Capello Brothers 3 Train My Heart (10 page)

“Im, get some
sleep—I’m going to head out and grab some supplies and food. I’ll
be back soon” Luca whispered, kissing her on the forehead before
slipping quietly from the room. The skipper had been right; the
hotel was in a fantastic position, offering views of the San Marco
Clock Tower and close by the shopping and restaurant areas.

Heading out to
pick up some basics from the supermarket, it wasn’t long before the
winding back-streets of Venice had pulled Luca unknowingly into
their maze. Looking around in a vain attempt to find his bearings,
Luca conceded defeat and decided to go in search of a map. Turning
to see what shops were around him, he was drawn toward a store
lined with leather bound books on one side and what looked appeared
to be antique looking books on the other. His thoughts leading
immediately to Imogen, Luca walked into the store and was greeted
with the smell of ink and papers.

“Buongiorno!”
greeted the older, much shorter, man.

“Buongiorno”
Luca replied, finding himself involuntarily drawn to the
hardcovered books, “Inglese?”

“English,
Italian, Español, French… I speak them all. You are interested in
these books, yes?” he said, reaching for the book Luca had been
staring at and handing it to him.

Luca received
the book; hesitantly “These are beautiful; I’ve never seen anything
quite like it before”.

“Come, let’s
set it down, I will explain all” the man spoke, ushering Luca
toward the sleek bench behind them. “These books are all
handcrafted, it is a dying art these days. You see these pages?
Feel the texture, run your fingers over it” he explained, watching
intently as Luca touched the pages. “Then, you see these drawings?
Every twenty pages, sketches of different Venetian figures of
royalty and importance” he explained, carefully scrolling through
the pages.

The book was
magnificent; there were no other words to describe it. “Do you make
these?” he asked genuinely.

“Aah, yes, a
painstaking labour of love” he smiled, “I purchased these antique
printing plates” he said, disappearing behind the counter and
coming back with a set of heavy metallic plates, “these are
hundreds of years old and cost almost 10,000 euros” he explained,
laying the plates out of the bench for Luca to inspect. “I make the
paper, then impress these prints onto the selected pages, then sew
and bind each book by hand” he finished, modestly.

“How many do
you make?”

“Only one
hundred books; these—“ he said, waving toward the small collection
lining the wall, “are the last of the batch”

“May I buy
one?” Luca asked.

“Yes, yes, of
course. I am very happy that you like it so much” he smiled widely,
wrapping the book in wax paper which he assured Luca would keep the
book completely safe throughout their travels.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-THREE

Walking
hand-in-hand through San Marco Square, Luca and Imogen stopped to
take in the uniquely Venetian sights; children feeding the pigeons,
restaurateurs busying themselves for the evening diners, and
tourists lining the outside of the Basilica awaiting their turn to
tour the glorious interior.

He’d woken
Imogen late in the afternoon, she had needed the sleep and after a
quick shower, he’d surprised her with news of a gondola ride
followed by a dinner reservation at one of Venice’s finest
restaurants, the Osteria da Fiore.

Hours later,
she emerged from the bathroom looking breathtaking in a
curve-skimming nude strapless dress with her auburn hair loosely
clasped to one side and soft dewy makeup with a subtle light red
lipstick.

“God, Im, you
look beautiful” Luca murmured crossing the room in a few easy
strides and pulling her in close.

“You’re looking
extremely hot yourself tonight Luca” she smiled back, “I could get
used to being spoiled like this”.

“Could you
now?” he teased playfully, “Then lets let the evening begin shall
we?”, offering her the crook of his arm as they walked together out
of the hotel and down to the waterfront to their awaiting
gondola.

“Mr Luca, you
are back, and with your lovely signora” the gondolier smiled,
tipping his hat to Imogen and extending his arm to help her onto
the gondola.

“Imogen, this
is Paolo, our gondolier for tonight”, Luca offered, as Paolo
reached for Imogen’s hand and planted a gentle kiss on the
back.

“Aah, signora
Imogen, it is lovely to meet you, and my honour to show you Venice
on this magnificent evening” he smiled back.

