Page 27 of Tempted Hearts
“You’re not going to elaborate, are you?”
“No,” I said immediately. “I’m not.”
“Hmm. Safer topic then. The opposite of vices. Things you like?”
And so it went as we traded favorite things. At first, they were surface level. Her love of old movies or any place with an ocean. My penchant for good whiskey and late-night walks. Eventually we traded deeper enjoyments. When I said I liked conversation with people who surprised me, she asked if ours qualified.
It did.
Juliette’s voice drifted through the dark, soft and curious. One hour bled into the next until, at one point, I asked stupidly if she always did this… Got under people’s skin without even trying.
Silence.
Not the thoughtful kind she’d given me all night, which was when I realized she’d drifted off to sleep. And the worst part?
I missed her voice immediately.
12
JULES
“We were thinking,” Delaney said as the four of us sat at a table outside the closest café to the hotel, “of maybe staying in Florence for the night.”
I darted my eyes to Cole, but he was back to his normal self. I hated that a part of me was looking for something in his expression… something I wasn’t even willing to name. When I woke up, his bed had already been made with no sign of him until, a half hour later, a sweaty Cole returned from a run. We’d exchanged “good mornings” as if we hadn’t stayed up half the night talking. His was the kind of tone a man used when he’d decided last night was a mistake.
I left the room and got some steps in before meeting Parker and Delaney here at our pre-arranged eight o’clock meeting time.
Life without a phone really was a bitch, but strangely liberating too.
“By the time we finish at the consulate,” Parker continued, “it’ll be late afternoon. Mind as well explore the city a bit and then come back tomorrow.”
It made sense, obviously. I’d been thinking along those same lines since we got the appointment yesterday. Twenty-four hours ago, I’d have agreed. But now?
“I’ve been there,” Cole said with a sip of espresso, “and am happy to come back here instead after dinner. Up to you.” He finally looked at me. I couldn’t tell if he was more handsome with or without his glasses, now that I’d seen both. But Cole did look pretty damn hot as he peered at me with that “I’m an Ivy League school history professor” look. More importantly, it turned out he was actually a human being too.
Who knew?
He opened the door. It was dangerous, but I stepped inside anyway. “I have too,” I said. “And wouldn’t mind exploring Cinque Terre a bit more. But you guys should totally stay. Florence is one of the most incredible cities in the world.”
Not even a glance at me, so I concentrated on Delaney instead. So far, she didn’t seem to find it strange I was willing to hang back with Cole rather than accompany her and Parker in Florence.
“I’ve heard that,” she said. “And am kind of excited now. I wonder if we’ll get a chance to see the David.”
I shook my head, pretending to ignore Cole as studiously as he ignored me. It was ridiculous, how hard we were each pretending the other wasn’t there. “Incredible, but also incredibly busy. Even in the off-season, the line is around the church. Tomorrow you could, for sure. But not today. You guys also can’t miss Pitti Palace.”
“And Bobli Gardens,” Cole added. “Talk about off-the-charts wealth. The Medici practically wrote the playbook for Western power structures.” At Parker’s confused look, he added, “Pitti Palace was basically their flex. They bought it from a rival family just so they could renovate it into the biggest, most ridiculous show of wealth in Europe. And the gardens were their private backyard. Political meetings, secret deals, power brokering… it all happened out there.”
Parker blinked. “How do you know that?”
Cole shrugged, like this was basic math and not Renaissance intrigue. “I’ve been before.”
“You have?” Parker asked. “When?”
Cole’s jaw tightened just slightly. “Years ago. Research trip.”
“For what? You never told us you came to Italy.”
He tapped his spoon against the tiny espresso cup, a quiet stalling tactic. “It wasn’t a big deal. I needed space. Took a sabbatical semester, did some museum archives, stayed in Florence awhile.” He didn’t look at either of us as he added, “Didn’t seem worth mentioning.”
