Page 46 of That Time in Venice
“Where to next?” He tucked Anika’s hand backintohis.
“Followme.”
They took their time browsing the other galleries, and because Anika knew a few of the gallery owners, she talked to them about undiscovered artists or new pieces that had arrived since her last visit. She also took photos whenever she saw a piece that could potentially work in a client’s home, or if it was a work of art Davenport Design Studio could keep in their small showroom for futureprojects.
One of her favorite spots was the energy and vibrancy of No Mas Hacienda. The building housed a restaurant serving Mexican cuisine, a tequila tasting room, and an artisan market stocked with handmade goods—silver jewelry, masks, pottery, basket lights hanging from the ceiling, and fantastical creatures carved from the sacred copal tree and painted with intricate Zapotecsymbols.
By the time they finished walking around, they’d worked up an appetite and joined the people crowded around the foodtrucks.
Anika ordered three tacos from a Mexican food vendor, and Reed chose BBQ pork ribs with a side of wedge fries. He sat on a window ledge outside a closed clothingstore.
“Come here,” he said, pulling Anika between hislegs. “Sit.”
“You want me to sit on you?” she said, playfully beingdifficult.
“Yes, I want you to sit on me.” He smiled upather.
“You promise there won’t be any funnybusiness?”
“I can’t promise that. But sitanyway.”
She eased onto his lap, and he moaned. She poppedup. “Reed!”
He chuckled. “Sit,woman.”
Anika settled her bottom on his thigh, wiggling more than necessary to getcomfortable.
“Now you’re playing with fire,” he muttered, winding an arm around her waist and tugging her back to hischest.
“There are children out here,” Anika warned,giggling.
“Then behave before you make me embarrass myself.” He used his nose to brush aside her hair and kissed her behindtheear.
Anika angled away, but in doing so knocked over his bottle of beer sitting on the ledge beside him. The glass shattered and frothy liquid darkened the sidewalk as it crept toward thestreet.
“Look at whatyoudid.”
“Oops.” Anika bit her lip. “Here, you can have some of mine.” She lifted her beer to his mouth and he tilted his head back, swallowingagulp.
“Thankyou.”
“It’s the least I could do,” she saidsoftly.
“Tastes betterthanmine.”
“It’s the same beer,” Anikapointedout.
“But your lips have been on thatbottle.”
Goodness,thisman.
They gazed into each other’s eyes, and the buildings and people around them receded from view and ceased to exist. They were the only two people in the world, and Anika’s heart swelled in the perfection of that moment, where there was only she and Reed and the magicbetweenthem.
“Well,helloReed!”
The vaguely familiar voice caused Anika to break eye contact. Her stomach tumbled uneasily when she saw the petite dark-haired woman coming toward them. Dharma looked like the perfect mother, with her hair pulled away from her face by a white cloth headband, pushing her son in a stroller and her daughter walking alongbesideher.
“How are you? Anika, right? The designer?” Her voice and tone were friendly, but Dharma’s eyes were expresslyconfused.
