Page 51 of Tour Wars
He didn’t want to, either, and not just because he’d come so close to fulfilling one of his top five fantasies. He’d wanted to make love to Emilia. To kiss her and touch her and taste her until she whimpered with pleasure. To make her cry out his name and cling to him in the darkness. But this wasn’t just a close call. It was a sign from the universe, warning them they’d come perilously close to screwing upeverything.
He locked eyes with her. “I get it. We can’t risk getting caught. I’ll wait a few minutes, then sneak back to my room. Sorry it ended like this.”
“Me, too.” She gave him a rueful smile. “I’ll make it up to you, I promise.”
“I know. Call me if you need help with the Mangolds. If it’s a serious emergency, you shouldn’t have to deal with it on your own.”
“Thanks. We’ll get another chance, right?”
“Absolutely. The tour ends in three days.”
In the grand scheme of things, three days wasn’t that long. And if anyone was worth the wait, it was Emilia.
* * *
Once TJ was safely hiddenin the bathroom, Emilia put on her robe. Tucking her phone into the pocket, she opened the door and forced herself to smile. Her face still burned like a thousand-watt bulb, and her hair was a tangled mess, but at least the robe covered up her near-nakedness and her perky nipples.
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” she said to Mrs. Mangold. “I was asleep when you knocked. It took me a minute to get my bearings.”
“You look warm. Feverish. Areyou all right?”
“I’m fine. Shouldn’t we hurry? Do you need me to call an ambulance? If I ask the front desk to do it, they might get a faster response.”
“Oh, dear, I frightened you, didn’t I?” Mrs. Mangold chuckled. “No wonder you look so frazzled. It’s a plumbing emergency, not a medical one.”
Emilia released a tight breath.Thank the goddess.Now she wouldn’t have to spend the night in the ER with the Mangolds. “Did you call housekeeping to check on the plumbing? I’m not sure if they have a maintenance person available at this hour, but they could probably take care of it.”
“No. I’d rather not go down to the lobby. It would be too humiliating. All we need is a plunger.”
“A plunger?” Emilia grimaced. She almost didn’t want to know.
“Yes, poor Giles has been stopped up since Naples. Too much rich food and not enough fiber. That’s why he had a stomachache yesterday. This morning, I convinced him to take a laxative.”
No need for further explanation. “So…he clogged the toilet?”
“Exactly. Can you see why I don’t wish to share this issue with the hotel staff? I’d like you to go down to the lobby and request a plunger, then you can take care of it yourself.”
Fate, you sneaky bitch.One minute, Emilia was in bed with TJ, preparing to blow his mind. The next, she was about to plunge a stopped-up toilet.
“I hope you’re able to deal with it,” Mrs. Mangold said. “I tried TJ’s room first, but he didn’t answer.”
“He can be a sound sleeper. That’s probably why he didn’t hear you.” Even as Emilia offered the excuse, she cursed him inwardly for escaping this crappy job.
You owe me, buddy.Next time she got him alone, he’d have to serviceherneeds first.
Because there would definitely be a next time. Not on the tour, that was for certain. After such a near miss, they couldn’t risk another late-night rendezvous. But after the tour ended, they’d get one more night in Rome. That was when she’d make her move.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Emilia sat hunched over her coffee cup, trying to keep her eyes open. When her phone alarm had gone off this morning, she’d been tempted to hurl it against the wall. Thanks to the Mangolds’ plumbing emergency, she hadn’t returned to her room until almost one. Then she’d been up another hour, tormented with regret that she’d sent TJ away. He’d been equally regretful, sending her a series of apologetic texts after he’d learned the true nature of the Mangolds’ emergency.
Unfortunately, sleeping in wasn’t an option. With a big travel day ahead of them, she needed to have everyone on the bus by eight. First, they were driving from Paestum to Matera, a UNESCO World Heritage site known as one of the oldest cities in Italy. After walking through Matera, they’d have lunch there, then drive to the Castel del Monte for a tour and a wine tasting. Their last stop was Bari, where they’d be spending the night.
Davis sat across from Emilia at the breakfast buffet. Like her, he was rocking a messy bed head and sporting serious bags under his eyes. “I am totally regretting my life choices this morning,” he muttered.
She poked at her piece of plum cake. “I thought you went to bed early last night.”
“I did, butsomeone—not naming any names—tried to convince me the secondJohn Wickmovie was the best one in the franchise. I may have started watching the series from the beginning.”
