Page 21 of Tour Wars
“There’ll be another time.”If she even wants me.Marie was bound to be annoyed once she learned about the tour. “Here’s something else to consider. Ten days is a long time to be on the road with a group of high-maintenance tourists. If you ever need a rest from all that peopling, then you can tap out, and I’ll wow them with my jokes and good humor. It might be fun.”
Did he believe it? Not quite. But he wanted her to.
She smacked him in the chest with the binder. “You’re going to spend every spare minute memorizing this tome with me until we leave for Rome. Got it?”
He winced. “I can’t think of anything I’d rather do more.”
* * *
That night,TJ joined Emilia on the rooftop patio of the hostel. Seated on a wooden bench with the binder between them, they’d already started on their homework. At the moment, they were alone since the rest of the archaeologists had walked to a nearby pizzeria for dinner.
TJ leafed through the binder, which was crammed with information. “This is more overwhelming than I thought.”
“You can still back out,” Emilia said. “I’ll be fine on my own.”
“Nope. I just wish I didn’t need to know so much about places I’ve never visited.” He’d be out of his depth, something he hated. Whenever he traveled, he liked to command a certain level of expertise.
She pointed to the map that outlined all the stops on the tour. “I’ve been to most of these places. It’s too bad we’re not going to Florence because I spent five months there. I have that city down cold.”
“Were you on a dig? Or was it a semester abroad thing?” If she’d mentioned it before, he couldn’t remember it.
“No, I had a conservation fellowship. I figured the training would give me another set of skills. My focus was on the study and treatment of frescoes, like the wall paintings found in Pompeii and Herculaneum. I thought we’d spend most of our time studying art history, but I also learned a ton about chemistry.”
He regarded her with a mixture of admiration and jealousy. “That’s awesome. I took a chem class in grad school to learn more about metallurgy. It was tougher than I thought.”
“Couldn’t handle all the formulas, huh?” She grinned. “But seriously, I’d love to use my knowledge. I mentioned it to Dr. Roberti back in June, but nothing came of it. I’m hoping he’ll consider me once we start restoring the wall paintings in the House of Venus.”
Now TJ was even more jealous. Doing conservation work at Pompeii would be an incredible opportunity. And it might mean Emilia would have a better chance at getting to stay an extra six months. Then again, if they pulled off this tour successfully, they’d both be among the top contenders for the next phase of the project.
Rather than dwell on the future, he switched his focus back to the tour. “Since there’s so much to cover, why don’t we split up some of the places on the map?”
“Good idea. We can take turns memorizing stuff.”
“Then we can quiz each other until we get it right. We’re going to be a kick-ass team.” He was starting to get excited. As long as they were fully prepared, it could be a fun challenge.
Emilia gave him another of her trademark eye rolls, but not without smiling first. Like she was more on board with the “team” concept than she wanted to admit.
As they were removing pages from the binder, Paulo emerged onto the rooftop. With him were Marie, her friend Chloe, and two other Italian archaeologists.
“Well, well, if it isn’t our naughty Americans,” Paulo said. “Did you get fired?’
Marie glared at him. “Don’t even joke about that. You know how vindictive those Robertis can be.”
Vindictive? TJ hadn’t seen any evidence of that, though both Paulo and Marie had worked with Dr. Roberti before, so maybe they’d experienced another side of him.
“We’re not fired,” TJ said. “But I do have bad news. About the trip to Greece, I—”
“TJ and I were asked to lead a group through southern Italy,” Emilia said. “For Buon Viaggio. The regular tour manager can’t do it, so Angelo wanted us to fill in because we’ve spent so much time guiding tourists around Pompeii.”
He stared at her in shock. Rather than tell the others the truth—that he’d insisted on doing the tour with her—she’d made it sound like he didn’t have a choice. Was she trying to placate Marie? If so, he appreciated the effort.
“Yeah, this tour’s kind of a big deal, so we couldn’t turn it down,” he said. “Plus, the group is from the US, so we’re the ideal candidates for the job. The money’s great, and we’ll get to stay in decent hotels during the trip.”
“What the hell?” Marie stared Emilia down. “What’s going on with you two, anyway?”
“Not a damn thing,” Emilia muttered. “I’d rather be paired up with anyone else on Earth, but they wanted both of us. It’s just work.”
Paulo chuckled and draped his arm around Marie’s shoulders. “Relax. They’re not going to have time for sex, what with catering to all those needy Americans. But if you want to share a room while we’re in Greece, you might be able to convince me.”
