Once the train pulled out of the station, Allie and Hudson enjoyed a leisurely lunch for two, gazing at each other more than the Italian countryside. Andrew appeared shortly after the waiter served dessert to inform them the train was about to arrive at their first destination. Allie was grinning from ear to ear by the time he finished talking.

“I assume Verona is a city you’d like to tour?” Hudson asked when they were alone.

“I’d love to visit Casa di Giulietta.”

“Ah yes, Juliet’s house,” he said, referring to the home where the Cappelletti family is said to have lived.

“I know they might have only been figments of Shakespeare’s imagination, but—”

“But never underestimate the power of storytelling,” Hudson said, finishing her thought.

Allie nodded. “Exactly. So can we go?” Excitement bubbled up inside her. She was practically bouncing in her seat as she waited for his reply.

“I was thinking we could spend the time in our cabin, perhaps pick up where we left off at the hotel.” He smiled at her indulgently. “But if you have your heart set on Juliet’s balcony, Verona it is.”

***

The driver dropped them at the Piazza delle Erbe, where they wandered the cobblestone streets eating gelato and browsing the various vendors selling everything from jewelry to soccer jerseys. Max was never far behind, although he followed at a discreet distance. Allie still thought the security unnecessary, but Max’s constant presence brought her comfort of a different kind since she knew his watchful eye allowed Hudson to relax and enjoy himself.

When they reached the center of the square they stopped in front of a marble fountain so Allie could consult her guidebook. “It says we should look for the graffiti-covered sign post.”

Hudson read over Allie’s shoulder. “It also says that Shakespeare never even visited Verona.” He lifted the book out of her hands and continued reading while following her through the crowded streets. “And that the balcony was added by the local government in the 1930s to increase tourism.”

“Shhh,” she shushed him, ignoring his dose of reality. Because while it was true that Romeo and Juliet were likely nothing more than fictional characters, what Hudson failed to understand was that their actual existence was inconsequential. The thousands of tourists who flocked to the thirteenth-century home each year came not to stand on the actual balcony where Juliet caught Romeo’s eye, but to experience, even for a moment, what that balcony represented.

Allie rocked on her tiptoes, scanning the alleys and passageways until she found what she was looking for. A smile stretched across her face. “Come on,” she said, grabbing Hudson’s hand and leading him to a stone archway. A plaque with one of Shakespeare’s most famous quotes hung above them while in front of them stretched a long, dark tunnel covered with thousands of small scraps of paper.

“What’s with all the notes?” Hudson asked.

“They’re love letters. Legend says that posting a letter to your true love on Juliet’s wall will make that love everlasting.” Allie slowly walked the length of the tunnel, stopping every so often to read a few of the messages. “It’s a shame people don’t write love letters anymore. All these emotions poured out onto paper. Imagine if they’d have sent them to the person instead of sticking them to a wall with . . .” She lifted the edge of a pale blue page and grimaced. “Chewing gum.”

From behind her, Hudson wrapped his arms around her waist. He dropped his lips to her ear. “Would you settle for a naughty text message?”

“Not quite Romeo and Juliet.” She laughed. “Then again, things didn’t work out so well for them.”

“Good point.” He tucked her under his arm as they strolled the rest of the tunnel. When they reached the brick and stone courtyard, Allie asked a woman to take their photo. She was quite sure Hudson found posing for a photo in front of the legendary balcony on par with posing for a picture with Mickey Mouse, but he humored her nonetheless.

“What’s inside the house?” he asked.

“A museum, costumes and props from the Zeffirelli movie.” Allie started toward the house. She’d only taken a few steps when she realized Hudson hadn’t followed. “Aren’t you coming inside?”

Hudson looked up from the guidebook. “If memory serves, the balcony is for Juliet. You go ahead. I’ll be over there.” He nodded to a bronze statue in the corner of the courtyard. A wicked gleam lit his eyes. “According to this book of yours, rubbing Juliet’s right breast brings good luck.”

“Might need to knock the other fifteen-year-olds out of the way first,” she teased.

“I’d rather rub your breast,” he said with a smirk. “But I didn’t think that was an option at the moment.”

Allie turned, laughing and shaking her head as she made her way inside the stone building. She moved quickly through the various exhibits, pausing only once to snap a photo of the platform bed used in the Academy Award–winning film. Her phone was still in her hand as she stepped out onto the balcony. The moment she did, it vibrated with an incoming text. Her heart swelled as she read Hudson’s words, artfully blended with those spoken by Romeo as he watched Juliet from the courtyard below.

What light through yonder window breaks. . . And in a glance, in the wake of a moment, you’ve seized my heart . . . Oh, it is my love.

Allie’s gaze lifted, searching the crowded courtyard for Hudson. She found him not standing in line to grope the breast of a bronze statue, but leaning against the entrance of the tunnel with his phone in his hand. The instant their eyes met she felt it, the connection that had vibrated between them since the day they’d first met. It had always been there, even when she’d tried her best to push it to the far corners of her mind. And Hudson felt it, too. It was evident in the way his eyes darkened when they raked her from head to toe, in the way his stance changed when she entered the room, or the way his lips parted when she touched his skin.

She clutched the phone to her chest and mouthed the words, “I love you.”

“Let’s go,” he mouthed back.

Allie couldn’t get downstairs fast enough.

Chapter Twenty-six

On the car ride back to the station, Hudson held Allie’s hand, running his thumb in circles across her skin. The contact, though small, was undeniably intimate. Each stroke of his thumb echoed through her core, torturing her with the promise of what was to come.

Biting her lip, she gazed up at him.

“You have that look again,” he murmured.

This time she knew exactly what look he was referring to, because this time it was intentional. “I want to kiss you,” she whispered back.

Hudson nuzzled the side of her face. “I intend to do a lot more than kiss you.” His tongue traced the shell of her ear and then his teeth nipped at the lobe. The sensation shot a sharp twinge of pleasure straight to her groin. “Come,” he said. “We’re here.”

In a matter of minutes they had boarded the train. Hudson moved briskly through the corridors, tugging Allie by the hand as she hurried to keep up. But when they reached their cabin, he stopped abruptly. Turning, he pushed her against the door, pinning her with his hips.

“I want you naked. Now,” he growled, before sealing his mouth over hers. Allie heard the jingle of keys behind her back. A moment later the door gave way and they tumbled into the suite, all hands and mouths and tongues.