Page 53 of Tour Wars
“No problem. And…ah…Em?” He spoke so softly she could barely hear him. “Even if you’re tired…you don’t regret last night, do you?”
He sounded so vulnerable that her heart ached. She didn’t want him to think—not even for a minute—that she was upset about anything they’d done. “Not at all. My only regret is not finishing what we started.”
“I was hoping we could make up for it in Rome, after the guests leave. Would that be okay?”
“It would be perfect. In fact, I’m going to dream about it right now.”
As the bus pulled away from the hotel, she leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes. Despite the untimely interruption from the Mangolds, she and TJ had gotten off to a promising start. For two years, she’d kept her body locked up tight, afraid that if she let someone in, he’d manipulate her the way Vince had. But with TJ, there was no power imbalance, no sense that he’d try to bend her to his will.
The thought of spending an entire night with him, making passionate love—or, as Dusty would put it, “fucking like bunnies”— filled her with a surge of desire. Waiting three more days was going to be a challenge.
“Em? Before you drift off—do you have the binder?” TJ said.
The binder.
She jolted up in her seat. Heart thumping, she grabbed her backpack from the floor. It was far too light. “Shit.I left it in my hotel room.”
“Are you sure? Maybe you stuck it in your suitcase?”
“No. Last night, I kicked it under the bed. Remember? Then I had to deal with the Mangolds. This morning, I was so tired I totally forgot about it.” She recalled stuffing clothes in her suitcase, sweeping through the bathroom to gather up her toiletries, and rushing out the door. She hadn’t thought to check under the bed. “What are we going to do?”
“We’ll be okay without it. We have the app, plus I photographed a lot of the pages when we were in Rome.”
“True, but…” She cringed, imagining Angelo’s reaction when she told him what she’d done. “It also had a bunch of maps and restaurant brochures.”
“Then we’ll go back. Nico’s only been driving for ten minutes.” TJ leaned over to address him. “Can you drive us to the hotel? We forgot the binder.”
“I’m the one who forgot it,” Emilia said. “I’m so sorry.”
Nico gave a low chuckle. “Happens at least once on every tour. No worries. I’ll take you back.”
Emilia shot TJ a grateful smile. “Thanks. I feel like such an idiot.”
“Don’t. It won’t put us that far behind. No big deal.”
For Emilia, itwasa big deal. She’d been so careful on the tour, always sticking to the schedule, keeping the guests happy, and trying to ensure they didn’t leave anything behind. Clearly, this was the universe’s way of reminding her that she couldn’t afford any distractions until the tour ended.
When they reached the hotel, she stood and addressed the group. “Hey, everyone. I need to apologize because I left the tour binder in my hotel room. That’s why we came back. I’m gonna grab it now, and we can take off in a few minutes.”
She didn’t wait to hear their responses. If anyone had a complaint, TJ could deal with it. She bolted off the bus and sprinted for the entrance of the hotel. At the check-in desk, she gave the clerk her sweetest smile and explained her situation in flawless Italian. He called the head of housekeeping, who went to look for the binder. When the woman came down with it, Emilia was so relieved she almost hugged her. She thanked her profusely and ran back outside.
Nico leaned against the side of the bus, smoking. Beside him, Luca stood with his arms crossed. He glared at Emilia.
Ignoring him, she faced Nico with an appreciative smile. “Thanks for waiting. I hope no one was too annoyed.”
“Eh, they’re fine. You didn’t take that long.”
“It was still a serious misstep on your part,” Luca said. “It’s hard to believe you could forget something as important as the Buon Viaggio binder. You don’t seem to be operating at full capacity this morning.”
Heat prickled the back of her neck, making her feel uncomfortably warm. All she wanted to do was crash out on the bus, but instead, she was stuck defending a minor screwup. “Sorry, but I’m still tired after dealing with the Mangolds’ emergency last night.”
“Not because you were up late, watching movies with Davis?”
“No. If you don’t believe me, then ask Irene Mangold yourself.” Even as she said it, she worried that the older woman might not be the best witness. Odds were good she didn’t want anyone else to know about the humiliating incident.
Rather than go talk to Mrs. Mangold, Luca stood there, his dark eyes drilling into Emilia’s like he was hoping she’d crack under his scrutiny.
Nico stubbed out his cigarette. “Cut her a break. Mateo did the same thing on the last tour, except we’d been driving for a good half hour when he remembered. So far, Emilia’s been doing a great job.”
