She goes off to the kitchen to pop the cork and grab some cups. As soon as she’s out of view, Colton steps close, his already low voice dropping another octave. “This weekend was incredible.”
“Yeah,” I say, so eloquent in my breathlessness.
My hand lands on his chest, testing the muscles underneath, and his chest rises faster in response. His own hand comes to the side of my neck, his thumb tracing my bottom lip. He brings our foreheads together, our noses grazing in the softest, most electrifying way.
“Come to my room when you get home,” he whispers, the breath of his words fanning over my lips.
I pull back a few inches so I can see his eyes. They hold a trace of vulnerability, but no uncertainty. I can’t lie to him—or myself—and say I don’t want that, too.
A clang of plastic cups flying across the floor interrupts us. We turn around to see Inez staring. Her eyes are wide and a bit manic, like she can’t decide whether to cheer or yell or faint. Instead, she lifts an arm and points back and forth between us.
I chew on my lip and look up at Colton. “I guess that’s one secret out.”
“If it’s supposed to be a secret, maybe you shouldn’t make out in our living room,” Inez says, but her eyes are smiling and herbody vibrates with barely restrained excitement. “I’m so happy for you two! I knew it would work!”
“What would wor?—”
“Oh, we aren’t?—”
Colton and I both start talking, cutting each other off.
“You know what? I’ll let Quinn explain. I’ll see you later tonight.” He sends one last long look my way before heading off to the safety of his room.
“I knew you two were gonna fall in love! Tomasso said my meddling was going to get me in trouble, and I can’t wait to tell him he was wrong.”
I shush her, glancing at his closed door and praying the wood’s thick enough to block Inez’s booming voice. “That’s not what this is, and this conversation requires a glass of wine. Get me to the Tiberina, and I’ll give you the details.”
I distract her from what she really wants to know along the way with stories about the trip until we’re comfortably settled on the hill. This is one of my favorite spots in Rome, a small island in the middle of the Tiber river between Trastevere and the Jewish Quarter. It’s a popular place to hang out in the summer, when theLungo Il Teveresummer festival takes over the banks of the river. Pop-up restaurants and bars draw people from across the city. Others, like us, bring their own drinks and sit on the grassy knoll, enjoying the views. I take a sip of my wine, closing my eyes while savoring the fruity flavors and the rush of the river around the island.
I take a fortifying breath and asked her the question I’d been avoiding for the past couple weeks. “Have you heard anything from Leonardo da Vinci?”
“You must be really desperate to put off this conversation if you’re willing to talk about the other job,” she says with a smirk.
“I’m not stalling,” I say, mostly telling the truth. Yes, I want to avoid the Colton-sized elephant in the room, but she hasn’ttalked about the other job at all. I want her to know I’m here for her, even though the idea of her leaving crushes me. “Any news?”
A small smile crosses her lips and she takes a sip of her own wine. “They asked me to come back to meet the rest of the team. No offer yet, but Dr. Lascano says it’s a really good sign.”
My stomach bottoms out. She’s one step closer to leaving me, and I’ve set myself back a few dozen steps by snapping at Dr. Guarino and then hiding out. But I don’t want her to think she can’t talk to me, so I paste on the most realistic smile I can manage.
“Inez,” I say, throwing my arms around her and just barely keeping my cup of wine from splashing down her back. “That’s incredible! When are you going back?”
“The same weekend Dr. Keck and Dr. Larson take the students to Florence, so I’ll have to be very, very sneaky.”
That’s three weeks away, which means I have three weeks to show her we can keep the initiative from passing before she has to make any sort of decision.
“No more stalling,” Inez says. “We aren’t leaving until I get details about this weekend. I’ll burn the damn bridges down if I have to.”
“Those bridges date back to antiquity, you heathen.”
“Don’t care. Spill. Now.”
I sigh and face her. “We slept together.”
She whoops. “Finally! It’s so romantic! I’m going to be maid of honor, obviously.”
I laugh and grab her hands. “Slow down. We aren’t together.”
She blinks her large brown eyes. I can practically hear the cartoon tinking sound. “But… you slept together.”
