Being up this early had better be worth it.
It will be he sent back a minute later, and I smiled. I wondered what it was he had planned.
At two minutes to six a black taxi cab pulled up in front of Violet’s house. I got in and found Jake there, dressed in slacks and a t-shirt. Giving him a quick kiss, I looked at him questioningly.
“Why are we doing anything this early? Is anyone even up right now other than City bankers who are hopped up on cocaine and haven’t gone to bed yet?”
Jake laughed. “Wow, you’re certainly learning what London’s all about pretty quickly. But you’ll see. I promise, it’s going to be worth it. By the way, did you bring your passport?”
Forty minutes later we were standing in front of the gate at London Heathrow, waiting to board the flight to Rome.
“Are you serious?” I squealed when Jake handed me a boarding pass. He’d refused to tell me where we were going, and as soon as I saw Rome–FCO on the pass, my heart raced with excitement.
“Yeah,” he grinned. “A few days ago, I saw a good fare online, so I booked it, but I hadn’t actually booked the time off work. That’s why my texts have been so spotty lately; I did a whole bunch of overtime to get in the boss’ good books, since I was supposed to work today and tomorrow.”
All the built-up stress inside of me evaporated immediately. Jake wasn’t pulling away. There was no other woman. I’d just been being completely silly while he planned the most incredible surprise for me.
I laughed and leaned into Jake as the stewardess announced that our flight was about to begin boarding.
One of my goals when I’d moved to London was to eventually see a bit more of the world. After all, living in London, I was now only a few hours away from some of the most amazing and famous sights in the world. I’d never quite made the time to do it, though.
Jake was, once again, moving me a bit out of my comfort zone. We ate gelato from a little place called Ciampini, tucked away between the Spanish Steps and the Pantheon, that was hands down the most amazing gelato I’d ever had. We wandered around the Coliseum and the Roman Forum, and walked along the Tigris at night after a meal in a little restaurant in Trastevere where we struggled through the Italian-only menus before asking the waitress to just bring us anything. Of course, it was phenomenal.
After spending the night in a hotel room so tiny it was comical, Jake and I made an early-morning stop at the Trevi Fountain before taking a train back to the airport for our flight back to London.
“This was easily the best weekend of my life,” I said to Jake when we landed at Heathrow once more. He turned to me and grinned.
“I’m glad you liked it. And seeing as you just helped capture three of the most wanted criminals in the country, I think you deserve it.”
I grinned as we passed a newsagent and I saw the headline: The London Post-Tribune Embroiled in Plagiarism Scandal.
Just when I thought my day couldn’t get any better.
* * *
Book 5: Cassie’s adventures continue in Stabbed in Shoreditch. When Violet is hired to prove the innocence of a convicted murderer, Cassie discovers that not only is an innocent man's life at stake, but also that solving a ten-month-old murder has its own unique challenges.
Click or tap here to read Stabbed in Shoreditch now
Also by Samantha Summers
First of all, I wanted to thank you for reading my book. I well and truly hope you enjoyed reading this book as much as I loved writing it.
If you enjoyed Strangled in Soho I’d really appreciate it if you could take a moment and leave a review for the book on Amazon, to help other readers find the book as well.
* * *
You can also sign up to my newsletter to receive an email every time I release a new book. To sign up for my newsletter, click here now.
* * *
Other Cassie Coburn Mysteries:
Poison in Paddington (Cassie Coburn Mystery #1)
Bombing in Belgravia (Cassie Coburn Mystery #2)
Whacked in Whitechapel (Cassie Coburn Mystery #3)
Stabbed in Shoreditch (Cassie Coburn Mystery #5)
Killed in King’s Cross (Cassie Coburn Mystery #6)
Ruby Bay Mysteries
Death Down Under (Ruby Bay Mystery #1)
Arson in Australia (Ruby Bay Mystery #2)
The Killer Kangaroo (Ruby Bay Mystery #3)
If you enjoy paranormal cozy mysteries, I have a number of those as well, under the name Samantha Silver.
About the Author
Samantha Summers lives in British Columbia, Canada, along with her husband and a little old doggie named Terra. She loves animals, skiing and of course, writing cozy mysteries. She also writes paranormal cozy mysteries under the name Samantha Silver.
* * *
You can connect with Samantha online here:
Facebook
Email
Strangled in Soho Page 15