Keira did, feeling the boat wobble beneath her. She sat hurriedly, so as not to fall. Cristiano laughed.

“You have no grace,” he teased as he slid in beside her, looking very at home. “Now listen,” he added. “The tour boats will tell them that this house belongs to Donatella Versace. This one to Jennifer Lopez. It is not true, they just make it up.”

Keira laughed. “How scandalous.” She became aware of the sensation of her thigh pressing against his. She readjusted her position and cleared her throat awkwardly. “So where are we heading?”

“The Blue Grotto,” Cristiano told her. “It is beautiful there.”

“Everything is beautiful here,” Keira told him. “I feel like I’m living in a painting, or a dream.”

Cristiano smiled.

The gondola began to move through the water, lengthening the distance between them and the tourist vessels. The din of their loud voices died away until everything became very peaceful and all Keira could hear were the sloshing waves.

They toured the coast, ducking in and out of caves lined with red coral and stalactites, passing through arches carved through the limestone by the process of erosion.

Then they reached the Blue Grotto. Keira looked at the small entrance, which was no more than a yard wide and maybe a little taller than that. In order to get inside, Keira realized, she would have to duck. But that meant leaning back right into Cristiano. She looked at him uneasily.

He was already prepared, with his confident crooked smile on display and his arms open wide. Keira raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” she said, witheringly.

“You must,” Cristiano stated. “Or you will bang your head on the rock.”

With no choice, Keira leaned back into Cristiano’s arms and the gondola passed into the grotto.

Keira was so stunned by what she saw inside the grotto she didn’t immediately think to move out of Cristiano’s embrace. The water inside the sea cave was glowing bright blue, the illuminated water looking otherworldly.

“How is that happening?” she gasped, feeling like she had entered a whole new dimension.

“It is a miracle of nature,” Cristiano’s voice came in her ear. “Natural light filtration has an effect that is out of this world.”

Completely awed by what she was witnessing, Keira finally sat up and looked over her shoulder to take in the sight of Cristiano in the mystical cerulean hues. His face was just as remarkable as always, if not more so. It was a face that belonged on the pages of a fashion magazine, not out here with her. But to her disbelief, Cristiano was gazing at her with a look she could only describe as infatuation.

Keira felt a strong desire to kiss him. It felt like the most natural thing to do in the world. But something was holding her back, something more than just his intimidating beauty.

Keira turned her face, looking away from him and back out toward the glowing water. With disappointment, she realized the moment was lost.