each other. 
Cara
, maybe there was another reason he walked away.” 

“What do you mean?”

“
I mean, you assume
d
he left because he doesn’t love you, but
now
I have to wonder why seeing us together would bother him
if that was the case.  Maybe you should consider the possibility that it’s just the opposite; that Travis
loves you so much he
’
s willing to let you go
because he places your happiness above his own.”

Vina
wanted so badly to believe
it
was true
.  She
was still pondering
what Max had said
when Stefana returned
, but the medication
she’d taken
made her so groggy her thoughts became fuzzy and
disjointed
.
 
After getting
se
ttled into one of the downstairs bedrooms, Vina
declined Max’s offer to talk about it
and quickly succumbed to the allure of
sleep.

Hours later
,
she awoke
and lay in the darkness
,
agonizing over what she should do. 
As much as Vina wanted to, s
he couldn’t very well call Travis in the middle of the night and beg him to hear her out.
  And w
hat if Max was wrong
?  If only she could talk to Sophia or one of her other sisters
.  B
ut of course she couldn’
t, not without breaking the
stipulation in her their parents’ Will about not communicating with each other during their month abroad.  With an unhappy sigh, Vina closed her eyes and fell into a restless sleep.

Early the next morning, the Marches
a
came to see her.  “I’m so sorry to hear about your accident,” she said with a sympathetic smile.  “I’ll send someone in to help you to the restroom and bring a change of clothes.  I’m afraid the choice was limited to something from Stefana’s wardrobe so they may
be
a bit flamboyant for your taste
.  But don’t worry, my dear,
the doctor assured me
you should be able to return to the Palazzo this evening as long as you remain
on bed rest today.”

“Thank you,” Vina replied, biting back the
urge to ask if she could have access to a phone. 

“Once you’re dressed, I’ll get one of the boys to carry you out
side
.
  The fresh
air will do you good and breakfast will be served on the terrace shortly so you’ll have the company of the family for a while.
  Ma
x
was more than happy to volunteer his time
to stay with you today, although…” the Marches
a
’s eyes sparkled with amusement, “the other two boys pitched a fit about being elbowed aside.
”

“Wh-what about Stefana?  Will she be here today?”

“No, Stefana asked me to apologize.  She left about an hour ago but said she would see you at the ball tonight.  I’ve barely seen her at all this past week
, but I expect that has a lot to do with the young man she’s been seeing.”

Vina
went numb inside.  “It’s…serious then?”

“Oh, Stefana hasn’t confided in me yet, but when a young woman walks around with her heart in her eyes, it isn’t difficult to
figure out she’s fallen in love.”

Disheartened by the Marches
a
’s revelation, Vina
merely nodded and was relieved when the older woman left to fetch her assistant.  Thankfully, the assistant was an Italian woman who spoke very little English so the only thing required of Vina was a polite
grazie
before the woman left.
  A few minutes later, Max strode into the room, leaning down to brush a kiss to her cheek before scooping her up in his arms.

“I’m so embarrassed about this,” Vina admitted. 

“Don’t be.  Personally, I like the idea of playing the Knight in shining armor.  And what better way to start the day than to have a beautiful woman in your arms?”

“It’s not just that you have to pack me around,” she said as he carried her out of the room.  “It’s the fact that I
injured myself chasing after a man who didn’t even care enough to see if I’d made it back to the Palazzo last night.”

“Don’t do this,
cara
.  Spend this time trying to figure out a way to tell him how you feel instead of brooding over yesterday’s misunderstanding.  If it turns out he feels the same
, you will have a lifetime to make it up to each other.”

“And if he doesn’t?”

Max stopped and met her tearful gaze.  “Then I will be here for you.”

“You’re a very nice man, Max Andollina.”

He continued walking. 
“You wouldn’t say that if you knew what I was thinking right now.”

Vina smiled despite the turmoil playing havoc with her emotions.  “For both our sakes, I’ll refrain from asking you to voice your thoughts.”

“Smart girl,” Max chuckled.

***

Travis checked his appearance in the full length mirror, idly wondering if men all over Venice were eying their own costumes and feeling as foolish as he was.
 
