Page 17 of Tempted Hearts
8
JULES
“Are you shitting me?”
As usual, Cole gave me a disapproving glare. I assumed he took issue with my phrasing. Too bad for him.
“Riposo,” I said. “I didn’t think the police station would take a midday break.”
“Ree what?” Parker asked, frowning at the “Chiuso fino alle 15:00” sign on the door.
“Riposo,” I repeated. “Means rest. Like a siesta. But of the Italian variety.”
“Why was everything in town open?” Delaney asked.
Cole watched me like I was some sort of specimen he was attempting to make sense of. Good luck, buddy. My family and friends had been attempting to do that my whole life. I just didn’t fit neatly in any one box. And the older I got, the less I cared to.
But also… like he was fighting off a smile.
“It’s a pretty touristy town. My guess is the further away from the seaside you get, more and more businesses will be closed midday.”
“But the police station?” she asked, incredulous. “How does a police station close?”
I shrugged. “Welcome to Italia. Things are a bit different over here. But that’s the beauty of it.”
“Unless you need to file a police report to make an embassy appointment,” Parker said.
Cole remained silent. Calm. Collected. As if this turn of events didn’t bother him in the least. Or that he didn’t feel the same electric energy whenever our eyes met that I did.
Rude.
“So if we file after three o’clock, there’s no way”—Delaney planted her hands on her hips—“we’ll get an appointment tomorrow. The hotel said in their experience it was usually a forty-eight-hour wait. Unless we want to consider Milan or Rome instead of Florence.”
“Instead of traipsing all across Italy to get out of the country, why not just settle in and enjoy being here. I’m in no rush to get back.” Parker pulled Delaney in to him, draping his arm around her shoulders.
“You’re not? What about the Dennington house? I thought you were already behind schedule on that?”
“I am,” Parker said. “But there’s been another delay on the kitchen cabinets, so we’re waiting for them anyway. The guys can cover me for a few days. No big deal.” He looked at Cole. “Any chance you can hang out a few extra days? Or do you need to get back?”
This was a disaster. Of my own making, but still.
Cole smiled at me. Actually smiled. Never mind he was devastatingly handsome when he smiled, but it freaked me out. He was up to something. I could sense it.
“Actually, as luck would have it, I don’t go back to work until August. With my laptop, I’m good to go in the meantime.”
“There you go,” Parker said to Delaney. “No worries.”
I’d disagree. Vehemently.
“Part of the reason we came here,” Delaney said to me, “was for you to explore some of your family roots. Why don’t we do that in the meantime? Let’s go to that address your mom gave you. Like Parker said.” She squeezed his waist. “Might as well make the best of it.”
I was torn.
On one hand, having always been obsessed with our family’s genealogy, that’s exactly what I wanted to do. Like Delaney said, it was the reason we came to this town specifically. On the other hand, I had no money. And unlike Delaney, who had a fiancé here now, I would be mooching off the group which made it feel weird. It was hard to relax without a phone or wallet.
And then there was Cole.
I couldn’t believe he was in my house. I bet it was the complete opposite of his apartment in Manhattan.
