Page 41 of Tour Wars
Emilia peeked at the itinerary on her phone. “Yep. We’re eating at Stuzzico, which is close by. You want to join us? Lunch is at one, and after that, we’ll head over to the ruins at Herculaneum for the second half of today’s excursion.”
“I’d like that,” he said. “I’ll meet you there.”
TJ was seated a few rows back, talking to Davis. When the bus stopped, he stood and caught Emilia’s eye. “Em, do you want me to divide the group into two? Might be easier to do the tour that way.”
“Sounds good. Can you get them organized? I’m gonna go on ahead.”
When he gave her a thumbs-up, she got off the bus and almost bumped into Giada. The older woman stood at the curb, arms crossed.
“About time,” she snapped. “You were supposed to arrive at a quarter to nine.”
Emilia stared at her in confusion. “Sorry, but I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“You think because you’re leading a fancy ten-day tour that you can survive without Giada?”
Quite honestly, yes.
But she wouldn’t say it. Even if Giada wasn’t a part of this tour, Emilia couldn’t risk pissing her off. “I think we’ve got things under control, but thanks for checking on us.” Behind her, the guests were slowly disembarking. They gathered in an unwieldy clump, waiting for TJ to give them directions.
Giada peered at them. “Where’s Luca?”
“He’s not taking part in today’s tour. I already showed him around Pompeii when he was here in August. Remember?” His absence meant Emilia could breathe a little easier. Ever since that uncomfortable scene in the courtyard two days ago, he’d changed his tone around her. Instead of doling out compliments, he was quick to chastise her if she made the slightest mistake.
“You’re keeping Luca happy, I hope?” Giada said. “Being extra, extra nice to him?”
Emilia repressed a shudder. “I’m treating him like any other guest, which should be more than enough.”
Giada blew out a peeved breath. “He’s not just ‘any other guest.’ His father is very important.”
I don’t care if his dad’s the fucking president of Italy, I’m not sleeping with Luca Roberti. End of story. Rather than spend another second talking about him, she pivoted. “Any word from Angelo? TJ and I have been sending him daily updates, but he hasn’t responded.”
“You think he has time to read all his emails?” Giada said. “I’m sure it’s fine. You haven’t encountered any difficulties, have you?”
Other than Luca? No.“It’s all good. I think the guests are enjoying themselves.”
“Don’t think—make sure of it! We want five-star reviews from every single one of them.” She turned to TJ, who was attempting to herd the group into formation. “What are you waiting for? Your guests need to be right at the gates when Pompeii opens. You only have four minutes to get there.”
With that, she turned and stalked off, no doubt in search of another poor guide to harass.
TJ addressed their group in a loud voice. “Okay, everyone. Like I told you earlier, Emilia and I will be leading your tour of Pompeii as a team. We decided to separate you into two groups because some of the areas we’ll be visiting are a tight fit. As you got off the bus, I gave each of you a card. If you got a blue one, you’re with me. A red card means you’re with Emilia. But don’t worry—we’ll never stray too far from each other. When we reach the end of the tour, we have a special surprise for you.”
A surprise? Was TJ intending to take them somewhere that wasn’t on the itinerary? If so, they might have to speed through a few of their regular stops. They needed to be done just before one if they wanted to keep their lunch reservation.
Emilia took a bright red flag out of her backpack. “All right, folks, let’s get going. It’s very crowded here, so if you lose sight of us, TJ and I each have a flag to guide the way.”
She led everyone past the line at the entrance and through the priority gate used by tour groups. Though only a week had passed since she’d left Pompeii, she was returning to the site with an entirely different perspective. Today, she wouldn’t be a guide-for-hire, leading a random bunch of strangers around the ancient city. This washergroup, and she wanted them to have the best experience possible.
Part of the fun of guiding tourists through Pompeii was watching their reactions. The site was exceptionally well-preserved, having been suspended in time since 79 AD, when the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius had buried it in volcanic ash and pumice stone. As with the tours she’d given all summer, she paused to describe various points of interest, like the Temple of Apollo, the Forum, and some of the best-known Roman homes and villas, like the House of the Faun and the Villa of the Mysteries. Along the way, she showed them the remains of bakeries, public baths, and thermopolia, or snack bars, where Pompeii’s citizens would have stopped after work to grab a bite to eat. Naturally, the tour included a visit to the brothel with its racy wall paintings.
This time, when Emilia glanced at the sensuous images, her thoughts didn’t drift to Paulo as they had in August. Instead, a different set of fantasies took hold—ones involving a nerdy, slightly boastful, overly enthusiastic archaeologist who’d gone from being a rival to a friend.
Though she might have teased TJ about it, shedidconsider him a friend. Two days ago, when she’d told him about her toxic relationship with Vince, she’d worried that he’d judge her. That her admission of weakness would forever tarnish her image. But he hadn’t treated her like a victim. Instead of letting her wallow, he’d taken her out for pizza, followed by a trip to a nearby gelateria. All thoughts of the past vanished as she devoured a double scoop of dark chocolate and pistachio gelato that made her groan with pleasure.
Now, as she and TJ made their way through Pompeii, he led his group at a brisker pace than usual. A few times, she had to remind him to stop at the public fountains so they could refill their water bottles. Even if the temperature was milder than it had been earlier in the week, a lot of their tour involved standing in the sun.
By the time they reached the outdoor theater where they usually ended the tour, they were twenty minutes ahead of schedule—an unheard-of occurrence. Emilia was about to ask TJ whether he planned to squeeze in any more stops when he called the group to attention. All of them were sitting on the stone steps of the theater, looking down at the stage below.
“Before we leave Pompeii, we have a treat for you,” he said. “It’s not on your itinerary, nor is it on any of the public maps of the archaeological park. You’ll be getting a behind-the-scenes sneak peek exclusive to Buon Viaggio. We’re going to visit the House of Venus—the excavation site where Emilia and I have been working since June. We’ll also pop into two of the lab buildings to show you where we study our finds.”