As they settled
into the gentle movement of the water, Imogen leant back into Luca
and enjoyed the view. From the vantage point of the gondola, Venice
took on a unique side; bridges filled with locals and tourists
going about daily life, restaurants and cafes lining the canals
slowly filling with the evening diners, the happy, smiling faces
basking in the beauty of Venice.

“Did you enjoy
your sleep this afternoon?” Luca asked, breaking into her
thoughts.

“Oh yes” she
moaned, “I didn’t realize jet lag was so brutal. I’m sorry, I
haven’t been very good company at all today. What did you get up to
today?”

“Well, this may
surprise you, but I did a spot of shopping” he laughed, fully
expecting a sarcastic reply from Imogen given how strongly he
opposed shopping everytime she suggested it.

"You, Luca
Capello, went shopping of your own free will?” she taunted him,
“what inspired this change in attitude?” she laughed
wholeheartedly.

“You” he
replied genuinely and her laughter stopped almost immediately.

“What do you
mean” she whispered, her eyes widening.

“I got you
this” he spoke softly, handing her the hand-wrapped notebook. “I
saw it and knew I had to get it for you. It’s one of only one
hundred ever made, and it’s all made completely by hand”.

“Oh, Luca, my
god it’s incredible” she said, slowly thumbing through the pages
and running her fingers across each surface as though committing
each and every detail to memory.

“The sketches
on these pages” he explaining, flicking through to one of the
drawings, “were made using antique printing plates that are
hundreds of years old. They are Venetian figures of royalty in
their finest clothings”.

“This is
amazing, I cannot believe you found something so… perfectly me” she
whispered. Settling back into the comfort of her chair and
inspecting each page, sighing with amazement at each page and
miniscule detail.

“Oh, and Im,
this is for you” Luca spoke, as he knelt before her with the
engagement ring he’d purchased in Milan. He waited for her eye
contact and as she slowly processed what was happening he
continued—“I’ve loved you since we first met, you’ve changed my
life and me in ways I’d never imagined possible. Will you do me the
honour of becoming my wife?”

“Yes! Of course
Luca” she squealed, throwing her arms around him.

“Congratulazioni!” shouted Paolo, “Si sposano!” he called to all
who passed by as Luca and Imogen basked in shouts of
congratulations from well-wishers in surrounding gondolas and
streets.

“Oh and Im this
is for you” she whispered playfully, elbowing him in the ribs and
teasing him lovingly for his very unromantic approach.

“I know, I
know, not my finest moment” he smiled blushing, “I didn’t quite
know how else to get your attention”.

“Well you sure
you got it, now and always Luca”.

“Tonight was so
amazing, Luca” Imogen glowed as they returned back to their hotel
arm in arm. “I am sooo full, the food was incredible”.

“Oh god, me
too, time to take my beautiful bride-to-be to bed and finally
relax” he said, gently fingering the engagement ring that sat
beautifully against her hand.

“Relax?”

“I bought this
in Milan” he said, rubbing her hand gently, “once I landed I’d
realized I couldn’t bear to ever be apart from you again. I knew
then that I would propose; I went to the same jeweler as my nonno
did before he proposed to nonna”.

“Oh, Luca
that’s so sweet” she smiled.

“Aah, Mr
Capello, sir your brother called for you this evening” the
concierge interrupted as they walked into the reception area of the
hotel.

“Phoned?” Luca
asked curiously, suddenly feeling a spike of concern. He hadn’t
told Roman or Dominic where they were, he hadn’t thought to.

“No, sir, he
was here—I believe he asked after you but our receptionist did not
disclose any details”

“There must be
a mistake, my brothers are in Australia” Luca corrected.

“Oh sir, I am
very sorry, I must be mistaken. Perhaps it was another guest—my
apologies, please sir” he stuttered.

“No harm done,
not to worry” Luca laughed, leading Imogen to their room and making
a mental note to check with Roman in the morning to let him know of
their happy news.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR

“Rise and shine
Imogen” Luca whispered, pulling Imogen to her feet. “I’ve got a big
day of exploring planned for us, and you’ve got a new notebook to
fill”

“You forgot the
most important thing” she said softly.

