That was simple enough. There’s no reason I should be sweating harder than I did during peak afternoon heat in a nearly shadeless ancient city.
“Should we wait here for your friend, or begin to walk and talk?”
I’m getting a slightly impatient vibe from him, and before I can think better of it, I’m word vomiting out, “No, yeah, she’s fine. Walk and talk is good.”
Cammie’s bladder is on my shit list, bathroom pun not intended.
I decide that if we’re going to walk because of my impulsive mouth, I can at least set the pace so there’s no way we lose Cam. I start down the street in the direction she went, taking long, slow steps. Luca matches my stride, sliding his hands into the pockets of his khaki work pants.
“So,” he says almost immediately once we’re moving, “remind me why it is you wanted to meet.”
No beating around the bush with this guy.Another Lovett-like quality, I start to think before scolding myself for passing too much judgment on him before Cammie’s even seen his face. It’s not my place to jump to these conclusions.
“Right, yeah,” I say carefully, because if there’s anything a Jacobs is going to do, it’s beat around the bush. “I’m not sure how much you keep up with anything happening at Villa di Bronzo—”
“I don’t,” he interjects sharply, though I wasn’t expecting an answer to that part. It throws off my train of thought and I take a second to get back on track.
“Oh, okay. Well, then you might not have heard that this year is the twentieth anniversary of its discovery, and my dad’s back here for a documentary being filmed about it, so I—”
“Oh, there you are. I went back to the gate, and I was worried you—” Cammie’s voice cuts off with a gasp.
I turn to face her and Luca follows suit. I’m about to introduce the two of them—or try to, anyway—when I notice that it’s Luca’s turn to have all the blood drain from his face. Heraises a hand in Cammie’s direction, not quite pointing, not quite giving astop right thereoutward palm, but something in between the two. I’m not sure if he looks more like a ghost or a human encountering one for the first time as he stammers, “You…you’re her…”
Cammie, who has been similarly stunned into stillness, looks less haunted than invigorated—like her heart is probably trying to pound out of her chest. Her eyes are shining and eager, her cheeks a rosy pink under her freckles.
“H-hi…” She steps forward, extending her hand like she’s willing to pretend Luca is going in for a shake, not rudely gawking. “I’m Cammie,” she says with a fragile optimism that I hope isn’t about to be blown to pieces. Like an afterthought, she adds, “Camilla Lovett.”
I wonder if she’s picking up on the bits of resemblance I am. If she feels any of that immediate spark of connection or rightness that she’d so hoped for. In a selfish way, I’m already itching for the meeting-Luca part to be over so I can check in with Cam. To assure us both that she’s okay, or if she isn’t now, that she will be—to see to that myself.
“Yes, I…I can see that,” Luca responds, giving her hand the briefest shake I think I’ve ever witnessed. “Alex’s daughter,” he adds, confirming what we all already know he knows. His head whips my way with a stern set to his jaw. “This is the friend you came with?”
“Uh, yeah, she’s—” I begin, but he cuts me off with a decisive shake of his head.
“I’m not sure what’s going on here, or what you know aboutmy history with your parents, but Alex and I did not part on the best of terms, and I know she and Danny are very close. I…I don’t think I feel comfortable with this.”
“With what, exactly?” Cammie prods.
“This covert meetup with their children—I assume you haven’t told them, anyway. It doesn’t quite seem appropriate, given the circumstances. I’m sorry to do this when you’ve made the journey already, but I think it’s best if I go.”
“Wait!” Cam steps forward, but Luca swerves around her, shaking his head again.
“I wish you both a pleasant time in Italy,” he says before speed-walking back in the direction we came, exiting through the Herculaneum gate, and turning out of sight.
Cammie and I look at each other at the same time, matching expressions of bewilderment on our faces.
“That was—” I begin as she says simultaneously, “Do you think he—”
We both stop like we’re out of breath and words at the same time. Luca Goedhart took both when he ran away from us.
Chapter Nineteen
Cammie
Mysteries are much more funwhen they don’t have anything to do with your real life.
That’s the conclusion I’ve come to after our short and not especially sweet meeting with Luca Goedhart. After a few moments of standing there, taking in the what-the-fuck of it all, West deferred to me for the decision of what to do next. A large part of me wanted to curl into a ball right then and there, on the bumpy streets of this ancient city as modern tourists surround us, to let out some pent-up stress tears that I think I’ve needed to release for a while.
But my dignity prevailed, the more sensible part of me deciding, hey, we don’t have to let this guy ruin what was previously a really cool day of exploring the world’s largest archaeological site. There was still more I wanted to see of Pompeii, and I didn’t think I should let anything keep me fromtaking full advantage while I’m here. So we continued on to the outer reaches of the park to the Villa dei Misteri, a name that I now think might be a little too on the nose for my current circumstances.
