Chapter 3

A thirty-minute walk later, the entirety of which I completely ignored Matteo, I found myself inside a church in front of the most bizarre rock I’d ever seen—round and flat, like a giant stone coin. Most notably, it had . . . a face? Yes, complete with eyes and a gaping mouth shaped like a large mail slot above lines that must have served as a messy beard. It looked like an ugly giant had shoved his face into wet cement and then pulled it out, leaving behind a permanent expression of surprise. Dante whimpered and positioned himself behind Matteo’s legs.

I knew what this was. I’d seen it.

“La Bocca della Verità,” Matteo said. “Mouth of Truth. Legend says that you can’t lie while standing at his face. If you do and then slide your hand into his mouth, he’ll bite it off. They used it during trials of infidelity for centuries.”

Alexis folded her arms, her mouth twisted in distaste. “Ew. Do you know how many hands have been in there?”

“Time for our first question,” Matteo continued. “Answer truthfully, Jillian, if you want to keep your hand.”

It was all I could do to keep from rolling my eyes. “Too scared to go first?”

“Not at all. Here’s your question. Have you ever been in love?”

I barked a laugh. Alexis wasn’t kidding. The guy was anything but subtle. “Really?”

“It’s like high school all over again,” Alexis groaned.

Matteo simply stood there, waiting.

If I answered yes, he’d pry into my love life, which was none of his business. In fact, if he concocted this entire venture for that purpose, he’d be sorely disappointed in my answer.

“Nope, you first,” I said. “Have you ever been in love?”

He shook his head. “You can’t repeat the same question.”

“Sure I can.”

He looked at Alexis, who shrugged. “No, I’ve never been in love.” He slipped his hand into the slot as far as it would go, left it for a couple of seconds, and pulled it out.

Liar. The guy had to be approaching thirty. With a face and neck and um, shoulders and everything else that came together so well? He probably left a string of broken hearts across this city.

“Your turn.” He looked so serious, like he truly wanted my answer. But if he really knew me, he’d know I didn’t do serious. My family had enough serious for a small country. Besides, I was on vacation.

An idea struck me on how to lighten things up. Hopefully Alexis would play along.

“I’ve never been in love either.” It wasn’t exactly a lie. Probably. Lexi was right that I had plenty of exes in my hometown, but there was a reason none of them lasted long. Not a single one changed my life. Like, yanked my heart from my chest and walked off with it.

Then again, I never gave them the chance.

Surprise registered on Matteo’s face at my answer, but he quickly hid it and stepped back to allow me access to the stone. Er, face. Rock guy. I stuck my hand into the slot and grinned at them both.

But just as I began to pull my hand free, I stiffened, my eyes flying wide. A tortured cry tore from my lips.

Matteo went rigid. Then his hands wrapped around my waist, yanking me backward and throwing me behind him. His eyes combed my limbs, looking for injuries . . . and stopped on my shirt sleeve and the empty space where my hand should have been.

He froze, his face registering shock.

My shoulders shook.

It took him a second to realize I wasn’t weeping, but laughing. Even Alexis snorted and covered her mouth, trying to hide her smile.

I shoved my hand back through the sleeve. “Hello,” I said softly, extending it as if for a handshake.

“You—” He took a step backward and shoved a hand through his hair. “It didn’t really?—”

“Eat my hand?” I finished for him. “No. But you’re right, that was way more fun than the Pantheon.”

He stood there, his mouth still slightly agape.

“Roman Holiday,” I told him. “That was a scene from the old Audrey Hepburn movie. She’s a princess and he’s a reporter. I guess it’s more of an American thing.”

I burst out laughing at the incredulous look on his face. The poor man really believed I was hurt. My chest warmed, like that sensation of drinking hot cocoa on a cold winter day. He’d just thrown his arms around me to protect me from a mythical god embodied in a giant coin with a gaping mouth.

I kind of wanted him to do it again.

But not really.

Mostly.

