Their trip back to Venice was uneventful. Neither of them spoke, as neither knew what to say to each other after their quick kiss. Too many emotions to figure out, so each went to work in their own corner of the plane. Once they arrived at Baldwin's house, Baldwin gave orders as to which room he wanted prepared for Alice. "It has a wonderful view of the lagoon and of the sunrise in the morning," Baldwin told Alice as they entered the house. Baldwin then looked at his watch and said, "I have to leave for a meeting but I will be back around five to take you out for dinner." "Ok, it's a date" Alice replied. "Yes it is," Baldwin said grabbing her hand and gently kissing it before grabbing her by the waist to pull her closer to him. He then kissed her on the lips. The kiss was deeper and rougher than the kiss from earlier and she kissed him back with just as equal intensity. She was left wanting more when he abruptly broke it off. "I will see you this evening," he called as he walked out the door. Alice was too breathless and speechless to reply and could only nod even though he couldn't see it.
It was almost five o'clock and Alice was admiring herself in the full length mirror that was in her room. Even though she had ended up not wearing it when she was in Venice earlier in the week she was glad she had packed her black and white polka dot dress. It was not only a favorite of hers but she knew it was also one of Baldwin's favorites as well. She paired it with a simple pair of pearl drop earrings and a pair of black pumps. She was just putting her hair up in a simple bun when she heard Baldwin return. "Hello?" he called out, "I'm just finishing getting ready," she replied. "Ok, I just need to freshen up and then I will join you downstairs," was his reply. Alice made it downstairs first. Shortly after, Baldwin came down the stairs and paused to watch Alice admiring one of the paintings on the wall. She was wearing one of his favorite dresses on her and looked so perfectly beautiful. There was no way he deserved her, he thought before saying "You are so beautiful!" "Thank you" she blushed and turned to see Baldwin looking handsome as ever in a three piece suit. He then produced a bouquet of red roses he had been holding behind his back. "For you signorina" he said as he handed Alice the roses. "They are lovely" Alice said as she inhaled their sweet perfume "but you didn't need to get me flowers." "But I wanted to" Baldwin replied with a smile "A beautiful woman deserves beautiful flowers whenever possible….besides when was the last time anyone gave you flowers?" "Charlie did to celebrate the end of our last project" she said teasingly. "He doesn't count," Baldwin said with a roll of eyes. "Fine, when was the last time you gave me flowers?" Alice asked and then added a little more quietly "That was the last time a man gave me flowers." Feeling embarrassed and uncomfortable by the admission Baldwin then asked, "Would you like those put into water?" "Yes, please put these in my room" said Alice as she handed the roses to the maid who had appeared to put them into a vase. Baldwin then offered his arm, which Alice accepted and they headed out into the city.
As he had in the car Baldwin held her hand in the boat absently stroking his thumb over hers. Alice observed how stunning Venice looked with the sun setting behind it and then she looked over to her companion. He smiled at her as their eyes met and she returned his smile. She took a deep breath just to inhale his earthy scent, it always made her feel calm. She wanted to get closer to really be able to breathe it in but thought better of it. Baldwin seemed tense or nervous and a little bit distracted. "Where are we going?" Alice finally asked. "You'll see, it's a surprise" Baldwin answered, "I have the whole night planned out." This piqued Alice's interest and she could not wait to see what he had planned for their date. The boat stopped and Baldwin helped Alice out. He then led her to a small restaurant right on the canal. They were seated at one of the tables on the balcony overlooking the water. It was very romantic and intimate. Baldwin ordered some of the antipasti dishes such as tomatoes, mozzarella, and eggplant and a bottle of wine for the table. Once the waiter had left Baldwin asked, "So why were you in Venice anyway?" " I was here to attend the lecture my old friend, Enzo, was giving on his new research into some new methods to conserve frescoes and other artwork of the Renaissance" Alice replied. "Enzo? He's still alive?" "Yes he's still kicking," Alice said with a laugh "It was good to see him, I had not visited him in a while" "But don't you work with more modern paintings?" Baldwin asked "Why did you go to the lecture?" "It's always good to keep up with everything going on with conservation of art and artifacts," Alice replied. Baldwin nodded and they continued to catch up on the last five years. "I've missed this" Alice said once there was a lull in the conversation. "Missed what?" Baldwin asked. "Us, a beautiful night, and good conversation over good wine," she replied. Baldwin then looked at his watch, "We should go soon" he suggested. They finished the last little bit of wine and once outside the restaurant instead of guiding her to the canal Baldwin started guiding her through the streets.
Even though they walked at a strolling pace Alice felt like Baldwin had a particular destination in mind. They did not talk but every once in a while Baldwin would smile at her and lift her hand to his lips for a kiss, which would send sparks of pleasure up Alice's arm to her heart. Baldwin then paused on one of the bridges that crossed over one of the canals, "This is one of my places when walking through Venice," he said. Alice could see why, on one side you could see straight down the canal with all the buildings beautifully lit by street lights and on the other you could see out across a larger canal. Alice looked down to see a gondola passing underneath with a couple too busy making out to enjoy the beauty of the night. She turned to ask Baldwin what was next on the itinerary only to find him before her on one knee. "Alice" he began " I fell in love with you the moment I met you and this is probably way overdue. Actually it's 300 years overdue. But if you could ever forgive me for all the pain I've caused you and forgive me for making you wait for what must have felt like eternity for me to make up my mind. Would you consider bestowing me the honor of becoming my mate? Alice, will you marry me?" he asked as he produced a box out of his coat pocket and opened it to reveal a ring. Alice was completely stunned. She had hoped that maybe tonight they could rekindle their relationship and possibly move towards actually completing the mating ritual but she had not expected him after all this time to so suddenly decide to ask. She was silent for so long Baldwin became slightly concerned, "Alice?" he asked "Maybe this was too much to just spring on you in one night," and he moved to get up. Alice placed a hand on his shoulder and simply said "Yes" Baldwin looked up at her "Yes" she said more strongly, "Yes I choose you as my mate and yes I will marry you." Alice gave her left hand to Baldwin who then slipped the ring onto her ring finger before standing up. He then tipped her chin up to look at him before kissing her deeply and passionately. Even though they had kissed many times there was something different about this particular moment and they kissed each other with such need until they realized they were still standing out in the middle of Venice. They broke off the kiss but still kept their foreheads touching. "I had other plans for the night," Baldwin said hoarsely, "But I think I rather head home. What do you think my love?" "We have all the time to do the other plans another night," Alice said, "Let's go home."