Page 20 of Tour Wars
“The same goes for me,” Emilia said. “We won’t let you down.”
“I sincerely hope not,” Angelo said. “Before you go, let me give you a quick overview of the trip.”
The overview was hardly quick. For the next twenty minutes, he outlined the entire tour, describing each stop they’d take along the way, as well as all the sites they’d be visiting. If TJ was being honest, the trip sounded exhausting, with far too much crammed into ten days. At least he and Emilia would have the binder for guidance. Right now, she was clutching it like a life preserver.
Once Angelo was done, Dr. Roberti dismissed them. TJ left the office with Emilia, making sure to shut the door behind them. They walked through the dig site, passing one of the rooms they were excavating—the triclinium, or dining area of the house—whose walls displayed a series of well-preserved paintings dedicated to the goddess Venus. The site was quiet, the buckets and tools arranged in a neat pile.
Just before they entered the lab, Emilia whirled around and pinned TJ up against the hard stone wall. Her grip was surprisingly strong.
Her dark eyes flashed with fury. “That tour was mine. You had no business poaching it.”
His heart hammered against his rib cage. “Em, listen, I—”
“No, you listen. You already had plans. A week in Greece. A little fling with Marie. Now you act like it’s your life’s ambition to be a tour guide?”
Her voice had risen so loudly he was afraid someone might hear them. Still squished against the wall, he tried to break free. “Lower your voice, okay?”
“Did you know something I didn’t? About the Pompeii project being extended?”
He swallowed. “No. That was the first I’d heard about it.”
“Then what made you change your mind?”
He could have lied to her. If he told her he’d done it because of the money, she’d believe him. But he didn’t want her to hate him more than she already did. “I saw the way you reacted when Luca walked in. You looked unsettled.”
“Bullshit.”
“I know what I saw. You went rigid. Last Saturday, you said he creeped you out when he was on your tour. Do you really want to spend ten days alone with him?”
She released her grip on his shirt and stepped back. “I wouldn’t be alone with him. There’ll be at least thirty other people on that tour.” But already, her rage had diminished. “Besides, I can take care of myself.”
He brushed off his shirt. “I know that. But if something happened with Luca—something you didn’t want—then I’d feel terrible.”
“Why? You don’t even like me.”
Actually, I do.Even if they argued constantly, he always got a rush out of it. He hadn’t even wanted to spend a week with Marie in Greece. He’d just agreed to it in the hopes of getting Emilia off his mind.
He scraped a hand through his hair, trying to think of an answer that wouldn’t piss her off. “It’s not just about you. I don’t like it when women are forced into uncomfortable situations. When Romily was a freshman in college, one of her classmates started stalking her. A guy she’d dated but hadn’t clicked with. At first, I didn’t take her complaints seriously. She tended to be a bit of a drama queen. But then…”
Emilia blanched. “What happened?”
“She was walking back to her dorm one night, and the guy cornered her. When he grabbed her, she yelled at him to back off, and someone from campus security heard her. She was unhurt but really freaked-out. That was it, but I wish we’d listened to her from the start.”
The memory still pained him. How Romily had called him that night, her voice shaking with sobs. He’d spent hours on the phone with her, reassuring her that she’d done nothing wrong. Any guy who couldn’t take no for an answer was a dick who deserved to get his ass kicked.
“I’m sorry,” Emilia said softly. “That must have been awful. But I’m not an inexperienced freshman living away from home for the first time. I’ve got this. If you come along, you’ll be cutting into my pay.”
“Then I’ll give you my half.” The words tumbled out before he could stop them.
“Why? You need the money as much as I do.”
Stop being so stubborn. But this was Emilia, who was proud as hell. If she suspected he was offering her the money out of sympathy, she’d boot him into the nearest trench.
“Honestly? I’ll be saving a lot by not going to Greece. Marie and her friends will probably spend a fortune on drinks and clubbing. Even if the tour won’t be a real vacation, I’ll get to spend every night in a cushy hotel room.”
That alone was worth the hassle of leading a bunch of Americans through Italy.
“What about Marie?” Emilia demanded.
