“Are you cold?” Viktor asked, hoping he could put his arm around her again.
“Now that we’re walking, I’m okay,” she replied, though truth be told she felt severely underdressed and would have welcomed a warm sweater or his arms.
“Would you like to do something else or go back to your room?” he then asked.
“Could we have a cup of tea at the restaurant in the hotel?”
“I would love to.”
“Good.” She smiled.
Amanda thankfully warmed up as she and Viktor casually chatted while sipping tea and planning out their next few days together. Since they were going to wake early to catch the sunrise, Viktor walked Amanda to her room and said goodnight before retiring to his own.
Chapter 9
Amanda awoke to the sound of someone knocking on her door. She looked over at the clock and cursed as she flew out of the bed to answer the door. She had set her alarm for early that morning with every intention of showering and styling her hair before Viktor arrived but after shutting off the alarm, made an unfortunate decision to rest her eyes for just a few more minutes.
She flung the door open to see Viktor standing with 2 cups of coffee. He couldn’t help but grin when he saw the state of her. She was still in her pajamas, bleary-eyed and completely disheveled with the worst bed head he’d ever seen.
“Oversleep?” he asked with a massive smirk as he held out one of the coffees to her.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized as she took the cup from him and stepped away from the door.
He followed her inside as she turned on the light and began quickly rifling through her bag. “I’ll be ready in a minute. I’m so sorry,” she repeated.
“It’s no problem. We have a couple minutes.”
“I really meant to be ready,” she said as she passed him with an arm full of clothes to change in the bathroom.
He picked up her coffee from the nightstand and walked to the bathroom door with it. She started to come out of the bathroom but stopped when she saw him.
“You read my mind,” she said as he handed her coffee back to her.
When she finally shut the door and looked at her reflection in the mirror she died a slow death of embarrassment because of how crazy she looked. “Seriously?” she muttered to herself as she marveled over how absolutely unruly her hair looked. She quickly changed and pulled her hair into a ponytail so they could be on their way and not miss a moment of the sunrise.
“I am so sorry,” she said again as she hurried to throw a couple things in her bag before they left.
“Relax,” Viktor said. “We have time.”
“I’m ready now anyway.”
It was still dark when they arrived at St Mark’s Square. Many others seemed to have the same idea and were quietly waiting for the sun. They briefly walked the plaza, admiring how the lights accented the architecture before taking up a position to watch the sunrise. The sky was mostly clear with just a scattering of wispy clouds.
It began as just a faint glow on the horizon. As the minutes passed, the light grew and began to paint the clouds above them with stunning colors of fiery orange, yellow, pink and purple. The colors reflected off the cut stones that made up the plaza, making the experience almost seem surreal. Amanda thought it looked like something she would see in a painting. She took a multitudinous amount of photos, wanting to remember every second. Then almost as quickly as it began, it was over.
“That was worth it,” said Amanda, feeling invigorated.
“I agree,” Viktor concurred. “Should we get something to eat now?”
“Would you mind terribly if I went back to my room to shower?”
“Not at all.”
“Thanks. I’m sorry. I really wanted to do that before you came.”
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle squeeze as he guided her in the direction of the hotel. “Stop apologizing. It’s fine.”
“I just feel bad.”
“I see that. But there is no reason for it.”
“Okay, okay. I’ll try to stop thinking about it.”
When they arrived at the hotel, Viktor offered to pick up more coffee and something for breakfast that they could eat in the room. Amanda thought that was a great idea but wouldn’t let him leave without accepting 10 euros.
Amanda was blow drying her hair when Viktor returned with coffee and breakfast. She let him in and then went back to the bathroom. Viktor set the food down on the table and then walked to the bathroom door where Amanda was trying to finish drying her hair. She shut off the dryer to see what he needed.
“How much longer do you need?” Viktor asked.
“10, maybe 15 minutes. Why?”
“Perhaps we should eat while it’s hot.”
“Oh. Okay.” She put the dryer down and followed him to the table. “What did you get?”
“Omelettes,” he answered. “I remember you said you liked them.”
“Ooo. Perfect!” She smiled as he handed her one of the delicious egg and cheese omelettes with roasted peppers and mushrooms.
“I was wondering if you wanted to take a gondola tour today?” Viktor asked.
With her mouth full, she nodded and grunted her approval.
“Good.” Viktor smiled. “I had one booked just in case.”
“Oh. How much is it?”
“It’s free.”
“No, seriously,” she said. “How much? It’s my turn to pay. You paid for the tour in Scotland.”
“Who said we were taking turns?”
Amanda leaned back in her seat appearing displeased and like she wanted to say something but kept quiet.
“Why do you look upset?” Viktor asked, feeling a little confused by her reaction.
“Because I am upset,” she huffed.
“What have I done?”
A few more seconds passed. Amanda took a deep breath and seemed to calm a bit. “I don’t want you paying for everything. We split it 50/50 or we don’t do it at all.”
Viktor was quite surprised by her stand. In fact he was utterly confounded by it. He thought for a moment
