Page 77 of Tour Wars
Emilia swallowed quickly, washing down the rice with a swig of beer. Maybe Rick had been wrong when he’d said she was welcome to stay. “You want me to move out? Is that it?”
“No. Of course not. I like having you here. Besides, the cats would never allow it. They’re madly in love with you. It’s about TJ.”
“Did something happen to him? Is he okay?” Emilia’s gut twisted as her mind raced with worst-case scenarios.
Olivia gave her a knowing look. “That response right there? Total proof you still care about him. He texted me yesterday because he’s worried about you. He wanted to make sure you’re doing all right.”
Emilia looked down at her plate, too ashamed to face her friend. “I…cut him off because it was too hard, but he hasn’t messaged me for weeks. I assumed he’d moved on.”
“TJ? Move on?” Rick said. “The guy is nothing if not persistent. He even textedme.”
“Could you throw him a bone?” Olivia asked. “Send him a message to let him know everything’s good? Even if you’re upset with him, it’s not right to leave him hanging.”
Emilia frowned. “What makes you think I’m upset with him? I never said that.”
“But you’re pissed he stayed at Pompeii. Right?” Rick asked.
She shook her head emphatically. “I told him to stay. I would have felt guilty if Dr. Roberti had fired him.” One of the cats brushed past her ankles and meowed. She reached down to pet him, grateful for the distraction.
“Are you sure?” Olivia grabbed the bowl of black beans and scooped more on her plate. “It’s okay if you were mad. Rationally, it makes sense that you didn’t want him to quit. But emotionally? Maybe youwantedhim to stand up for you.”
“I’ve never needed anyone to stand up for me. I’m not some damsel that needs rescuing.” Ever since she was eighteen, Emilia had fought her own battles. And yet—deep down, a small part of her couldn’t help but resent TJ for the way he’d caved so readily. How he’d done whatever the Robertis wanted, just to stay on at Pompeii and secure a glowing recommendation.
“This isn’t about being rescued,” Olivia said. “It’s about wanting your partner to do the right thing, regardless of the risks involved.”
“Maybe TJ just needs a nudge,” Rick said. “A sign from you that you want more from him. Do you really want it to end like this?”
Emilia pushed the food around on her plate. “Even if I wanted him back, it’s not like we had any chance of a future, not when our lives are going in different directions.”
“Where have I heard that before?” Rick said with a smile. “Oh, that’s what Olivia told me when she broke my heart in Cyprus.”
Olivia placed her hand on his arm. “I wassowrong, but I was convinced we couldn’t make a go of it because we didn’t know where we’d end up. Even when we were together last year, my job search threw us for a loop. I knew if I wanted to teach college, I’d have to apply everywhere I could. Getting hired to work at UC Santa Barbara was such a relief since Rick could keep his job here, and we could both be close to our families.”
Emilia looked between the two of them. “What if you’d gotten hired somewhere else? Didn’t you make the short list for two other schools?”
“I did,” Olivia said. “Rick and I talked about it. I would have taken whatever I could get, especially if it was a tenure-track position.”
Rick nodded. “I said I’d go with her, no matter what. One way or the other, I’d find work.”
Emilia let their words sink in. She’d known the job hunt had weighed heavily on Olivia, but she’d never realized how big of a sacrifice Rick was willing to make just to be with her.
“So—this thing with TJ?” Olivia said. “If it’s more than just a fling, then maybe it’s worth the effort.”
“How can it be? I only spent two nights with him in Rome, and the tour wasn’t even two weeks long. But…” Emilia set down her beer, groaning as the realization hit her. “I’m still stuck on him. I always have been. Even at Troy, when he provoked me constantly, I loved challenging him. Same with our tours at Pompeii. Whenever I was around him, he lit a fire inside of me.”
She didn’t miss the knowing look Rick and Olivia gave each other. Like they understoodexactlywhat she meant.
“After the tour ended, I was so glad we’d get more time together. We’d already planned our first weekend getaway. But…I need to move on.” She took a deep, shuddering breath. “If I think too much about everything I’ve lost, it’s too hard to keep going.”
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to harp on it,” Olivia said. “We can talk about something else. Sofia called me today with some interesting news.”
Rick smirked. “Did she call while you were teaching class? She has the worst timing of anyone I know.”
Even if Olivia’s younger sister, Sofia, was a globe-trotting influencer, she didn’t seem to grasp the concept of time zones or people’s schedules.
“She’s just too impatient to wait,” Olivia said. “She was like that even as a kid. Whenever she had news, she insisted on sharing it immediately. Fortunately, she didn’t disrupt my class today. She called when I was getting dinner ready. Talked my ear off about a new discovery in the Yucatán Peninsula. Some kind of lost city? Javier told her about it.”
Emilia had met Sofia’s fiancé, Javier, before when she’d dug in the Yucatán as an undergrad. “The Maya temples there are amazing, but I was never lucky enough to uncover a lost city. That’s Indiana Jones-type stuff.”
