“If you really don’t mind,” she began and he nodded. “Well in that case, I’d love to have a guide, but no more kissing,” she said firmly. He gave her the first real smile she’d seen from him in quite some time. It took her breath away with its brilliance.
“That will happen later,” he promised. Her eyes widened, but she quickly got herself under control. She knew he was a typical male and had to get the last word in so she let it go. She didn’t want there to be any chance of her touring getting ruined.
“Well, if you’re going to be my guide, then I want to do things right. I don’t want the rich guy’s experience. I want to really tour, like any ordinary person. I want to ride the subway and take the busses. I refuse to be chauffeured,” she said. He immediately stiffened as if she was asking him to commit some sort of crime.
“There’s no way we can do that. There are security issues, and it’s just plain stupid,” he snapped.
“Well, then have a nice day, I’m going on my own,” Jennifer said and turned toward the door. She’d much rather spend the day with him, but she refused to give in on her last point.
“Fine, we’ll give up the chauffer, but I insist on having two security men accompany us. You won’t even know they’re there. The guards come, whether you go with me or not,” he said as he blew out another breath of frustration and ran his hand through his hair. She noticed he rumpled his hair a lot around her. She found she liked getting under his skin. It made her feel powerful in a way she’d never felt before.
“Okay, we better get going, then,” she said, beaming a huge smile his way before opening the door and practically skipping outside. He quickly caught up to her and wrapped her arm through his. He was right, she quickly forgot about the security men as they stepped onto the very cold streets. She was so excited she threw her arms out and twirled, causing several people to turn and look at her as if she’d lost a couple marbles.
They quickly found the subway and rode it to the Vienna City Center. Jennifer was practically bouncing in her seat and refused to acknowledge Trenton’s grumpiness next to her. It seemed he didn’t like riding the subway. She found it exhilarating. She knew it was a great place to see the real locals.
“See how amazing this place is, they actually trust each other. They know you aren’t going to steal a ride and don’t have to lock you out,” she said, pointing out the honor system of the subway. There were no turnstiles to keep them out, you simply bought your ticket and got on the tram. If someone came through and asked to see your ticket and you didn’t have one, then there would be serious consequences, but they didn’t ask on every ride and a dishonest person could take the risk.
Trenton was finding Jennifer’s enthusiasm hard to resist. She was excited about the simplest things and though he was less than happy to be riding on the subway, he was glad to be with her, and finding her joy was contagious. She smiled at every person they passed and they were quickly smiling right back. He was glad he’d decided not to let her leave his sight, or she may have ended up getting whisked away by a very smart local man.
“Oh, this is our stop,” she said and jumped up to head out the door. He barely had time to grip her hand. He looked over his shoulder at his guards and gave them an exasperated look. One of them actually had the nerve to smile, before he was able to straighten his lips.
Trenton knew it was probably a joy for his guards to watch him literally be led from place to place by a wisp of a woman, who was like a tornado on feet. He glared at them one more time before chasing after Jennifer. He heard a chuckle behind him and thought there was no way it was one of his guards - they wouldn’t dare.
“This is the largest Christmas Market in Vienna, Madge told me about it, so hurry, I don’t want to miss out on anything,” Jennifer said, as they made their way out of the subway. There was a huge open air market sporting all kinds of booths.
“This is the Rathus Christmas Market and it opens about a week before the others. She told me to go to a Punsch stand and I can get a special souvenir mug to take home,” she said.
“Why would I need to take one of the mugs home?”
“Because it’s something to remember the trip by,” she answered. He bought them each a hot drink, which had the kick of alcohol he desperately needed to make it through the day. He obediently kept his mug instead of turning it back in for the miniscule deposit. He’d let her have the mug so she could have a set.
When he handed over the mug, she acted as if it were a true treasure. Hell, he’d given diamonds, with far less appreciation. He couldn’t understand how something so simple could excite her so much. He found he liked her enthusiasm.
She started dragging him from place to place and surprisingly, he was enjoying himself. She was so happy it was impossible not to catch it from her. The market had a variety of foods and craft booths and she seemed determined to stop at every one.
She purchased Christmas ornaments, candles, toys, foods, and gloves. She told him she had to get a lot of souvenirs for people at home. She wasn’t spending an enormous amount of money, but he was soon carrying several large sacks. He looked over to his security men and when they approached, he handed them over. She was going to protest but he told her the items would be stowed in the car, where they were safe and that seemed to appease her.
He was getting burned out from the market and started leading her toward the exit. Of course, she had to ooh and aah over the trees lining the streets with packages hanging from their branches, along with thousands of brightly lit lights. He’d have loved to have seen her as a child on Christmas morning. Hell, he thought she most likely still got just as excited.
“I have something to show you I think you’ll like,” Trenton told her.
“Sounds great to me,” she agreed, sure he’d know more than anyone the exciting places to visit.
“Do you know anything about the famous Hapsburgs, who were the royal family of Vienna?” he asked.
“I haven’t heard anything about them,” she told him, starting to get more excited. There was nothing like a royal family.
“Well then, let me show you their palace,” he said and quickly led her there. She joined a tour group and found herself enthralled as they went from room to room.
“Normally, you need to book reservations at least a couple months in advance, but I happen to have some connections,” he told her with his cocky smile. She was, for once, grateful of his wealth, because she wouldn’t have wanted to miss out on the palace.