“Ooh and what’s
that?”

“It’s my first
day as your fiancée; that’s the best reason I’ve ever had to bounce
out of bed!”

“So, breakfast
in San Marco Square?” he asked.

“Sounds good;
I’m feeling a little worse for wear after that Champagne last night
though so I need a shower first though”

“Oooh, a
hangover, now there’s something unusual for you Im” he joked, “How
about I go grab a couple of espressos to start the day?”

“That would be
amazing” she said, sliding out of her nightie and treating him to a
slow, naked streak across the room and into the bathroom.

“Oh, Im, that
was not fair” he moaned as she closed the door. “I’ll be back
soon”

Luca crossed
beneath the clock tower and into the square having already found a
café serving impressive coffee the day before.

“Due caffè
espresso, prego”
Two espresso, please

“Pronto,
signore” replied the meek mannered girl at the counter. As she
began making the coffees, Luca looked around the café, taking in
photos of the historic city, some decades old and yellow with age
and some newer photos showing the progress of the city over the
years.

“Signore—il
caffè è pronto”
Sir, your coffee is ready
came the call from
the barista.

As Luca paid
and readied to walk out he saw a familiar looking face round a
corner and disappear into the morning crowd. Mentally scrolling
through the people he’d met in the last few days, Luca convinced
himself it was their waiter from the night before and set back to
the hotel.

“Im, coffee is
here” he called from the front door.

“I’m in the
bedroom” she answered, “Hey, what’re we doing today?”

“Well, we’ll be
lucky to leave the room if you’re going to continue sitting around
half naked” he smiled cheekily.

“I was thinking
we could head over to Burano; I’d like to look at some lace”

“Really?” he
asked, passing her the takeaway coffee.

"I’d like my
wedding gown to be made from Burano lace; a reminder of Venice
forever” she smiled.

“God, you make
me happy Im. Let’s get some food first, then we can head out and do
the three island tour—Murano, Torcello, and Burano. What’d you
think?”

“It’s a plan”
she smiled, rising slowly and pulling on a soft cotton sundress
that he knew would drive him crazy until he could pull it back off
her.

“Benvenuto,
signore and signora, ti piacerebbe un menu?”
Welcome, would you
like a menu?

“Si” Luca
replied to the waitress before reaching over and grabbing Imogen’s
hand. “Ma’s going to be so excited when we tell her the news”

“I know, I
kinda can’t wait to get back now. I don’t know what you were
thinking but I wondered if we could have a summer wedding”

“As in summer,
this year?” Luca clarified.

“Yes, as in in
a couple of months” she confirmed.

“That’s what I
like to see; eager to be my wife, huh?” Luca joked.

“You know I am”
she smiled, before noticing the distant look in his eyes.

“Hey, that’s
him again” Luca whispered, “Im, don’t look now, but in a second
turn to your right and tell me if you’ve seen that guy before—the
one standing at the counter reading the newspaper. Look, now” he
instructed.

Imogen turned
to look as the man made their eye contact, set down his newspaper
and walked toward them. Instinctively, Luca stood up and blocked
his access to Imogen.

“You. You’ve
been following me” Luca accused, loudly.

“Luca Capello,
right? I’m Mattea Capello—your brother”.

####

More in The
Capello Brothers series:

Draw On My
Heart (Roman Capello)

After being thrust into the role of protector at an
early age, Roman Capello has spent his entire adult life building a
future for his mother and two younger brothers.

With a chain of
successful tattoo studios, Roman is finally getting the recognition
he deserves—industry acclaim as a freehand tattooist, significant
media exposure and enough business to justify adding a fifth studio
to his portfolio.

When a
mysterious woman, as fragile as she is seductive, enters his life;
Roman is forced to acknowledge his past, appreciate his present,
and picture her in his future.

But what is her
painful secret and why does she have Roman in her sights?

www.jaimeebrooker.com.au

Command My
Heart (Dominic Capello)