Free Her Venice Affair (The Albury Affairs) by Christina OW Page B

take a train? If we are we better buy backpacks. It will be easier—”
    Allan pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. Her
wonderful taste got him each time. She was soft, naïve, innocent, and just so
sweet. Pulling away always felt like torture to him, but he did to answer her.
    “Yes, we’ll be taking the train. It’s the best way to
see the landscape and practical since we’ll be spending only two to three days
in each place. No we don’t need backpacks. We are not trekking all over Italy
and camping out at the beach like hippies. We’ll get suitcases and fill them as
we go along, and we’ll make sure to get Loraine some things, too. Have I
addressed all your traveling concerns?”
    Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I’ve noticed you
always kiss me to stop my rambling.”
    Allan chuckled. He’d noticed that too, but not because
it annoyed him but because he didn’t want her to worry about anything. She
always rambled when she was nervous, worried, and overly excited. “That’s
because your rambling turns me on, and we aren’t exactly in a suitable place to
address that.”
    “Oh,” she giggled quickly sliding off his lap. “So
where are we going?”
    “ Casa Italiano . You’ll go shopping, and then up to the room to
rest while I straighten out a few details with my work. Then we’ll go
sightseeing. Is that alright with you?”
    She nodded, her lips parted in the brightest smile
he’d ever seen, her eyes sparkling with excitement. She turned to look out the
window like an animated child when they pulled out of the airport and into the
first signs of life as the city began its day. “Perfect.”
    Allan felt something twist in his chest as he stared
at her. He realized she was just that. “Absolutely perfect.”

 
 
 
    Chapter Five

 
    Riana stepped into the Imperial suite. She’d never
seen a hotel as beautiful as this. The moment she stepped into the lobby, it
took her breath away. The crystal chandeliers wowed her, the diamond-like
structure sparkling when the crystals hit the light, and the exquisite,
old-fashion furniture and traditional decorations spoke of their cultural
history.
    “Is this where we are staying?” she whispered to
Allan, in complete awe.
    Allan nodded, his lips turned down in a frown. “Yes.
It does look old fashioned, nothing like The Ritz.”
    “Oh no, it’s just perfect.”
    She turned full circle, trying to take the entire room
in. “Don’t you see what they are trying to do? The best centuries were the
eighteenth and nineteenth when royalty meant something more than Prince William
and Puff Daddy having equal celebrity status.” She stopped before him. “Anyone
into art, photography, painting, design…whatever the genre, this is art heaven.
It’s like stepping back in time, I just love it.”
    Allan looked down at her with a lopsided grin. Did he
find what she said amusing? “What’s so funny?”
      “It’s going to
be wonderful experiencing Italy through your eyes.” Then he handed her to the
concierge and moved down one hall, a man joining him from the counter, falling
in step with him and they immediately began to speak in Italian while she went
down another hall.
    Now she stood alone in the middle of their suite. It
was disappointing how modern it was, like there was a different designer for
the suites. He or she could have at least tried to make the two designs blend.
    Once she walked into to the suite, she entered the
living room, which was furnished with plush couches and a glass coffee table in
the middle with magazines and the hotel brochure on top. She climbed two steps
up into the dining room area close to the glass wall. The table sat four
people, with a bowl of fruits in the middle and all the place settings already
done. Riana moved to the glass wall and looked out.
    She gasped. The view matched the royalty design in the
lobby. It was breath taking. One could almost see all of Rome from where she
stood. She wondered if this was the