Katie put a hand on either side at the bottom of the window and pulled with all her might, shimmying the old, warped wood back and forth to get it to move up its track.
“Hey babe,” she called, hanging her head outside to look down on Ben in the courtyard. “I’ve got lunch on the table. You ready to come in for a bit?”
“I just need another minute. Be right up.”
She smiled and turned to walk back to their kitchen, reaching to grab a grape from the charcuterie platter on the table and popping it in her mouth. She noticed that the sink was dripping again, and she made a mental note to have Ben work with her so she could remind the landlord to fix it in Italian.
At the sound of Ben’s feet on the stairs, she pulled the bread from the oven, wincing as the heat blasted her face.
“How’s it coming?” he asked once he’d kissed her. “Did you figure out the scene that was giving you fits?”
“I think so.” She sat in the chair he held out for her. “I don’t know. I worry I’m introducing too many characters.”
“You need to trust yourself, sweetheart. Your readers have loved all your other books, and they’ll love this one too.”
“I hope so. Maybe when you finish painting for the day, I’ll read the scene to you, and you can tell me what you think.”
“I’m finished.”
She looked up at him in shock. “What? Already? You’re not working this afternoon?”
“I finished the painting, Kate.”
“Ben! Why didn’t you tell me? I can see it now, right? You said I could see it as soon as it was done.” She jumped up and moved to sit in his lap. “When can I see it?”
He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll take you down and show you as soon as we finish eating.”
“No way!” She stood and motioned for him to come. “I can’t possibly eat now, knowing it’s done. C’mon. I want to see it. Show me now!”
Laughing, Ben took her hand and let her down the stairs and into the small courtyard of the Italian villa they were renting for the summer. He told her to stay where she was, and then he walked around the small fountain in the center of the courtyard and turned the easel so that the painting faced her.
Katie gasped in delight, her hand trembling as she covered her mouth and began to laugh. She walked forward and peered at the intricate details Ben had captured of the quaint courtyard with its potted flowers and bubbling fountain. And then she looked at the woman sitting on the edge of the fountain, dipping her toes in the water as she tossed her head back and laughed, the joy in her face so radiant that it seemed to leap off the canvas and touch Katie’s heart.
“You put me in your painting!”
Ben grinned as he stood behind her, pulling her back into his embrace as he rested his chin on her shoulder. “It was only fair. You put me in your book. Now we’re just like Cruise Ben and Cruise Katie.”
Turning in his arms, Katie smiled up at the man she’d chosen to live her life beside. “We’re so much better than Cruise Ben and Cruise Katie, babe. We found a happily ever after in real life. What could be better than that?”
I hope you enjoy cruising with Katie and Ben! If you’d like to check out more of my stories, you can find them at www.
And if you’re not ready to leave the beautiful Caribbean yet, you’re in luck—the next ship in the Sail Away Series is also embarking on a Caribbean cruise! Continue your Caribbean tour with Gabby in The Winning Tickets, Sail Away Series Book 7, by author Judith Keim.
★ Don’t miss a Sail Away book! ★
Book 1: Welcome Aboard – prologue book
Book 2: The Sound of the Sea by Jessie Newton
Book 3: Uncharted Waters by Tammy L. Grace
Book 4: A Not So Distant Shore by Ev Bishop
Book 5: Caroline, Adrift by Kay Bratt
Book 6: Moonlight on the Lido Deck by Violet Howe
Book 7: The Winning Tickets by Judith Keim
Book 8: Lost At Sea by Patricia Sands
Book 9: The Last Port of Call by Elizabeth Bromke