“Yes, it’s been featured in many films, and you can thank one of them for the next thing we’re about to do.” Luke fished around in his pocket until he pulled out a coin. “Here. Hold this in your right hand and turn around to face me.”
“But then I can’t see the fountain,” I said in confusion.
He grinned. “It’ll be there right behind you. Trust me.”
I did as instructed and waited, watching others in the crowd doing the same thing while somebody took pictures of them.
“Now, I want you to come up with something that you really want.” Luke’s smooth voice captured my attention, and the rest of the noise surrounding us faded. “When you know what your wish is, keep that desire in your heart and close your eyes. Then toss the coin over your left shoulder.”
I transferred the coin into my left hand to make it easier, and he corrected me. “Toss the coin from your right hand over your left shoulder. That is the custom.”
There was a good chance the money wouldn’t make it into the fountain, but I did as he asked. Closing my eyes, I tried to come up with the best wish I could.
I wanted Luke’s homecoming to go well. And for his parents to accept our engagement and me despite my magical background. But most of all, I hoped to find out what really happened to Isabella so that I could help my fiancé release his guilt and find peace after all these years.
“What are you wishing for that is making you look so serious?” Luke asked.
I shook my head and shushed him. Repeating my wish, I sealed it by kissing the coin, hoping my list wasn’t so big that the fountain couldn’t make it come true. After a countdown from three to one, I tossed the coin over my left shoulder and opened my eyes.
“Did it go in the water or did it hit someone?” I asked with a cringe.
Luke chuckled as he looked at the pictures he’d taken on his phone. “You did it perfectly. I’ve got the video to prove it.”
We rode the scooter further into the city and stopped at the edge of a square, or piazza as I was learning. Wide steps led from the street all the way up to another level of buildings. Loads of people walked up and down while others picnicked while they sat on the stone stairs.
“This is the Spanish Steps. They were built pretty close to the same time as the fountain.” He turned me a few degrees and pointed up at one of the buildings flanking the steps near the bottom. “That is where the famous poet John Keats came when he was sick and unfortunately passed away. It is now a museum with a huge collection of memorabilia and manuscripts having to deal with his contemporaries like Percy Bysshe Shelley.”
I scrunched up my face. “I hate to admit it, but I never paid that close attention in English class. And I never really understood poetry. I guess that doesn’t make me sound very cultured.”
“Well, there are lots of things you do know and are an expert in that others aren’t. Just because we all have differences doesn’t mean we can’t get along.” Luke hugged me to ease my insecurities. “Besides, I’ll bet you’ve heard of the novel Frankenstein.”
“I’ve seen the movie. Guy with bolts coming out of his neck,” I said.
He kissed the top of my head. “That was Hollywood’s version. The book is far better, but my point was that Shelley’s wife, Mary, wrote that book. They say it is the first science fiction novel.”
I stuck a fist in the air. “Yay, girl power!”
Luke and I took some amazing pictures while posing on the stairs to send back home. We walked past the much more modest fountain in the middle of the square, and he directed me into a noisy cafe across from the Spanish Steps.
My heart raced at the loud din and chaos inside. A crowd of people shouted orders, and Luke kept a tight hold of me so I didn’t get lost in the shuffle. After placing an order at the till, he brought the receipt, placing it and a coin on top of the glass display in front of the servers working the hefty coffee machines.
In a few short minutes, Luke retrieved the goods. He handed me a tiny cup not even a quarter of the size of my normal coffee mug.
“That’s a macchiato,” he shouted. “It’s an espresso with some hot steamed milk.”
Taking two packets of sugar, he dumped them both in, and the white pile floated for a second before sinking into the dark liquid. Luke handed me a minuscule spoon to stir my drink.
I lifted the warm porcelain to my mouth, but he stopped me. “Blow on it first. It’ll be pretty hot.”
Following his directions and watching how he drank his, I took my first sip. The sizzling liquid almost burned my tongue, but the strong flavor tasted like no coffee I’d ever had before. Its thick richness coated my mouth, and I savored it in small nips until it was gone. Using the spoon, I dug out the sugary sludge at the bottom flavored by the espresso and licked the little spoon clean.
Fresh energy zapped through my veins that reminded me of the electrifying jolt I felt after finding an incredible bargain. I stopped myself from jumping up and down by grabbing onto his arm.
“What’s next on the agenda?” I asked, tugging on him.
Luke’s eyes sparkled with amusement. “Well, I have called in some favors, and if you don’t mind, I’d like to do a little shopping.”
Too excited from my experience so far plus a little buzzed from the espresso, I agreed. Instead of heading back to the scooter, he wrapped my arm through his and escorted me down a nearby street.
“Via Dei Condotti,” I read from the sign.
“Brava,” he complimented. “Your pronunciation