by Melissa Hill
I’m going to tuck it away somewhere to remind me that even when it seems impossible, miracles can still happen.
Chapter Eleven
Dominic and Lucy spent the next hour sitting in a small café, drinking hot chocolate and mostly ignoring the plate of fried doughnuts that they’d ordered. What started out as awkward small talk quickly turned into rapid-fire chatter about everything that had been going on in their lives since the split.
And more pertinently, how Dominic had come to find her in Venice.
Lucy had been on his mind ever since that disastrous night when he said he wanted to break up. Okay, so he hadwanted to at the time—they’d had a terrible stretch of months, and it seemed like they fought more than they enjoyed each other’s company. There was the nasty blow-up at Mick and Jenny’s party and then a general period of friction that he honestly couldn’t put down to any single thing. It was as if they had just stopped“clicking”.
Oh, and that ridiculous summer barbecueat his parent’s house. Even now Dominic cringed. He shouldn’t have badgered her to go. He still wished she would make more of an effort to get along with his parents, and he did notthink his mother was overbearing—well maybe a little bit, but not enough to warrant a fight—but he had to admit that if he hadn’t pushed Lucy to go when she would clearly rather stay home…
Weeks of rehashing all their arguments from the past year only seemed to bring him back to the same conclusion, time and time again: they didn’t have any major problems, they just happened to make very big mountains out of totally manageable molehills. They were both strong-willed—something Dominic loved in Lucy, as much as it often irritated him—and neither was willing to back down when they thought they were in the right. They’d had too many complications thrown at them too quickly, and they just weren’t good at working through them. But breaking up? That had been a stupid move, too impulsive and too unthinking. And afterwards, he couldn’t figure out how to talk to her without admitting he felt like an idiot.
So he said nothing. His friends assured him she would reach out first:“Womencan’t help it,”his best mate Tom said reassuringly, while they were out drinking and playing pool one night in a bid to help Dominic get over his misery.“She’ll want you back, but she’ll try to play it casual. She’ll call and act like she just wants to say hello, or she’ll make up an excuse to come to your place—she’ll say she left a jumper there or something. And there’s your chance to charm her and show her that you want her back. Seriously, everything will come together.”
But how wrong his friend had been. Lucy didn’t call, and she didn’t turn up unannounced at his apartment. Dominic had spent a night hopefully going through drawers and wardrobes, thinking maybe he could find a wayward jumper or a lipstick and use it as an excuse to call her, but none surfaced. For a moment he was even tempted to head to the shops and buy something just so he could pretend it was hers, but he knew instantly that she would see through him, and then he would look like an idiot and a fool. That combo was too much for his pride.
But as the weeks went by and Dominic got more desperate, he finally decided to casually mention her to some other mutual friends—just to see how she was doing, he told himself.
Instead, he got the shock of his life.
“Lucy? She’s great. Going to Italy next week, I heard,”Mick said when they met up to watch the football last Saturday. Dominic felt his mouth go dry. He didn’t need to ask what part of Italy; he knew Lucy well enough to know exactly where she was going: Venice, where this time last year they had pledged to love each other forever.
If he knew Lucy’s mind—and he thought he did quite well—she wouldn’t be content to just move on from a breakup. She would need to get rid of any romantic symbols that lingered on as a reminder of their relationship. It seemed extreme, but somehow he wasn’t surprised by the realisation that she intended to unlock the padlock in Venice and throw it into a canal to sink into oblivion. It was like just the sort of strong-willed thing she would do.
It took only a little prying to get more details on the dates she intended to be gone—Mick and Jenny typically kept an eye on her flat whenever she was away, watering the plants and feeding her fish—and within mere hours Dominic had in his possession a ticket to Venice.
All the way en route, his nerves were jangling. He supposed he could have just called her, but what if she didn’t want to talk to him? No, if ever there was a time to pull out all the stops with a big romantic gesture, this was it. And if flying to a foreign city to declare your love for someone didn’t count as a big romantic gesture, then Dominic honestly didn’t know what did.
