She nodded, feeling triumphant.

“You finished Verona in one sitting?” he added with an air of surprise in his tone.

Keira grinned with pride and put her notebook back in her purse. “I learned the lesson I needed to here. The secret of love.”

They stood then, ready to return to their hotel. Before they did, Cristiano wrapped Keira up in his arms.

“You know the secret?” he said in her ear. “Tell me.”

She pulled back and tipped her gaze up to meet his, then kissed him softly. Even in the lightest of touches they could express the most powerful of passions.

“The secret is that no one knows it,” she told him. “Until they just do.”

Cristiano gave her an amused but curious look. “My Keira,” he said, tucking her hair behind her ears. “You are quite strange.”

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Cristiano and Keira spent their last day together in Italy exploring Verona, strolling slowly along beside the meandering River Adige, visiting the gorgeously quaint, unimposing, and indestructible San Zeno church (which had survived numerous attacks and earthquakes), and looking in the artisan shops that inhabited the ancient Ex Macello building. More than at any other time since being in Italy, Keira felt like she and Cristiano were a couple, like they were dating. With the article finished there was no pressure on Keira to find a story or follow a narrative, and none on Cristiano to guide her. They could just be two people, besotted with one another, enjoying their holiday romance.

They stopped for lunch at a cafe on the piazza and chatted aimlessly about the Arena Opera Festival that took place in the summer—and which they both agreed would be amazing to attend one day—to the only drawback of Verona being its relatively limited number of parks and green spaces. They seemed able to pass the time speaking about next to nothing; the Lessini mountain north of Verona where a unique German dialect was spoken; the ugly San Zeno parking lot; the bizarre centuries-old whale bone hanging in the Arco della Costa whose origins are a mystery since Verona is seventy-five miles away from the sea. But for all their easy conversation, neither spoke of the inevitable ending tomorrow. Keira did not want to spoil things by worrying about it, and she supposed Cristiano was in a similar position.

Just as they were finishing the super tasty funghi pizza they’d ordered, Keira received an email from Elliot.

Good news, Keira. Lance loved the piece. He says it was a bold and edgy move to bring in the All Souls’ Day stuff. Just one thing. He says the last paragraph needs more to it. He likes the journey analogy, but feels like there needs to be a conclusion. He wants to know what the future holds for you and Cristiano.

As she reread Elliot’s message, Keira realized he was right. There was a conclusion missing but that was because she and Cristiano didn’t yet know what the conclusion to their story would be. They hadn’t decided on the ending, or found a way to conclude their narrative in Italy.