Chapter 2

“This is amazing,” I breathed, turning my camera to get a new angle of the crumbling buildings below. We’d started at the Colosseum and then explored the Arch of Constantine before settling at the Roman Forum and Palatine Hill. Everywhere I looked, a photo moment awaited. My poor camera would house at least five hundred photos from this site alone. Who knew that ancient pieces of carved stone against a blue sky could be so pretty?

“Amazingly packed ,” Matteo muttered.

“It hasn’t changed,” Alexis said, hands in her pockets as she looked around. “Everything looks exactly the same as before. Crumbling structure, and another . . . ” She feigned a gasp. “Oh, look! Yet another one over there.”

“Would it kill you to let me enjoy it, at least?” I said. “If you can’t see the beauty in this place, that’s on you. Because every single shot is incredible.” I snapped another photo of the same angle I’d used for the last dozen pictures, hoping just one more would somehow capture the magic. But no photo could ever do this place justice.

My sister frowned. She’d backpacked across Europe alone after graduating high school. Alone, apparently, because our jerk of a father remarried and didn’t want her around. I sympathized with her, but that didn’t mean I had to be jaded too. Between Matteo’s sarcasm and her bored distance, I could barely concentrate. This hardly felt real. We were here, in Rome. Surrounded by history and culture and beauty on a perfect, warm spring day.

And a certain attractive man currently peeked over my shoulder at my camera screen.

I turned but his eyes darted to Lexi. “When were you here last?” he asked her.

“About eight years ago,” she said. “Before you ask, I swear I saw everything. Piazza Venezia, the Vatican, St. Peter’s, Trevi Fountain, Villa Borghese, the Spanish Steps, the Pantheon. You name it.”

“Piazza Venezia? Campidoglio atop Capitoline Hill? Altare dell Patria? The Baths of Caracalla? Campo de Fiori?”

“Every one.” She pulled her phone out and began scrolling.

As I returned to the scene around us to capture another angle, I caught a glimpse of Matteo’s frown.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I still haven’t seen everything. It isn’t possible.” He seemed bothered by the thought, as if he saw Alexis’s boredom as its own challenge. “Let me think.”

Across the way, a woman wearing white posed for photos, the breeze tossing her hair behind her back. She held a simple bouquet of roses in one hand and gripped her gown with the other. A bride. The social media influencer in me wanted to squeal.

“How beautiful would it be, getting married in Rome?” I exclaimed. “Standing against all this gorgeous stone in a white dress. That would be so amazing.”

Matteo’s frown deepened. He turned to Alexis again. “I know something you haven’t seen. Let’s go there next. As soon as Jillian has finished her rather extensive photography session, of course. I hope you’re charging the Roman Forum by the hour.”

“Funny,” I shot back. “Here’s the thing, though. All those places you mentioned? Alexis may have seen them, but I haven’t. I can’t leave without seeing every single one of those. I need photos of everything .”

Alexis grimaced. “She’s an influencer. Has a zillion followers on her Instagram account.”

Matteo’s eyebrow lifted. “Really.” His tone was flat.

That set me off. “Being an influencer is not a bad thing. It’s a perfectly respectable career with a lot of potential. In a year or two, I’ll be making more than either of my sisters. Probably both combined.” I paused, remembering the inheritance. Which we were definitely not supposed to talk about. “I mean, job-wise. Not other . . . wise.”

Matteo turned to Alexis. “Is she always like this?”

“Only when flustered,” Lexi said with a tiny smile.

I shoved my camera into my bag and swung it over my shoulder. “You guys stay and whine. I’m in Rome, and I have better things to do. I’m going to explore by myself.” I whirled to stalk away.

Matteo’s large hand caught my shoulder, stopping me. “I’m only teasing. A quick tip. You’re a photographer, right?”

“Right,” I managed, carefully shrugging his hand free.

He stepped back. “And you like to take unique photos.”

“Well, yes. But?—”

“Besides the whole fact that you’re seeing Rome through a piece of glass—which is the wrong way to experience it—there’s a bigger problem here. If you follow tourists around, you’ll get the exact same photos they do. Your followers want something new and different from you, not the same photos you can find plastered all over the internet and on every calendar of Italy in existence. They want you to tell them a story, not check off a list you found on Instagram.”

I stiffened. Since when was wanting to see the popular parts of Rome checking off a list? Finding a list online wasn’t a bad thing either. Apparently this man was incapable of saying anything nice at all. “You said you’d make me never want to leave Rome, not stop me from seeing what I came to see.”

“And you said you wanted to experience what it’s really like to live here. You won’t get that by following the crowd.” He gestured over his shoulder to a group of high school students giggling and squealing behind him.

That one stung. I spent my childhood following well-worn desert trails, going to the most popular restaurants, liking the same boys as my friends, and watching the movies everyone else enjoyed. I went to the same schools as my sisters, had the same teachers, and even stayed in the same bedroom my parents chose for me as a child. Now I lived my life online, chasing trends and competing for popularity that eventually translated into cash—a life that had naturally fallen into my lap.

I did what I wanted, when I wanted, and that independence meant the ultimate freedom. Something he obviously didn’t understand and never would.

His voice softened. “It’s better to get one good shot than easy shots of a hundred places you saw for a few seconds. Wouldn’t you agree?”

No. I didn’t agree. I wanted to see the hundred places, but he wouldn’t understand that either.

Alexis watched the emotions play out on my face. She wore a strange expression, but before I had time to wonder why, it vanished. “Clearly it matters to Jillie how we spend our day, and it matters less to me. Let’s just go where she wants to go.”

