Page 47 of His Two Hidden Masks

Yes, him. You have no idea. Can you let us in?

Yes, brt

We walked past St. Mark’s Basilica. Behind us, the square was quiet with the usual painters and a handful of lovers wandering about. It reminded me of the moment we met, and the fact that the magic of Venice is never contained by one night.

We walked two blocks to the left, across a bridge, and across another that led directly to the enormous black lacquer barn doors of the Lido Glass Factory.

“We need to wait here,” I said, standing on the steps. “It won’t be long. I promise.”

“All right,” Dylan said, leaning against the rail of the bridge across from me. Below us, I could hear the ripple of the slow-moving water in the canal.

I stood next to Dylan, my arms crossed in the cold. “My friend, Leo, works here. If you have never been to one of these glass factories, you are in for a treat.”

“Is it better at night?”

“Everything is better at night,” I said. “Haven’t you noticed how beautiful Venice is without the people? She shines.”

“I love how you speak of her like a woman.”

“She is a queen,” I said. “My queen. I’ve always known this. She is a gilded lady that we must preserve and protect. She is surrounded by waters that want to swallow her up, and we have to keep her safe.”

“It’s beautiful how much you feel for your home.”

“You don’t?”

“No, my home has shifted so many times, I have never known what it feels like to have one place I call home.”

“That’s sad.”

“Or freeing,” he said. “We traveled the world, learned not to get too attached to place, and we bonded with each other.”

“You and James are bonded?” I said. My sister had died when I was so young, and the ache of that loss still surprised me at times.

“We have our differences, and deep down, my brother usually believes he is doing the right thing.”

“And is he?”

“No, not always,” he said.

We stood for a moment in silence as the clouds parted, a beam of moonlight bathing us in light.

“Oh, there she is.” I pointed at the moon.

“Yes, there she is,” Dylan said, looking at me.

I looked up into his deep brown eyes, the moonlight casting shadows across his face. He reached out and brushed a hair off my cheek. The touch of his hand on my face was electric. My legs tingled and a wave of heat rushed through my core, telling me I wanted this man again.

I wanted him to kiss me. My resolve to keep sex with Dylan to one night was folding like a house of cards or melting in a puddle between my legs.

And what would be so wrong about having sex with him again? We had already broken the rules of our one night in Venice. We knew each other’s names, we’d eaten dinner together, and we’d shared secrets.

What would happen if I just let myself fall into his arms under the magical moonlight of Venice one more time? What if I agreed to his proposal, and we gave each other the gift of sex in Venice one more time.

I heard the approaching sound of shoes, clicking across the cobblestones.

“I’m here. I’m here.” Leo, darling and breathless, rushed to meet us, just as I had asked him to.

“Thank you for coming,” I said.

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