33
Mark walked into the hotel room and casually threw his camera on the bed. ‘How did it go?’ he asked.
‘Perfectly!’ Lucy smiled as she closed the lid on her laptop. ‘The laptop connected straightaway. I could hear everyone clearly now that Kizzy has setup that new meeting microphone gadget for the conference room. Even the video held up.’
She got up from the dressing table where she’d been working and hugged him. Harry had confirmed that everything went well at the Birmingham end too, so there was no reason why Lucy couldn’t keep her side of their marketing business going while she and Mark went travelling.
‘Did you enjoy your afternoon?’ she asked.
‘I did, but I’d rather you’d been there,’ he said, putting his arms around her waist.
‘I need to work sometimes.’
‘I know.’ He started kissing her neck.
‘Come on them. What did you get up to?’
‘I took a lot of photos and posted a few on Instagram, ’ he said. ‘I sat and watched the world or, to be more accurate, the tourists go by while I drank a hideously expensive coffee in St Mark’s Square and enjoyed seeing the likes and comments come in. I reckon we could easily build up a good social media following on our travels.’
‘Why would anyone be interested in us?’
‘I’m allegedly quite attractive, and you don’t exactly turn milk sour, at least when you’ve got your makeup on,’ he grinned, dodging her playful slap and spinning her around onto the bed. ‘How many people our age would love to be doing what we’re doing now?’ he added as he pinned her to the bed.
‘What are you planning? An Only Fans channel?’
‘That could bring in some extra cash.’ He did an excellent job of appearing to give Lucy’s suggestion serious consideration.
‘I hope you’re joking, Mark Farnham.’
His face cracked into a smile. ‘Of course, I’m joking. I meant there must be loads of people who’d love to go travelling while working remotely. We could post tips and hints and look at getting some sponsors. What do you think? You’re the marketing guru.’
It would be better than having him moaning about doing a job he hated. ‘It could work, I suppose.’
‘Good. That’s settled then.’ Mark flopped back onto the pillow. ‘I’ve already planned our first Instagram-able outing for tomorrow morning.’
‘What are we doing?’
‘I’ve booked a gondola ride.’
‘That sounds very romantic.‘ She snuggled up to him and gave him a passionate kiss.
‘And I found a lovely restaurant down one of the side streets that has excellent reviews but isn’t extravagantly priced, so I’ve booked us a table for 7.30 tonight.’
‘But that’s three hours away. Any thoughts on what we should do to kill time before then?’ she asked, undoing the buttons on his shirt.
‘I hadn’t, but I’m getting the impression that you have.’
‘I thought we could get in some extra practice in case we need that Only Fans account,’ she said, unclipping his belt.
Mark didn’t look too disappointed at her suggestion.
The following morning, Lucy was snuggled up in Mark’s arms as their gondola floated towards the Bridge of Sighs. ‘This is the life,’ she said.
‘Come here, you.’ He turned and kissed her as they passed under the bridge. ‘That’s it now. You’re stuck with me forever.’
‘What do you mean by that?‘ Was he making some sort of proposal?
‘It’s what the legend says. If you kiss someone under the Bridge of Sighs, you will always be together in eternal love. I suppose we should get married now.’
‘You suppose we should get married?’
‘Yeah. I want to marry you. What do you think?’
Was this another one of his wind-ups? But he did sound sincere. Laugh it off, just in case he’s not serious.
‘Only you could propose on a romantic boat trip in one of the most romantic cities in the world and make it sound like a casual invite to the cinema.’
‘Everyone has to have a talent for something.’ He looked her straight in the eyes. ‘So what’s your answer?’
He was serious then. Lucy hadn’t been expecting that at all. But was it that outrageous an idea? Not really. Ever since they’d met, she’d felt he could be ‘The One’, and living together hadn’t changed that. Go for it, Lucy Thomson! ‘I suppose we could get married. Yes!’
