Page 86 of Casanova LLC

“No need.”

If he only knew.

He smiled politely at me, then turned to face the canal. We stood in silence as we listened to the sound of the water lapping the boat, the music of early morning birds. I gathered Alessandro’s robe tighter around me—it was warmer than mine so I’d purloined it when I’d left him asleep in bed.

I’d woken up next to him, turned toward each other. We’d been under the covers, which must have happened in the middle of the night. I’d laid there for a while, watching him sleep; and thinking. Thinking about all the words exchanged between us. And the other things as well.

I thought about want. And control. The past and the future. Which parts of my life I wanted to keep and which parts I wanted to free myself of.

And I made a decision. An important one.

He hadn’t stirred when I’d extricated myself, and I wouldn’t have left at all if I hadn’t had to pee. Then I’d been afraid I’d wake him if I climbed back into bed.

Jacopo didn’t turn to me when he spoke. “Today I will step the mast.”

“A little too early and a lot too technical, I’m afraid.”

He grinned patiently. “To raise it.”

“How exciting.”

“But first, coffee. Then we will watch the day come for us.”

Happily, I followed him onto the boat.

Down in the cabin, he set the coffee to percolate on the little galley stovetop and showed me, briefly, around. If making a circle in a room is being shown around. It was cozy, exquisitely restored, and seemed ready to go. “So lovely. So well done, Jacopo. Have you made any plans?”

“But to sail, of course.”

“Are you ready to go?”

“Eh. Are we ever ready to go?”

The small espresso moka pot made the telltale gurgle that signaled it was done brewing. He brought two cups to the table, filled each, and put a plate of biscotti between them. He sat opposite me and as I picked up my cup, he raised his in an airy toast. “I trust you have enjoyed your time with us?”

“So much. Luckily, it’s not over yet.”

He smiled at me. “Yes. It is sad that all things must end. But only to make way for what is to begin.”

We sipped our espresso. “Perfect. Just what I needed. Thank you.”

“A pleasure, Bella.”

I sat back and took a satisfied breath. The light of the day was beginning to brush against the small porthole windows. The words fell effortlessly from my mouth. “I love it here.”

“Venezia?”

“Yes, but I meant here here. Ca’ Casanova. It feels like home.”

“Or maybe,” he softly suggested, “it is just that you feel like you have come home to yourself here.”

I stared at him. This man who taught Alessandro everything he knew. “That’s it exactly. The last time I felt like this…Do you sing?”

“I have been known to. There is our song we sing to guests and sometimes, with much wine, other songs, but all very terrible.”

“When my dad left, my mom started going to church. And she made me go, too.”

“It is the prerogative of mothers the world over, to make their children go to church.”

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