Page 52 of Tour Wars
She gave him a sympathetic groan. “Please tell me you didn’t watch all of them.”
“Only the first two. I fell asleep halfway through the third.” He raised his eyebrows at her. “What’s your excuse? Not gonna lie, you look like crap.”
The thought of what she’d done—or almost done—with TJ coaxed a smile out of her. As her cheeks heated, she lowered her eyes. “I’ll never tell.”
“Did something happen with you and TJ? You have to fill me in.” He flipped his phone over. “Off the record, I promise.”
“Not without more coffee. Wanna grab me a refill?”
“Miss Flores. Mr. McGowan. Buongiorno.” Luca stood over them, having seemingly materialized out of nowhere.
Startled, Emilia knocked over her coffee cup, spilling the dregs onto the table. Grabbing a napkin, she mopped up the mess. Why was it that Luca’s appearance always sent her into panic mode?
“Um…hi,” she said. “I mean, buongiorno. How are you?”
Luca sat down beside her. “Better than you, apparently. It looks as though the two of you didn’t get enough sleep.”
Fuck. She couldn’t deal with him now, not when she was barely conscious enough to function. Before she could defend herself, Davis chuckled. “I definitely didn’t get my full eight hours. I blame Emilia.”
Dude. Don’t even joke about it.
“What were you two up to?” Luca asked.
“Nothing,” Emilia snapped. “Davis insisted on binge-watching theJohn Wickmovies last night.Alone.” She slid her cup toward Davis. “Can you grab me more coffee?”
“You sure?” His gaze moved between her and Luca, as though he wasn’t comfortable leaving her alone with him.
“Yes, please.” Once he left, she forced herself to meet Luca’s eyes. The scent of his sandalwood aftershave was so strong it almost turned her stomach. “I was up late dealing with a middle-of-the-night emergency. The Mangolds had a plumbing crisis.”
“And they called onyou? I didn’t realize being a tour guide meant you’d be serving as a handyman.”
A handyperson, you sexist asshole.“Being a tour guide means keeping the clients happy.”
“Within reason. Do I need to remind you of the rules?” He pointed to Davis, who was refilling her cup at the coffee station. “Despite my warning, you and Mr. McGowan seem to have grown closer. At Grand Hotel La Sonrisa, the two of you indulged in a late-night swim at the hotel pool, did you not?”
What the hell? Had he been spying on her? “Yes, but—”
“There are no ‘buts’ where the rules are concerned. A private tryst in the pool is highly inappropriate.”
“If you’d let me finish? Davis and I weren’t alone. TJ was with us, along with Cesca from Roman Pathways Tours.”
“Nonetheless, it’s not an ideal situation, putting yourself in temptation’s path. I’ll be watching you for the rest of the tour. Any impropriety and I’ll notify my uncle Angelo.”
I’ll bet you will, you prick.The phrase “go fuck yourself” was on the tip of her tongue, but she forced herself to exercise restraint. “I understand, but as I said before, I wouldn’t dream of breaking the rules. Not with anyone.”
Except TJ, until fate had given her a swift kick in the ass.
Luca stood up. “Good to hear. I’d hate to see you lose your job over a foolish indiscretion.”
By the time she boarded the bus, she couldn’t wait to get the hell out of Paestum. She plopped down next to TJ in the front row and spoke to him in a whisper. “This morning is starting out rough. I’m functioning on four hours of sleep, and Luca was being a dick at breakfast. Can you do the spiel?”
“Sure. What was Luca’s problem?”
She scrubbed her hands over her face, wanting to erase the memory of his nasty insinuations. “Nothing serious. Just some bullshit about me and Davis. He implied our swim the other night was a secret tryst, but I was like, ‘Hello, there werefourof us in the pool.’ Now he probably thinks we had an orgy.”
“What a jerk. If you want, I can also do the tour when we get to Matera.”
She wished she could thank him with a kiss, but the best she could offer was a faint smile. “Thanks. You’re the best.”
