Page 10 of The Valiant (Spy Girl 4)
The elevator dings, giving me a moment to contemplate what I'm about to say. Can I make a commitment to come home to him when I know I might not?
Our first course is taken away, and the delicate truffle pasta takes its place along with a complementary wine.
Once the staff has retreated, I say, "Yes, but on the flip side, I want you to consider the fact that you could be in this turret for a long time, waiting for someone who might never return."
"Because she succumbed to the sea?"
"Something like that."
He lowers his head, looking solemn, as he pulls a small package out of his jacket pocket and sets it on the table in front of me. "I'm willing to risk my heart for you, Lee. Please, open it."
I undo the ribbon and lift the lid, finding an etched gold heart hanging from a delicate chain.
"May I?" he asks, taking the necklace and wrapping it around my neck.
"What does it say? I was unable to make out the etching in the soft glow of the candlelight."
"It is a love poem, written by me and engraved in my hand."
"Which poem?"
He takes a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolds it. I can see where they drew the heart and the words they copied onto the necklace in fragmented pieces.
"This poem is one that I composed just for you."
"As in you wrote me a poem--like, from scratch?"
He nods his head and recites,
"Glimmering waters beckon,
Cliffs come into view.
The ocean kisses the shoreline,
As I dream of you."
"That's beautiful, Lorenzo." I'm overcome with emotion and wonder how he put into words the essence that is this beautiful turret. "They are the most wonderful words I have ever heard. I love you."
"As I love you," he replies with a kiss. He gives me a wicked grin. "It also has a GPS tracker in it, so while this turret will always be our special place, I will be able to know where you are when you're not by my side. But I suspect I will still be here, pacing and praying for your safe return."
MISSION:DAY TWO
There's something so wonderful about waking up in the arms of the person you love. It's pure, unadulterated bliss. And I'm not sure I deserve it. Committing to a serious relationship with Lorenzo feels so incredibly right, but at the same time, I know it could go so incredibly wrong.
I feel like I'm trapped in the video game of my life, and if I make the wrong move, I'll be dead. I used to be okay about going Game Over, but that was back when my only goal was to kill my mother's assassin. I always figured I'd die trying, and I really never imagined what I'd do if I didn't. But becoming a princess--no, make that queen--is so completely foreign of a thought, I can barely wrap my head around it. It seems like a silly fantasy. A fairy tale. Something my life has never been. A princess is supposed to be a damsel in distress. She is supposed to be rescued by the handsome prince. My fairy tale--if it turns out to be like one and not some Shakespearean tragedy--will be the opposite. The princess who rescues her prince, who saves his country from evil, and then lives happily ever after.
I chuckle to myself, knowing that I will probably die while trying to save him. As I run my hand through his thick, dark hair, a tear escapes as I realize that I'd do so willingly.
I also don't know how Black X will react. I'll have to sell it as part of my mission. Part of my cover. Until I can get to the bottom of whatever mess my mother got into. Nothing like a ticking clock to add to the drama.
"Good morning, my sweet," Lorenzo say, his lips lingering on my exposed shoulder. "Do you have time to dine with me this morning?"
"Yes, my tour of the castle doesn't start until ten."
His lips cross my shoulder and move up my neck. "But I've already given you a tour."
"Not the public tour. When I got to Montrovia, the first thing I did was buy a ticket. It might have been because I'd done it before."
Lorenzo props himself up, staring intently at me. "What do you mean?"
"Yesterday, we went through the travel photos that were on my mother's locket from the trip we had taken before she was killed. I know I've been to the places in the photos, but I can't seem to recall many details. It's believed, if I go to each place, it will trigger the memories."
"And how do you feel about that? Your brain has been trying hard not to remember."
"I need to do it because some of the photos are missing. It's weird because things unexpectedly slip into my memory. Like I told Malcolm Prescott that I had been to Florence with my mom. It naturally came out, without thought. But that location was not included in the photos even though we had been to many places in Italy before."
He smiles sweetly and caresses my cheek. I swear, his love is so fluid, I think I could bathe in it.
"In that case, I would like to accompany you on your tour."
"Um, I'd like to go by myself, if it's okay. I need to try to re-create it, and I highly doubt I got to meet you on the tour." I raise an eyebrow in his direction. "For, if I had, I never would have left."
He lets out a laugh and then grabs the phone to order our meal. "I have no desire to let you leave this bed."
"Trust me, I'd like to hide out here with you forever."
"Forever? Does that mean the thought of marrying me is becoming more concrete?"
"Lorenzo, if I weren't me, I'd marry you tomorrow."
"But, darling, if you weren't you, I wouldn't want to marry you."
"And I am worried it will end tragically for both of us."
"Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all," Lorenzo says, quoting Alfred Lord Tennyson.
"I agree, but you've shown me a paradise that I will probably burn down myself. I'm going to ask you this again. I want you to think about it logically, not with your heart. Do you think courting me is a good idea? You have so much on your shoulders. Running a country, continuing the bloodline. You need a woman who can devote her life to that."
There is a light tap on the bedroom door, indicating that breakfast has arrived.
"Saved by the bell," he says with a grin, getting out of bed and donning a silk robe.
He picks up a charcoal cashmere robe from the end of the bed and holds it so that I can simply stand up and slide it on. It's sort of become my robe. I even discovered last night that I have my own toothbrush here, and surprisingly, it's not a plastic throwaway. It's gold, just like Lorenzo's, and distinguishable only by my engraved initials.
While he heads out to inspect breakfast, I slip into the bathroom to pee.
As I left the room, I caught a glimpse of a man in the mirror. A man whom I had seen earlier in the day.
"We must go," my mother said. "Pretend to take ill."
I dropped to the floor, as if I fainted, and felt that I was quickly surrounded by people. I didn't dare open my eyes when I was picked up and carried by strong arms down a set of stairs and into a quiet room.
As soon as the door shut, my mother said, "Very good, Lee. You can open your eyes. We have to get out of here."
"But why?"
"A man is following us, and that is never safe for two women traveling alone." She carefully opened the door and peeked out.
"I saw him this morning outside our hotel and again when we were in the Ponte Vecchio."
She gave me a smile. "You missed seeing him at Basilica di San Lorenzo."
