Free Treasured Dreams by Kendall Talbot

she pushed her hand beneath his thigh. She did this often, and he liked the familiarity of it.
    â€˜Do you think they can hear us?’ she whispered. Her face was a delicate blend of milk and cream with the touch of makeup she’d applied today. The discrete lighting added to her ethereal complexion.
    He shrugged. ‘I have no idea.’
    She looked through the glass, and when he followed her gaze all he could see was the very top of their heads.
    â€˜We could have sex in here.’
    Alessandro gasped at how loud she’d spoken, and she giggled at him. ‘I don’t think they can hear us.’
    â€˜Really? That was your test?’
    â€˜It worked, didn’t it? They would’ve done something if they’d heard. Don’t you think?’
    Ginger’s spontaneity was just one of the things Alessandro loved about her. They’d been a couple for only a few months, but he’d already decided she was the woman he wanted to marry. He hadn’t asked her yet, though; he was waiting for the perfect moment.
    â€˜Oh look.’ She pointed up over his shoulder. ‘There’s a button. Press it.’
    â€˜I’m not going to press it.’ Alessandro still whispered, despite her ‘test’.
    Ginger jumped to her feet and jabbed at the red button. ‘Ciao, fellas. We’re all good to go back here.’
    â€˜ Grazie, signora ,’ a deep voice replied.
    Ginger giggled as she sat back down and squeezed her hand back beneath Alessandro’s thigh. ‘Told you they couldn’t hear us.’
    Alessandro grinned at her.
    â€˜What?’ She beamed up at him.
    â€˜Nothing.’ He wrapped his arm over her shoulder and tugged her to his chest.
    â€˜You think I’m crazy, don’t you?’
    He kissed her forehead. ‘I think you’re meraviglioso .’
    She giggled and scrunched up her nose. ‘Sounds wonderful.’
    He laughed. ‘That’s exactly what it means.’
    â€˜That’s alright then.’ She reached up to kiss him on the lips.
    The truck kicked into motion, lunging both of them onto the floor in a fit of laughter. Alessandro crawled onto his knees and helped the giggling Ginger onto her chair before he re-seated himself. As the truck swerved, they both clutched onto their seats rather than each other.
    â€˜We couldn’t make love in here even if we tried.’ Ginger laughed.
    â€˜I agree.’
    The drive to the Accademia di Belle Arti was an unpredictable trek of bumps and turns, and it wasn’t until they hit the freeway that Alessandro felt like he could breathe again.
    An hour and a half after taking their seats in the back of the truck, the vehicle pulled to a stop, and moments later the back doors flung open.
    â€˜ Siamo arrivati ,’ the taller of the two guards announced their arrival.
    Alessandro helped Ginger down from the truck, and in a matter of minutes the crate and its valuable contents were loaded onto a trolley. Two of Alessandro’s colleagues greeted them at the back entrance to the museum and Alessandro quickly dismissed the guards before they were whisked inside.
    â€˜Ciao, Leonardo and Lorenzo, this is my girlfriend, Ginger.’
    Ginger reached out and shook hands with each of the men. Alessandro could just imagine what was going through his friends’ minds. He’d been away for seven months and has returned with not only valuable cargo, but also a stunning Australian woman on his arm. He liked the looks the two men gave him as their glances shifted from Ginger to him to the crate. Even Alessandro had to admit he was no longer the unadventurous professor they knew him as.
    He pushed the trolley up to a glass door and Lorenzo swiped the key card around his neck down the security pad. The door popped open, and he pushed the trolley to the waiting stainless-steel table. Alessandro used a crowbar to ease the lid from the crate and the men helped him lift it off and