Minutes later, we stood outside, watching that scene of Roman Holiday on my sister’s phone. Matteo’s arm pressed tightly against my shoulder. I detected the smell of mint on his breath from chewing gum. That combined with the inches where our skin touched, despite the layers of cloth between us, made my breaths shallow and quick.

The movie scene was just as good as I remembered despite it being Gregory Peck who played the prank on Audrey and not the other way around. Matteo chuckled at the end and turned to me with a new respect in his eyes. If someone handed me a golden trophy, I would have felt equally proud of winning that look.

“Our mom loved old movies,” I said, my words tumbling over one another in my haste. “Kennedy only ever wanted to see the ones about Paris, but Roman Holiday was my favorite. I didn’t know the Mouth of Truth was real.”

Dante leaned against my leg and I patted his head. Matteo’s eyes darted to my hand, and I realized what I was doing. I slowly withdrew it.

Thankfully, Matteo didn’t comment. He checked his smartwatch and then scanned the road. “Well, if you’re done with pranks, the next place isn’t far?—”

“Alex!”

We turned to find a group of three slender women wearing athletic gear headed our way. Or rather, toward my sister. “Hey, we’re bored with the history stuff, so we’re going paint balling,” one of them called with a British accent. “Want to come? We need another person.”

Alexis turned to look at me. “Um, I’d better not.”

“Who are they?” I asked. “And since when do you go by Alex?”

She looked sheepish. “Friends from the ship that I met on the first day. Most of my friends call me Alexis or Alex, Jillie. It’s not a gender thing or whatever. I just like it better than Lexi.”

She’d never told me that before. I made a mental note to stop calling her Lexi. “So they’re who you keep hanging out with at night?”

Alexis—Alex—shrugged. “Usually. Want to go? Matteo will have to come too, so we can keep the numbers even.”

Matteo said nothing, seeming to let me make the decision.

The thought of plastering him with paint balls certainly appealed to me, but I had a feeling it’d end up the other way around. The guy looked like he knew his way around an arena of any kind.

I forced a smile. “No, you go. I’ll meet you on the ship tonight.”

“Are you sure?” Her eyes flicked to Matteo.

“Positive.” As annoying as Matteo could be at times, I didn’t fear him. I couldn’t forget how his arms enveloped me so protectively at the Mouth of Truth. No, I was in no danger from him. Not in the way most women feared. “Go have fun. We’re only revisiting the places you’ve seen anyway.”

Alex didn’t argue at that. She gave me a quick hug. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be here in minutes.”

“Will do.”

She nodded and trotted toward her friends, disappearing with them into the crowd.

“Why did you do that?” Matteo asked.

“Sorry, but I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Another apology. You throw those around like candy.”

“Yet you haven’t offered a single one, and you owe me several by now.” I turned to face him, folding my arms. “What do you mean? Why did I do what?”

“Your sister leaving bothered you, but you pretended it didn’t. You did that at lunch too. Hunter left with Kennedy, and you wore the exact same expression.”

If we meant to explore the city alone together, I had to make one thing clear. I lifted my chin. “Okay, look. The last thing I need right now is a therapy session from my tour guide. My family is complicated, and I’ll deal with it in my own way. In the meantime, tell me why you want so desperately to get under my skin. Did I offend you? Am I wearing the wrong color shirt or something? Normally, I’m a very friendly and happy person, but you’re bringing the claws out.”

Some of the mirth faded, and his expression turned serious once more. “You remind me of someone.”

“Oh? And I must be punished for whatever that person did to you? Real mature.” I gestured to the road. “If we’re going to do this, let’s do this.”

He didn’t budge. “It doesn’t seem fair, put that way. Maybe I do owe you an apology.”

“An apology, you? This’ll be good.” I folded my arms and tapped my foot. “I’m waiting.”

He blinked, his smile turning soft. “I didn’t say right now.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. So predictable.”

He took a step forward at that. “And you, my dear, are anything but.”

It took a moment for that to register. By the time my body unfroze and my brain caught up, he was already striding away.

“Punto Panoramico is a fifteen-minute walk,” he called over his shoulder. “We only have a few hours left of daylight. Let’s pick up the pace.”