It was a gamble of course, that he wouldn’t catch up to her in the city, but he was pretty sure he knew how she would plot out her trip. According to Jenny she was flying in on Thursday night and leaving again on Monday morning.
Dominic guessed she would spend Friday sight-seeing, probably catching up on the major attractions. She’d been particularly impressed by St. Mark’s Basilicalast time, he remembered, so it was almost certain she’d go there. She also loved art and he remembered regretfully that they hadn’t made time to visit the museums during their trip, so she would likely spend Saturday touring the art galleries and culture hotspots.
He had a hunch she would wait to retrieve the padlock until the last day. It would be her farewell to the city, and to that chapter in her life. In Lucy’s mind, it would be the final touch to her trip, so it made sense that she would save it for the very end.
Dominic wasn’t senseless enough to try to catch Lucy anywhere on Thursday night; he knew she was flying in too late to hit any tourist destinations. Instead he set out on Friday morning, trying to put himself in her shoes and guess where she’d go first.
It was impossible to find her among the tourists in St. Mark’s Square. He thought he caught a glimpse of her inside the Basilica, and quickly shrank back behind a pillar. He wasn’t ready to talk to her just yet, and by the time he got up his courage and looked for her again in the crowd, she was gone.
The next day he bought tickets to a couple of art gallery tours in the city. Browsing through one long collection of classical art, he again thought he caught a glimpse of Lucy, chatting with a couple. Was it possible she came with friends? He wondered. Then she parted ways with the couple, and he decided she must be alone.
Dominic almost decided to approach her outside of the museum, but he lost his nerve. For a moment his impulsive trip began to look like a bad idea. What, exactly, was he supposed to say to her when he materialised out of thin air? Hi, I’ve been semi-stalking you around Venice in hopes of persuading you to get back together with me…Probably not the best opening line.
And so he had decided that the best possible place would be their bridge.
Thank goodness, he thought now, sipping his coffee and staring at his beloved, it had worked.
Lucy was telling him that she had stepped down from her newly awarded position at work.“I thought I liked it,”she confessed,“but the hours were terrible and the extra stress wasn’t worth the pay. I wasn’t seeing my family and friends as much as I wanted to. So I kicked myself back down a level.”
“I’m sorry,”Dominic said, and meant it. He knew how much the promotion had meant to her when she got it.
But Lucy shrugged.“You know, I was annoyed for a while. And then I started thinking about it, and I realised I didn’t care that much about the job itself. I just wanted the extra cash, and I realised I valued my free time more than the money. Lesson learned, I guess.”
Dominic told her about his endless struggle to find a way to get in touch with her and reconnect, and Tom’s terrible advice. Lucy laughed and told him about the night she’d nearly phoned him from her bathtub.“To think I was going to tell you I was in Venice just to see what you would do,”she said, giggling,“and you were here, too!”
Eventually the caféowner made it clear he was ready to close up shop, and Dominic and Lucy left, strolling hand in hand through
the quiet streets of San Marco. Even the gondoliers had mostly disappeared, leaving any late-night wanderers to find their own way around on foot.
They weren’t really walking in any particular direction, but soon Dominic and Lucy wound up in a deserted St. Mark’s Square. If the piazza was picturesque in the daylight, it was beautiful at night. Deserted save for one or two other hardy souls braving the cold—and devoid of the flocks of pigeons that called it home during the day—the Square now had a romantic ambiance, like a piece of the city carved out of ancient times and deposited into modern Venice. It was well-lit, even at night, along with St. Mark’s Basilica and the towers at the edge.
“When we were here last year,”Dominic said,“remember the caféorchestras that played here in the evenings?”Though the cafes in question, situated right on the edge of the square were long closed by now.“We danced in the piazza. Remember?”
Lucy nodded. They were surrounded by tourists, but it had felt like they were the only two people there.
