Chapter 19

" O kay," I said nervously, my stomach churning. "I don't do dead people."

Simon snorted, raising an eyebrow. The realization of what I'd said sank into me and I laughed, raising my hands in surrender.

I pointed at him with an amused shake of my head. "Get your mind out of the gutter."

His smile reached his eyes. This was our last activity of the day, and then I'd have to call Addie and spend the evening with her. I'd never been nervous to hang out with my sister before. Everything was different this time. There was so much at stake.

The line moved forward by a couple steps, and I boosted myself on my tiptoes to peer at the entrance to the Paris Catacombs. People filed in the door, laughing and excited. I, however, was not particularly keen to walk through the graves of six million people.

"I've read articles about people being lost down there for days." I gulped and involuntarily took a step back.

Simon shrugged. "Well, that's what happens when you wander off the path." He paused in his amusement, watching me carefully. "If you don't want to do this, we don't have to. If you're up for it, though, it is very cool."

I huffed out a long breath and straightened my shoulders. "If I don't do this, I will regret it." I paused. "But you'll hold my hand, right?"

Simon laughed and held out his hand. I took it tightly.

When it was finally our turn to duck through the door and descend into the catacombs, my heart was beating so loud I swore it echoed. A few people in front of us made ghost noises, and Simon rolled his eyes.

"Tell me about this place," I said, trying to distract myself from the goosebumps spreading down my arms.

"It was essentially built because the Paris cemeteries were overflowing with dead people," Simon explained. "The grounds were beginning to collapse, basically like-" He snapped his fingers together as he searched for the right words. "Large sinkholes because of the rotting bodies. So, they moved them here."

"Gross." I shivered, stepping closer to him and eyeing the bones suspiciously. "What is it with this city and dead people?"

Simon squeezed my hand. "Paris has been around a long time."

I wrinkled my nose. "Do you think there are ghosts down here?"

"I've never seen a ghost," Simon replied.

"I'd never seen a vampire before two days ago; that doesn't mean they didn't exist," I countered pointedly.

"You've been alive for, what, twenty years?"

I laughed, nudging his shoulder. "I'm twenty-three."

Simon's eyes twinkled. "I'm centuries old, Lucinda, and I've never seen a ghost."

I waved my hand dismissively at his logic. "So, you're telling me that vampires are the only inexplicable, magical beings in this world? I doubt that."

"I don't know what to tell you," he chuckled. "That's the way it is."

"Seriously?" I asked. "No witches? Werewolves? Unicorns?"

"Maybe unicorns," Simon hummed.

"Really?" I squeaked.

"No," he deadpanned.

"The rumors are all true," I said. "French people are assholes."

Simon laughed, tilting his head back. I looked up at him, realizing the sound of his laugh took my breath away. There was a blush on his cheeks when he looked back at me, his smile wide and his eyes soft.

"You have a nice smile," I murmured.

"So do you," he replied, tapping my chin.

I beamed at him, butterflies erupting in my stomach. Simon motioned for us to continue through the catacombs. I kept my attention mostly on him, unnerved by the low ceilings and the rows and rows of bones that seemed to inch closer and closer.

"What do you do for work?" Simon asked when he noticed my nerves had set in again. I wondered if he could hear how fast my heart beat.

"I'm a nurse," I said distractedly.

"I studied to be a nurse before the First World War," he replied. I blinked at him in shock. "Do you enjoy it?"

"It's fine."

"Fine?"

I shrugged. "It's a good job. It's worth the schooling I went through for it. I get to help people."

Simon narrowed his eyes. "And yet?"

"And nothing," I replied. I didn't want to talk about work, and I certainly didn't want to acknowledge how much I might hate my job.

My parents were proud of what I'd accomplished. I was proud of what I'd done. I was thinking of becoming a travel nurse to see more states and live in a few places I otherwise wouldn't. Being a nurse set me up for a good life, a safe life. A life where I would have a husband and children and…

A life I was giving up to be with Addie.

I set my jaw and took a deep breath. Damn this city. Damn my second thoughts.

"I think my job became my entire life," I told Simon before I realized I was speaking again. "And there's something so wrong, so sad, about that."

"Tell me things you love that have nothing to do with work," Simon said. Part of me expected him to judge me for the things I said, but he was as calm as ever—all his attention dedicated to me.

"I don't know," I breathed.

"They could be anything," he pressed.

We were at the end of the catacombs now. I couldn't believe it had been an hour underground. I was quiet while we ascended the stairs, walking faster than necessary.

When we were finally outside, I sucked in a deep breath of fresh air and tilted my head back to bask in the late-afternoon sunshine. Simon stood beside me while I pulled a water bottle from my travel bag and took a long drink.

"We should get back to the hotel," I said quietly, my heart aching.

Simon caught my arm and turned me to face him, his brow furrowed. "Lucinda," he breathed. "Tell me."

I huffed out a long breath and pulled away, crossing my arms over my chest. His eyes remained on me despite the crowd moving around us—like I was the only thing that mattered.

"I don't know," I admitted quietly.

"When you meet me at the café in the morning," he said. "Have an answer for me."