Wow. Alexis never gave in. She was the most competitive person I knew. There had to be another motive for her change of heart.

At my skeptical look, her grin widened. “I’m serious. I want you to experience Rome the way I did, even if that means I have to see everything twice.”

She really meant it. Sometimes pigs do fly.

Suddenly I wanted to know more than anything what happened to Alexis in the years we spent apart, to explore this different and unfamiliar side of her. Maybe I should skip one or two places on my list so she could enjoy her day too.

I gave her a quick hug. “That’s kind of you. But we also have tomorrow. Let’s go check out Matteo’s mysterious place, whatever it is, and come back later.” I shot him a glare. “Not because he wants it, but because you do. Just so we’re clear.”

“It’s decided, then. Follow me.” Matteo turned and started for the exit, his huge dog trotting obediently behind him with his collar’s already familiar jingling sound.

I did not admire the man’s backside as he walked away. Not a single bit. Nor the way his shirt pulled at his shoulders. Or his well-shaped neck, the perfect blend of muscular and contemporary model.

Not that there was anything wrong with admiring your Italian tour guide from behind as he pushed through a crowd, right?

He slowed and turned. Our gazes locked, and his lips curved into a self-satisfied smile.

My feet chose that precise moment to catch a ragged piece of sidewalk. A second later, I found myself splayed onto the ground, eyeing concrete. Just inches away stood a little boy, staring at me in horror.

I pushed onto all fours, taking inventory. All my limbs were still attached, though my knees took the brunt of my fall. At least I didn’t topple right on top of the kid.

The boy started to wail. Crap. A very dirty lollipop stuck to my bare leg. His mother tried to pull him into her arms, murmuring in Italian, but he pushed her away.

“Oh! Shoot. I’m so sorry.” I rolled onto my rear, brushed myself off, and peeled the lollipop off before handing it to its owner, wincing at the stickiness that lingered on my skin. “Here you go.”

The young boy gaped at the dirt-plastered candy and wailed even louder.

A hand appeared out of nowhere and handed the boy a wad of cash. Then that hand reached down and waited.

I wanted to scream in frustration. I didn’t want Matteo to help me up right now, but since refusing him would cause an even bigger scene, I took his hand and let him lift me to my feet. He immediately turned to the boy and spoke to him in Italian, patting his head before placing his hand on my back to ease me forward.

A few steps later, I looked back to find the boy grinning and the mother staring after us in surprise.

“How much did you give that kid?” I asked.

“The equivalent of twenty American dollars. He’s having a great day. How are those knees?”

They were scraped a bit but without blood. Hurt like the dickens, though. “Looks like I’ll live.”

“Good. I’d hate for you to die before you get to see one of the quirkiest parts of Rome.” He paused to let Alexis catch up, her mouth agape.

Maybe my skirt flew up. But no, Matteo would have pointed that out immediately.

He didn’t remove his hand until we reached the corner near a crosswalk. Then he maneuvered around a crowd of tourists standing next to the crosswalk to peer down the street. His head towered over the other tourists.

My knees still ached, but my hand occupied the whole of my attention. It still felt oddly warm from his touch.

Alexis smirked.

“What?” I hissed.

“You like him,” she whispered.

My face grew warm. Thankfully, he was too far ahead to hear us. Matteo was arrogant enough. “Absolutely not true. Where have you been all day?”

She elbowed me in the ribs, giving me yet another bruise I didn’t need right now. “You’re totally checking him out.”

“I can despise someone and admire how they look at the same time.”

“No,” she said. “There’s definitely an attraction there. When did this start? When he didn’t fall head over heels for you like the other guys? When he started throwing twenties around to injured children?”

Injured? “I didn’t hurt anything but the kid’s feelings. He can buy ten lollipops now, but I didn’t ask Matteo to do that. I feel nothing for him. Zero. The last thing I need right now is a fling.”

“Says the fling queen,” Alexis said in a perky, sing-song voice.

I sighed. “Not you too.”

She sobered. “Look, Kennedy told me about all your boyfriends. Not a single one lasted longer than a month. She thinks you have commitment issues.”

“She’s one to talk,” I shot back. “It took me years to get her and Hunter together.”

“And now it’s your turn. Your own romance. Ooh,” she said, throwing an arm around me and giving me an awkward squeeze. “Your own Rome -ance.”

“You and Matteo should start a comedy club,” I said dryly. “With a routine built entirely of Dad jokes.”

“He isn’t my type.” She glanced over at Matteo. “Besides, it isn’t me he keeps staring at. Look at him! He isn’t even subtle.”

I followed her gaze and found him sneaking a look in our direction. Normally I’d play coy and pretend I hadn’t noticed, but this time I let my eyes bore into his.

Let him see that I saw. Let him be the first to look away.

But he didn’t.

In fact, he made no attempt to hide the open challenge I’d first detected in his eyes at the restaurant. He thought he knew me, but I absolutely knew his type. Bold, used to winning, but reserved. Hard to get.

Matteo’s smile widened. It wasn’t a wicked smile, but a knowing one that disarmed my defenses as surely a knight yanking a spear from my hands. Unfair, how he did all that with a single look.

I tore my gaze away, lifted my chin, and turned back to Alexis. “I don’t care if he’s interested, because I’m certainly not.”

“Mm-hmm.” To her credit, she didn’t roll her eyes, though I detected nothing but doubt in her voice.