Dominic took her hand and gently led her out into the square, and they began slowly waltzing in place to an imaginary orchestra.“I think we should have a tradition,”he whispered in her ear.“We should come back here every winter, or as many winters as we can possibly manage. And we should visit our padlock on the bridge, and dance here in the square, and eat fried doughnuts until we burst.”
“That sounds good to me,”Lucy said dreamily, snuggling into his coat. She suppressed a yawn, and Dominic hugged her.“Aw, you’re tired. I’ll take you back to your hotel.”
“I’m not that tired,”Lucy started to protest, but a jaw-cracking yawn cut her off, and she admitted sheepishly that she was ready to drop.
Back at the hotel Dominic sat gingerly on the foot of her bed.“How soon are you flying home?”
“I’m supposed to go tomorrow,”she said, shucking her boots and coat.
“Do you think you could change the flight?”
“I’d imagine so. Why?”
He got to his feet, a slow grin spreading across his face.“Because I have a few days off, and we’re here in the most romantic city in the world, and I think we should make the most of it.”
“I like the sound of that.”Lucy looked at him speculatively.“Are you going to stay? Here, tonight, I mean?”
“Are you inviting me?”
In response she smiled and scooped up her pyjamas from her open suitcase.
“Tell me if I need these,”she asked coquettishly.
Without another word, Dominic took them from her hands and dropped them back into the suitcase, pulling her down on the bed next to him.
“I guess that would be a no then,”Lucy said, smiling as she kissed him, and reached to flick off the lamp.
When morning dawned Lucy went online and rescheduled her return flight. Dominic left to gather his things and check out of his hotel and returned an hour later, scrubbed up and ready for the day.
He still wouldn’t tell Lucy what he had in mind for the day, though he insisted she check out at the front desk and bring her suitcase.
Then they boarded a water bus out to an island close by. To Lucy’s surprise and delight, Dominic had taken the liberty of calling ahead to the island’s lone but massively exclusive hotel, the Cipriani and making a reservation for the two of them.
At this time of the year, the luxurious hotel was well decorated for Christmas but luckily was not brimming with guests, with most people opting to stay in the busier and less expensive hotels in San Marco.
As the older woman at the front desk explained, most of the island was now a dedicated nature reserve, with some hiking available to tourists. Obviously in this weather walking all over the island wasn’t high on most visitors’priorities but from the wink Dominic gave her, Lucy guessed he didn’t intend for them to spend a lot of time out and about anyway.
The windswept little island seemed almost bleak in the December light, yet there was a sort of peacefulness to it. She could easily imagine returning here for a future getaway, though perhaps in a warmer month.
“Do you really think we’ll spend every winter in Venice?”Lucy asked, snuggling closer to him.
Dominic shrugged.“I hope so. ButI don’t think superstitions should change our fate, though. I think it’s up to us to decide our future.”He stopped and looked down at her, tracing her chin with his thumb.“And Ifor one, am very serious about our future. I want to make sure our love stays locked in place forever.”
“I want that too,”Lucy whispered. He tipped her chin up for a kiss, and she melted into him, forgetting all about the cold.
Chapter Twelve
The flight from Venice back to England had to be rerouted due to weather, and when Max and Naomi finally arrived home late that night they were exhausted.
Max was thrilled to be home, but he would be most thrilled once he was tucked into his own bed.
Naomi’s parents were up waiting for them, but baby Julia was tucked safely in bed, sleeping. Naomi beamed down at her daughter despite her fatigue.“She’s such a good sleeper,”she whispered proudly to Max, who smiled and rubbed her back.
Naomi’s mother poked her head into the bedroom.“You know,”she said, a hint of a smile on her lips,“she’s done so well this weekend. Why don’t you leave her here one more night? That way you can get some solid sleep after your flight, and unpack at your leisure tomorrow.”
One more night without baby in tow sounded heavenly, but Max could see Naomi wavering. He held back, waiting to see what she would say.
