"Yes, I like the pool. It's relaxing. I thought we could..." Her voice trails off, no doubt thinking I'm about to disappoint her.
"Yes, let's swim."
Taking her hand, I lead her toward the pool, which is housed in an addition to the original palazzo.
"It's been too long since I last used the pool," I tell her as we walk along the corridors.
"So how do you keep those muscles in shape?"
"You noticed my muscles?" I tease.
"It's hard not to. Do you go to a gym?"
As we walk through the double doors into the pool area, I'm hit immediately by the smell of chlorine. It's not unpleasant, exactly, but it's not my favorite scent.
"There's a gym through there." I point to a door at the side of the room. Violetta's surprised expression tells me she hasn't found it on her explorations of the house. My staff have reported that she loves to wander from room to room, discovering new places to sit with an espresso or to read a book.
"Ah, I assumed that was a storage room or something."
"No, it's a fully equipped gym. There's a sauna through there too."
"Do your men use it?"
I raise my eyebrows. "The sauna?"
"No, the gym."
"They have their own in the guardhouse."
"Oh, wow. It doesn't look that big."
"It's not on the surface."
Violetta's eyes widen. "It goes underground?"
"Yes. Even I couldn't get past the city planners to build a bigger structure above ground, but they allowed us to dig down."
"Wow, and here I was thinking you were all powerful."
"Nope. It's the Pope, Signora Lombardi at city hall, and then me."
Violetta laughs, an unguarded sound I could get used to. I'll need to make the effort to ensure we have moments like this.
"I believe Lina keeps spare swimsuits in the changing area," I tell Violetta as she starts unbuttoning her blouse.
"Who needs a swimsuit?"
She strips down to her white lace bra and panties, then dives gracefully into the pool. By the time I remove my clothing, she's halfway back from her first length. I dive in and reach for her, but she ducks.
"Can we just swim for a bit?" she asks.
Clearly she needs to blow off steam, because she powers through several laps. I take less hurried strokes, letting the warm water soothe my tense muscles. After a while, I get out and sit at the edge of the pool, kicking my legs in the water.
"Given up already?" Violetta asks as she comes to a stop beside me.
In answer, I reach into the pool and splash water in her face. She shakes it off.
"I didn't realize you were such a great swimmer," I tell her.