‘Good. That’s sorted then.’ He sat back in the seat, looking pleased.
‘Is that it?’
‘What else are you expecting me to do? I’d probably fall in the canal if I went down on one knee.’
‘A kiss would be good!’
‘We’ve just done that.’
‘Seriously? Are you rationing them now?’
‘I don’t want to wear my lips out,’ he said, pouting them for effect.
‘I don’t recall you being worried about that at 6 o’clock this morning.’ She leaned over and kissed him again.
‘I thought that was at sunset?’ Em said when Lucy FaceTimed her from a café later.
‘What do you mean?’
‘You’re only bound together in eternal love if you kiss under the Bridge of Sighs at sunset.’
Lucy grinned at Mark. ‘You proposed to me under false pretences!’
‘It would’ve been sunset somewhere in the world,’ Mark said. ‘I’m sure whatever god or goddess of love is looking down on us won’t mind. Anyway, we couldn’t do it at sunset - we won’t be here this evening.’
‘Ooh. Where you off to next?’ Em asked.
‘Unfortunately, we’re off to see the olds,’ Lucy said.
‘I thought you liked going to your mum and dad’s?’
Lucy’s parents’ villa was luxuriously fitted out. She particularly enjoyed using their enormous hot tub, with its holiday brochure-standard views across the Tuscan countryside. Her mum and dad had been living there permanently for the last two years. ‘It’s warmer than Moseley,’ her dad had said when they announced their move.
Lucy sighed. ‘I do usually. But Mom will love Mark.’
Em and Mark both looked confused. ‘Is that a bad thing?’ Mark asked.
‘No, but I’m not ready to share you yet. We’ll barely have any time alone. She was threatening to invite a few neighbours around tonight to show you off like a prize pig. When I tell her we’re engaged, she’ll go into overdrive. She’ll have the entire village lined up to greet us, complete with flags and a band.’
Em laughed. ‘I can picture her doing that.’
Mark looked thoughtful. ‘Actually, if she could do that, it would look great on our new Instagram account.’
‘What new Instagram account?’ Em asked.
‘Mark and Lucy On Tour - all one word. I set it up last night,’ Mark said. ‘You can follow all our adventures on there. I’m going to create a website to go with it as well.’
Lucy looked sceptical. ‘As you can tell, Mark has influencer aspirations now.’
‘You’ll be live streaming your wedding next!’ Em laughed.
Mark looked as if he were considering it.
Lucy glared at him. ‘No!’
‘But think of the sponsorship potential.’ He had that serious look again. Hopefully, he was winding her up. Lucy decided to ignore it.
‘Will you be my maid of honour?’ she asked Em.
Em looked down at her bump. ‘If you’re getting married soon, I’m not sure Bob’s bump will look good on the livestream.’
‘Your bump will be fine,’ Mark jumped in. ‘We could do a whole piece on the do’s and don’ts of choosing dresses for pregnant bridesmaids.’
‘As your marketing expert,’ Lucy said in her most professional voice, ‘I would advise you to stick to one niche, travel blogging, and not try to incorporate wedding content as well. You’ll confuse our audience otherwise. I’m saying that as your future wife as well.’
Mark saluted her. ‘Well, future wife, I better do as you say. In which case, could we squeeze in a couple of nights in Rome after we see your folks? It would give a bit more variety on our feed.’
Lucy raised her eyebrows at Em.
‘Don’t complain,’ Em said, ‘You could be stuck at home like me. I’m so envious of everyone gadding about abroad.’
‘Who else is gadding about, then?’ Lucy asked.
‘Nancy and Olivia. They flew to Paris this morning.’
‘Mum’s in Paris?’ Mark said. ‘She didn’t mention it.’
‘They only planned it yesterday. Your mum said something about revisiting some of their old haunts.’
‘I’d forgotten they lived there for a while. I suppose I better text her the good news then.’
Lucy was shocked. ‘You’re going to text her to tell her we’re engaged?’
