Page 17 of Only You

“Eh, whatever,” he said with a smirk. “I wasn’t going to let him get in the way of my trip. What about you? Why’d you come to Rome by yourself?”

“I wasn’t supposed to be alone,” I said while refilling my own wine glass. “It was a trip I had planned with all my girlfriends. I flew in a day early, because I wanted to do some sightseeing by myself. Turns out that was a mistake. They got stuck at home.” I shook my head. “Well, I guess actually I’m the one who’s stuck, not them.”

“I’m sure they’ll open up flights in another day or two,” Donovan said. “What do you do for a living?”

“I own a small clothing store.”

“You’re an entrepreneur?” He nodded approvingly. “Nice.”

I sipped my wine. I didn’t want to tell him the truth about the store. That I didn’t care about it, that it had fallen into my lap and I was keeping it running out of guilt.

“It’s okay,” I said. “It feels good to get away. At least, itwouldfeel good if things weren’t…” I gestured at the empty plaza. “It’s so weird being here. It feels like… like…”

“Like what?” he asked softly.

“A few days ago, you were cooking dinner next door,” I explained. “I could smell everything you were doing. It smelled incredible! My mouth watered, but I couldn’t have any. That’s what this whole trip feels like. I’m next door to something amazing. I can see it, hear it, smell it.” I swung my arm out toward the west. “The Colosseum isright freaking there,with the sun setting behind it! But I can’t actually enjoy any of it because I’m stuck in the hotel.”

Donovan grinned over at me. “What I just heard is that my cooking is as breathtaking as the Roman Colosseum.”

“Ha ha,” I fake-laughed. “I’m jealous you spent a week here before me. I bet you got to see everything.”

“Not really.”

“Come on. I’m sure you saw more than I did.”

“I had cooking classes every day,” he explained. “Then I came back to my hotel room every night and practiced what I learned. I didn’t have time to see the city.”

I put my wine glass down and crossed my arms over my chest. “You flew all the way to Rome, spent a week here, and didn’t seeanything?”

“What can I say? I’m good with short-term goals,” he replied. “I was actually signed up for the same walking tour as you. That’s why I was waiting in the lobby that day.”

I groaned. “You had to bring that up, didn’t you?”

“It wasn’t that bad!”

“I was a total bitch.”

“You werefeisty,” he insisted. “There’s a difference.”

“Kittens are feisty,” I replied. “When women are jerks they’re—”

“Don’t call yourself a bitch,” he replied firmly. “If that’s what you were, I wouldn’t be giving you food.”

“Unless the food’s poisoned.”

He fixed me with a calming gaze. “I promise it’s not.”

“I still feel bad about the lobby,” I mumbled.

He flashed a perfectly white smile. “One more glass of wine and I promise we’re even,Feisty.”

We put on our masks and leaned across the railing toward each other. The wind shifted, and I caught a whiff of his cologne through my mask. He smelled masculine, like leather and oil. It sent a tingling shiver through my body.

I’m just lonely,I thought.I barely know this guy.

But did that really matter?

He grinned behind his mask like he knew what I was thinking, his grey eyes piercing into my soul.

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