He’d chosen the attire of a nobleman, but even the rich fabric didn’t make up for the questionable fashion. 
The deep blue
Venetian breeches
were made from a shiny satin
material that should have been reserved for pajama bottoms, but
he decided
they didn’t look half bad tucked inside the knee-high
black
boots.

The crisp, white shirt
had
lace for cuffs
and
was worn beneath a jerkin
– a sleeveless vest with a brocade pattern.  The finishing touch was a velvet jacket designed to hang open
that had
wide, quilted cuffs
and
the same ornate pattern as the jerkin. 
Hats, he’d been told, were mandatory in public during that period so Travis had selected a tall hat
typically worn by noblemen, complete with light and dark blue feathers.

With his mask in place, he was barely recognizable.  In the
softer mood lighting of the ballroom, Travis imagined everyone was cloaked in mystery.  That was, of course, the purpose of a masquerade ball; the masks were worn to conceal a person’s social status and encourage anonymous flirting as well as gambling. 
The anonymity wouldn’t have
been a problem had he been escorting Vina as planned
.  As it was
,
Travis felt a twinge of apprehension because he had no idea what she was wearing or whether he would be able to pick her out of the crowd.
 

His saving grace was Stefana.  She would be instrumental in pointing out her brothers, and since Max was accompanying Vina,
they were bound to run into one another
eventually.  Travis had no intention of spoiling the ball for her, but one way or another he was going to corner
Vina
and extract a promise to have that talk. 
He
wished there was a way to
accomplish
that
before
he and Stefana dropped the bomb on her brothers about the wedding
.  He had an uneasy feeling
they
weren’t going to be pleased and
if they
storm
ed
out of there, Vina
would no doubt go
with them.

If nothing else, this was certainly going to be a night to remember.

Entering
the Palazzo Pisani Moretta, a 15
th
century Venetian palace on the Grand Canal where Il Ballo del Doge was held, was like
stepping into another world.  Every year, the ball followed a new theme
.  T
his year it was
Because Life is Magic
.
  There was
definitely
something magical about the splendor of the palace, the dazzling costumes, music and dance performances,
as well as
the elegant dining rooms where a sumptuous Venetian cuisine was served.
  Among the guests were celebrities from different countries, leaders in the business and financial world, and even members of royal families; none of which could be distinguished from
an
average pe
rson,
such as himself.

They’d been at
the
palace for nearly two hours when Stefana
spotted
her brothers.  “They’re all together,” she said, the quiver in her voice giving away how
edgy
she was. 
“I guess if we’re going to do this, we might as well do it now.”  Stefana held out her hand, admiring the glittering diamond ring on her finger for a moment before letting her hand drop to her side.  “I should probably take it off until after we tell them, but…” she shrugged, “I guess it won’t matter in a few minutes anyway.  Besides,
it’s so beautiful,
I can’t bear to ta
ke it off.”

“Are you sure you want to do this now instead of waiting until tomorrow so you can tell your parents at the same time?”

“No.  My parents won’t object, not when they’re so fond of my husband-to-be.  As for my brothers…they’re less likely to get aggressive or cause a scene in public. 
Sometimes it’s difficult for them to see past
the fact that I’m their
baby sister
and realize
I’ve become a woman
c
apable of making
my
own decisions.
  We’d better go before we lose sight of them,” she said, already weaving her way through the crowd.

Stefana led the way, but Travis was only vaguely aware of the way she squared her shoulders as if
preparing herself for
battle.  His attention had been drawn to the two elegantly dressed women standing alongside
her
brothers.  Dressed as they were, it was impossible
to tell which one was Vina, although he presumed it was the one wearing a billowing red gown because she was the closet to Max.  Travis didn’t have any trouble picking out the eldest of the Andollina brothers; he was a good three i
nches taller than the other two.

“I’m glad we finally found you,” Stefana said, showing no sign of the trepidation Travis knew she
was
feeling.
  “I have something to tell you and hope you’ll all be as happy
about it as I am.”  Stefana held out her hand, displaying the enormous solitaire diamond ring
Travis had helped her pick out
.  “I’m engaged,” she announced with a radiant smile.