Her gaze came to rest on him then and he wanted to believe with every fiber of his being that her eyes softened, just a little, because of him.

“You look rather content,” she said.

Alec raised an eyebrow. “And you sound rather surprised.”

Lottie gave a little shrug. “Only because I haven’t seen you like this since…”

Since he had come barging back into her life.

Alec shifted in his seat. “Yes, well. I suppose it’s due to my surroundings.”

She nodded but kept focusing on the Venetian gothic structures that lined the canal. “It is beautiful here. I can see why you made this your home.”

I wasn’t speaking of the city.

But Alec kept the words to himself. There was no point. She was leaving. And if he couldn’t get a handle on himself, she would need to make the journey without him. Neither spoke for the rest of their ride, though the canal provided plenty of distractions. Once they docked, Alec helped Lottie onto shore, paid their gondolier, and led her toward the battered palazzo he called home.

As they turned onto his narrow street, Alec caught sight of a small dark-haired boy with large brown eyes sitting on the front steps of his house. A smile touched his lips as the boy clambered to his feet and waved enthusiastically.

“Who is that?” Lottie asked.

“Nico. He lives in the flat below mine.”

The boy rushed over to them, explaining in Italian that he had been waiting for Alec’s return ever since their luggage was delivered earlier. Then he began detailing everything that had happened during Alec’s brief absence. But his excited rambling about a particularly enterprising pigeon was cut short when he finally took notice of Lottie and sketched a grand bow. “Buon pomeriggio, signora.”

Lottie returned the greeting and seemed utterly charmed by the little scamp.

Alec pressed his lips together, trying not to smile too much. “Nico, this is my friend, Miss Carlisle,” he explained. Alec had been teaching the boy English for the past few months, and he was a remarkably quick study.

Nico’s face lit up. “I am honored to meet a friend of the professor.”

“And I am honored to meet you as well, Nico. Have you lived here long?”

Alec flicked her a warning glance that she ignored. Of course she would not miss a chance to do a little digging…

“Two years,” Nico said proudly. “We are very lucky to have found the professor. He is the most generous—”

“All right, Nico,” Alec cut in. He could feel Lottie’s speculative stare as he slipped the boy a few coins. “Go down to the trattoria and bring back some risi e bisi for dinner. It will be too much for the two of us, you know how big those portions are, so take some for yourself as well.”

He nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, Professor!” Then he darted down the street.