‘Yes. What’s wrong with that?’ He looked genuinely puzzled.
‘I thought such momentous news would warrant a phone call at the bare minimum.’
He shrugged. ‘If you insist. But if she’s busy, she’ll be less annoyed by a text.’
Lucy couldn’t imagine Nancy being annoyed by a phone call announcing her youngest son’s impending marriage, but she’d have that discussion with Mark in a minute. ‘We better go. We’ve got a train to catch,’ she said to Em.
Mark finished his espresso and looked at his watch. ‘We need to get our bags from the hotel.’
They walked across the square arm in arm. ‘I could get used to this.’ Lucy said.
‘Good!’ He smiled. ‘So could I.’
Lucy’s phone buzzed as they walked across the final bridge before their hotel. It was a text from her mother.
GO HOME NOW
She showed it to Mark.
‘Have you upset her?’ he asked.
‘If I have, I don’t know how. She doesn’t normally send shouty texts. I better phone her.’
Lucy’s mother answered immediately. ‘Darling!’
‘Hello, mumsy. What’s up?’
‘Oh, Lucy! I’m so afraid. They’re imprisoning people in their own homes.’
What was she talking about? ‘Who are?’
‘The police.’
‘But why would they do that?’
‘It’s just been on the news. There’s an outbreak of this Wutan Clan thing in northern Italy. They’re stopping people from going out.’
Ah, the new flu virus in China. Lucy wasn’t surprised it had got as far as Europe, but it hardly warranted her mother’s overreaction. She wasn’t normally this flakey.
‘It’s just a different sort of flu, Mum. I’m sure we’ll all be fine.’
‘Fine? Are you mad? Someone’s died already. I’ve sent your father out to get toilet roll.’
‘I didn’t think diarrhoea was a symptom.’
‘It isn’t, but the thought of running out is almost as horrifying as dying. You have to go home now before you catch it. I couldn’t bear it if you got it. Don’t come here. We’ll be like one of those deserted plague villages before you know it. Always remember that I love you.’ She was almost in tears.
‘It will all blow over, I’m sure. It’s just the media exaggerating everything.’
‘Please promise me you’ll catch the next flight back to Birmingham, London, anywhere you can, to get away from here.’
‘Okay. Don’t worry. I’ll check it out. I’ll let you know what we’re doing. Love you.’
Mark looked at her as she ended the call. ‘Did you hear any of that?’ she asked.
‘Bits.’ He looked at the news feed on his phone. He read out the title of the first article in the list. ‘Virus sweeps Europe.’
Lucy looked over his shoulder at the rest of the headlines. There were more variations on the ‘virus sweeps Europe’ theme, and several referred to tourists being quarantined in Tenerife.
Mark looked thoughtful. ‘Rome might not be such a good idea. We should wait a week or two before booking our next trip. See how this all pans out.’
Lucy felt deflated. ‘You’re not getting cold feet, are you?’
’No, of course not. But I don’t fancy being locked up in a hotel full of ill people. Do you?’
‘You know how the press exaggerates things. It might even work out in our favour - if they keep on bigging it up like this, we might get some holiday bargains.’
‘And this is why I love you. You always look on the bright side.’
‘Every cloud and all that,’ she said, kissing him.
‘But I still think we should go home.’
Lucy’s phone buzzed again before she could tell him not to be so pessimistic. It was a call from Kizzy this time. ‘I don’t want to say I told you so, but I did warn you.’
‘About what?’
‘Making big decisions. Do you want me to see what flight I can get you on?’
‘Has my mother called you?’
‘No. I thought you must have seen the news. They reckon the Foreign Office will advise against travel to Northern Italy any minute now, so I’m being my usual efficient self and getting the two of you out of Venice ASAP.’
Mark raised his eyebrows at Lucy. She knew him well enough to realise that that was his ‘I told you so’ look.
‘Thank you,’ she sighed. ‘I guess that’s the sensible thing to do.’