''I Do''...Take Two! by Merline Lovelace

should he care if you walk? You’ve only racked up more combat hours than any other pilot in wing.”
    â€œI expect he’ll peel a strip off my hide when I get back to base. But until then...”
    She didn’t mistake either his smile or his meaning. Her indignation on his behalf fading, she finished the thought. “Until then we enjoy ourselves.”
    â€œExactly.”
    â€œJust what did you have in mind, flyboy?”
    â€œWell, for starters, I was thinking we could blow off sightseeing and spend the day in bed.”
    He added incentive by dipping down to drop a kiss on the slope of one breast. Kate gave the proposal the due diligence it deserved before reluctantly shaking her head.
    â€œAs tempting as that sounds, I need more than coffee and a sweet roll before we pick up where we left off last night.”
    She also needed another soak in that decadent claw-foot tub. Travis had stretched muscles last night that hadn’t been stretched in too long.
    â€œLet’s have breakfast in that rooftop restaurant we didn’t get to last night. We can decide where to go from there.”
    â€œAll right.” He conceded the point with feigned reluctance, as if Kate wasn’t very well aware he required a man-sized breakfast to jump-start every day. “But you’d better get it in gear. This is the height of tourist season. Lines form early and long.”
    She snatched another pagni-whatever from the silver basket and balanced it with her coffee as she rolled out of bed. That left no hands for the sheet, which peeled down over her hips. Travis’s appreciative wolf whistle followed her into the bathroom.
    * * *
    The realization that it was going to happen, that their lives were really going to take an entirely new direction, filled Kate with as much effervescence as the perfumed bubbles.
    She was still high when she made the promised call to Dawn and Callie. Her friends put her on speakerphone, so they both heard the news that Travis was separating from the air force to take a job with Ellis Aeronautical Systems. Their reactions ranged from a disbelieving snort (Dawn) to a careful question (Callie).
    â€œAre you sure that’s what you want?”
    â€œAbsolutely.”
    â€œHow about Travis? Is that what he wants?”
    â€œIt must be, since he called his boss last night. We’re going up to the base at Aviano tomorrow. Travis will put in his papers then.”
    â€œWhat about this big project he’s working on?”
    Kate hadn’t asked him but could reply with absolute confidence. “He’ll stay and finish it.”
    â€œHow long will that take?”
    â€œI have no idea. He can’t really...”
    â€œ...talk about it,” her friends chorused.
    Chuckling, Kate redirected the conversation. “How long are you guys planning to wallow in decadent luxury?”
    â€œAs long as we can!”
    Callie tempered Dawn’s emphatic reply. “Another few days. Why?”
    â€œI know Venice wasn’t on our original itinerary, but it’s too incredible for words. So is the hotel we’re staying in. It’s owned by one of Carlo’s cousins...”
    â€œCarlo, aka the prince?”
    â€œOne and the same.”
    â€œI’ve got to meet this guy,” Dawn exclaimed.
    â€œMe, too,” Kate said. “But back to Venice and the hotel. According to Travis, they gave us a very reasonable rate. I could try to get the same for you if you want to jump a train and zip over for the weekend.”
    â€œI doubt Trav would appreciate us barging in,” Callie commented.
    â€œOh, I don’t think he would mind too much.” Her lips curved. “We’re making up for lost time. Come if you want to.”
    â€œWe’ll think about it.”
    The most important contact completed, Kate scrolled through her messages again and made a return call to the bank in Bologna. Signore Gallo’s assistant, Maximo,