Page 12 of Tour Wars
Nope. Not even a little bit.
* * *
The next morning,as TJ was finishing his breakfast in the hostel’s common room, Marie came up to him and leaned on his chair. Over her shoulder was a red-and-white striped weekend bag. “I wish you could come with us. Wouldn’t you rather spend the weekend in Positano than work at Pompeii?”
He inhaled the faint scent of her honeysuckle perfume. “Definitely, but whenever Dr. Roberti’s brother needs guides, I don’t want to turn him down.”
“You should stand up for yourself, like I do. Last weekend, he asked me if I wanted to work, but I told him I had plans. You could do the same thing.”
“It’s not that easy.” First of all, he needed to stay on Dr. Roberti’s good side so he could get a killer recommendation once the project ended. Second, he was trying to squirrel away money for the winter. Once he was done working in Italy, he didn’t want to return home flat broke.
“Try to get next weekend free, okay?” She ruffled his hair. “Then we could go to the Amalfi Coast together.”
A tempting thought. Even if she didn’t make his pulse race with excitement, she was sweet, cute, and obviously into him. And he hadn’t been with anyone for over a year, which made him feel like a damn monk. “I’ll try. Okay? Right now, I have to take off. I’m sure Em is waiting outside, thinking up new reasons to snipe at me.”
Marie squeezed his shoulder. “Do you promise nothing happened between the two of you?”
“Nothing happened, and it never will.” He wasn’t about to mention the kiss he and Em had shared in Philly seven months ago. Or last night’s fantasies, which had involved Emilia, the Trojan horse, and a couple ofactualTrojans.
After Marie left, he dashed up to his room to grab his backpack. Even though he was running late, he checked it over to make sure he had everything he needed for the day: sunscreen, a water bottle, a sun hat, a site map, a clipboard, and a red flag bearing the company’s logo. The one time he’d forgotten his hat, he’d gotten a blistering headache from the sun.
Outside the hostel, Emilia leaned against the bright blue gate that marked the entrance to the building. She looked up from her phone and scowled. “You’re late.”
Was she going to be this surly all day? “Only by a few minutes.”
She stuck her phone in her back pocket and started walking. “We need to hurry if we’re going to catch the eight o’clock train. We’re supposed to be at Pompeii at least twenty minutes before it opens.”
“We’ll be fine.”
Giving a resentful grunt, she strode on ahead. Rather than engage her further, he let her stew in grouchy silence.
When they reached the platform for the train station, they were ten minutes early. No one else was waiting, save for an elderly woman peering at a map. TJ wanted to point out that they’d rushed for nothing, but he didn’t need to rile up Emilia. Still, he couldn’t let things stand the way they were. If he didn’t find out what was wrong, he’d have to be extra cheerful to compensate for her grumpiness.
“You doing okay?” he asked.
She plopped down on a metal bench facing the track. “I’m fine. Why?”
He sat beside her, putting a generous amount of space between them. “Because you’re giving off a hostile vibe.”And you’re going to be a crappy tour guide if you keep it up.
“It’s nothing.”
“No, it’s not. If I did something to piss you off, can you please yell at me and get it over with?”
He honestly couldn’t think of anything he’d done to her. Last night, they’d hung out on the rooftop with the other archaeologists, drinking beer and swapping dig stories. She’d joked with him more than usual, especially after Paulo brought up the Trojan horseagain.
“It’s just…” She looked away. “Marie and her friends left the hostel as I was waiting for you. Naturally, she had to brag about her fabulous weekend plans and offer her deepest sympathies that I was stuck working. Oh, and she made sure to tell me you’re going to the Amalfi Coast with her next weekend.”
Was that why Emilia was so sullen? Because she was jealous? He could have strung her along, but he didn’t have the energy to bicker. “I didn’t say I was going for sure. I might consider it, but only if I’m not needed here. If they ask for guides, I won’t say no. The money’s too good to turn down.”
“Agreed. Every little bit helps.” She let out a ragged sigh. “Being broke really sucks.”
Though he knew she was as desperate for money as he was, she usually blew it off like it was no big deal. Her rare display of vulnerability surprised him. “Do you have a lot of debt?”
When she didn’t answer right away, he wanted to kick himself for prying. But she turned to face him with a wry smile. “It’s not as bad as it could be. I’ve been hustling nonstop since I was seventeen. If there was a fellowship, a research grant, or a source of financial aid I could apply for, I went after it. Most of the time, I got it.”
He regarded her with admiration. “I’m impressed. That sounds like a ton of work.”
She shrugged. “You do what you have to. You’re the same way.”