To his surprise, she tiptoed out of the bedroom with a reticent—but exhausted—smile on her face.“You’re sure you don’t mind?”
“Absolutely not,”her mother said, looking as surprised as Max felt.
Naomi gave her a quick hug.“Thank you! We’ll come over tomorrow afternoon to pick her up.”
They collected their coats and went back out to the cab, waiting for them at the curb. Did I really just hear“tomorrow afternoon”from my wife? Max wondered.
As if reading his thoughts, Naomi grinned sleepily at him.“I hope Mum is up for a lot of babysitting. I’m getting kind of used to these baby-free nights.”
“I’m absolutely assuming that is the jet lag talking,”Max said in amazement, and she laughed and leaned against him, snoring almost before the cab pulled out of the driveway.
Monday morning Scott was reluctant to drag himself out of bed. He was still beaming with the news of Rachel’s pregnancy, and now he noticed that she had an extra glow to her as well.
He rubbed her stomach affectionately as she lay in bed.“Good morning to you too,”he whispered, and she laughed as his breath tickled her skin.“Are you a he or a she? Either way, I hope you get your mom’s brains, because your dad doesn’t have a lot going for you in that category.”
They dressed and ate breakfast in their hotel room, with Scott springing down to a caféfor a large bag that included everything from pastries to muesli.
“You’re eating for two now,”he reminded Rachel, and finally she laughingly told him to stop hovering over her while she ate.
“Finish packing. I can feed myself just fine,”she said, planting a kiss on his cheek. He quickly turned his head to plant a deeper one on her lips.“Are you sure you’re fine? You don’t need anything else? Is the baby moving yet?”
“Goodness no, I’m only eight weeks along.”Rachel tucked herself up into a comfortable cross-legged position on the sofa.“Eat, and pack. We want plenty of time to get to the airport. I imagine it will be busy today.”
Soon enough they were packed and checked out of the hotel.
Scott bundled Rachel gently into a water taxi, fussing about the weather until they were safely on dry land and bundled into a cab. She leaned into him in the back seat with a contented sigh.“Venice was lovely. But I think home sounds even lovelier.”
“Actually, I agree with you.”He wouldn’t have thought it twenty-four hours ago, but now Scott couldn’t think of anywhere in the world m
ore appealing than their cozy apartment back in New York. He was already thinking ahead to everything they would have to do to get ready for the baby. He supposed this meant cleaning out the spare bedroom so Rachel could turn it into a nursery.
Maybe that can wait until after Christmas.
There wasn’t too much traffic on the roads, and soon enough they were unloading their suitcases at the airport. Scott checked everything in and they moved through the security lines to board their flight.
Scott kept one hand tucked firmly in Rachel’s, and the other he jammed absentmindedly into his coat pocket.
His fingers touched the ring box and he froze. In all the excitement of Rachel’s announcement, he’d completely forgot about the original reason for their trip. Now they were mere minutes away from going through the metal detectors, and the box was still sitting unopened in his pocket.
A bored-looking official was checking passports at the top of the line.
He took Scott’s passport and studied it with a glazed expression.“Anything liquids/metals or anything to declare?”
Scott stood stock-still for a moment, the man staring blankly at him.“Yes,”he said, his voice sounding foreign to his own ears.“Yes, I do have something to declare.”
He turned around to face Rachel. Other passengers in the line were staring, some curious, some clearly irritated at the holdup, but he ignored them all.
Rachel was staring at him, puzzled, as he took her hands.“Rachel, you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. You’re beautiful, intelligent, funny, and have a gentle soul. You’re everything I could want in a partner, and now I’m blessed enough to learn that you’ll be all that and more as the mother of my child.
I brought you to Venice because I thought there was no more romantic place in the world to ask you to marry me. Obviously that didn’t work out the way I’d planned, but I’m not about to leave before at least giving it my best shot. So with that in mind…”Scott heard audible gasps as he dropped to one knee and pulled the ring box from his coat pocket.“Rachel, will you marry me?”
