“Do you miss America?” he asks.
“Not too much. I do miss my big bed at home. And, you know, not having to share a bathroom with anyone. But mostly I’m excited to be here. I want to make the most of it.”
“And is that what you’re doing right now?”
I smile shyly. “Absolutely. I can’t think of anyplace else I’d rather be.”
“Me neither.” He holds out his hands toward me. “You’re so different from the other girls I’ve known. There’s no drama with you. I can tell you’re someone who likes to have fun.”
I roll back my shoulders. That’s true. That’sexactlywhat I want to do in England. “Yes, absolutely.”
He smiles at me and squeezes my hand. My heart speeds at his touch. “Then what do you want to do first? I’ve been here loads of times, so today is all about you.”
From all my research with Mom, I know there are a ton of sights in Bath related to Jane Austen. Some of her books were set here and it would be amazing to tour those places after watching the movies so many times. But I push it out of my mind. I’m here to spend time with Will. Anything will be good if he’s by my side.
“I don’t want you to be bored,” I say. “We should try to find something you haven’t done before.”
“I haven’t donethisbefore.” He waves his hand between us with a mischievous grin. Damn, a girl could get in so much trouble for that grin.
“Well... how about the Roman Baths?”
He stands decisively. “To the baths we go.”
It turns out we were already close, so within a few minutes, Will has bought our tickets and I’m following him into the entrance.
“The terrace,” he announces as I step out onto a stone walkway lined with statues. He walks to the edge and points down. “And the grand bath.”
“Wow.” Below me is a huge rectangular pool of water. I’m a bit surprised that it’s exposed to the elements and more than a bit surprised that it’s green. “Did people actually take baths in there? It looks kind of... gross.”
Will chuckles. “Let’s hope so or the name of this city is bollocks.”
We zoom through the “museum” areas—models of the baths, historic items behind glass, plaques with important information in small print. Part of me is curious to know more about the history, but most of me only wants to be close to Will. However, as we pass some metal squares on a wall, Will stops short.
“Now this part is worth a longer look. These are the curses.”
“Curses?” I lean closer.
“From the Romans. People would write out curses against others who had hurt them or stolen from them and drop the curses in the bath for a goddess. She was supposed to get revenge for them.”
“Hmm.” The corner of my mouth twitches up, thinking of the curses I’d write.
“Exactly,” Will whispers. “I could write up a curse or two if I thought that goddess was still knocking about.”
“Who would you curse?” I ask before thinking.
Will’s expression closes and I know I asked too personal a question. But when he answers, his tone is light. “The constable who gave me a speeding notice on my way to get you this morning.”
“You got a ticket! You didn’t say anything.”
He wraps a hand around my waist and pulls me toward him. “I was excited to see you. I drove a little too fast.”
I breathe in the lemony tang of his cologne and forget all about curses.
Eventually we get back to the green bath we’d seen from the terrace above. I make a beeline for the water, but Will holds me back. “No one is supposed to touch the water. They say it’s poisonous.”
“Seriously?”
Steam rises from the water and it makes the entire place eerie and magical, like a scene in one of my fantasy novels, right before men in cloaks step out of the shadows and start foretelling the future.
