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TATE
Florence was fucking incredible.
Giovanni had a driver meet us at the airport and take us to our hotel. He gave us a rundown of the city, pointed out some sights that he said were must see, including some boar statue that was apparently featured in a Harry Potter film. I didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, but Wren seemed quite excited to see it.
Figured she liked Harry Potter.
Her eyes were wide, as she took in the sights that flew by the window while we headed to the hotel.
She repeated words over and over and I didn’t have the faintest clue what she was referring to.
“Ponte Vecchio.”
“Santa Croce.”
“Neptune.”
“The Duomo.”
“David.”
Who the fuck was David?
“You’re mumbling,” I told her quietly in the back of the car.
“Making note of all the places I want to see before we leave.”
And she wanted to see some dude named fucking David?
“Shouldn’t you be writing them down. You know. If you’re making notes.”
She gave me a blank stare. “That’s why I’m repeating them. So I don’t forget.”
“Ponte Vecchio.”
“Santa Croce.”
“Neptune.”
“The Duomo.”
“David.”
“Ponte Vecchio.”
Don’t ask. Keep your mouth shut. Don’t ask.
“Who’s David?” Smooth move, Casanova.
She quirked an eyebrow in my direction, an amused smile played at her lips.
“Jealous?”
“Not at all.” I rubbed a hand over my jaw and watched her reaction. “Is he going to be pissed you’re here with me?” I was totally jealous. It was a foreign feeling. My stomach churned with the violent need to throw up at the thought of Wren and someone else. I never even considered that a possibility.
When had she gotten so far under my skin?
“Do you think we can go to Rome before we leave?” She changed the subject abruptly. Why didn’t she want to talk about David?
“Rome?” I hadn’t really thought about exploring more of the country. But I guessed we could probably go for a few days. It wouldn’t be hard to change our flights.
“Yeah. I really want to get a selfie with the pope.” Wren nodded, a serious expression on her face.
“Don’t think it works that way.” Her set jaw told me there was no changing her mind, and she was dead serious about getting a selfie with the pope.
“I have a plan.” She grinned, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ears.
A plan. She has a plan.
Fuck.
I could see us getting arrested or something. She couldn’t just walk into the Vatican and shake the pope’s hand.
The driver dropped us off at the hotel with our luggage and a promise of picking us up at eight in the morning for the photoshoot.
I checked us in.
Two penthouse suites.
Side by side.
Giovanni didn’t skimp on the details that was for sure.
We were silent in the lift on the way up to our rooms. The tension between us palpable, I could almost reach out and grab it the way I wanted to grab Wren. Lift her up, wrap her legs around me and slam her into the wall.
I walked her to her door and waited while she slid the card into the lock. She turned to me with a soft smile. “You promised me pizza.”
I laughed. “Be ready by seven.” I wrapped my knuckles on the doorframe and walked away.
I was exhausted from not sleeping on the flight. I could never sleep on planes. So I wheeled my luggage into my room, kicked off my boots and stripped off my shirt. I collapsed on the large four-poster bed and closed my eyes without even checking the room out.
I drifted to sleep almost instantly, only to be woken by a knock on the door what felt like thirty seconds later. Sitting up, I stretched my arms above my head and looked around. The room was classy, marble and gold finishes. Just what I'd expect from a man like Giovanni. Another knock at my door caught my attention, and I remembered that was why I woke up.
Pulling the door open, I found Wren waiting on the other side with a smile on her perfect face. She was dressed in a low-cut black dress that fell to her mid-thigh, killer heels and... I stared.
She styled her fucking hair.
It was long and hung in waves. Wiping a hand across my mouth, I let my eyes drift over her once again.
Sex on legs.
Her smile fell as she took in my appearance. Jeans, no shirt, no shoes. Not the reaction I was hoping I’d get from her, but then it hit me.
“It’s seven, isn’t it?”
Wren scoffed. “Do you really think I’d be ready by seven?”
I frowned. Then what was she doing dressed to kill on the other side of my door if it wasn’t time for dinner.
“It’s eight. I was running late. And it seems you’d forgotten.” Hurt tainted her voice as she waved a hand in my direction, pointing at my lack of clothes.
“I didn’t forget. I fell asleep, exhausted from the flight. Sorry.”
“You should have slept on the plane then.” She brushed past me and made herself at home on my bed. I liked her there. More than I should. I couldn’t tell her that I spent most of the flight watching her sleep and enjoying her head resting on my shoulder.
“Let me have a shower and get changed, then we'll go find somewhere to eat.”
“Oh, I’ve already found us a place to eat.”
That surprised me. “You did? When?”
She pulled the hem of her dress down her thighs. “While you were sleeping. I went exploring.”
Something gripped at my insides. Fear. Worry. I wasn’t sure. I only knew that I didn’t like the idea of her wandering around a foreign city on her own. What if something happened? She could have got lost, because knowing her that was likely. Or she could have been attacked. My fists clenched.
“You went alone?”
“Sort of. I found a tour group at the Fountain of Neptune and kind of just tagged along behind them. They didn’t notice me, and I learned a lot about the history of Florence.” Her lips pulled up into a proud smile. She was pleased with herself.
“Fuck.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “What?”
“I wish you hadn’t gone alone. What if something happened?”
Her back straightened and her jaw clenched. “Well it didn’t. I’m a big girl, Tate. I can look after myself.” She pushed up off the bed and walked over to the doors leading to the balcony. “I’ll wait out here while you get ready.”
She dismissed me. Just like that.
I lifted my suitcase onto the bed and grabbed a clean shirt and jeans, before heading to the shower. Somehow, I’d managed to piss her off.
Great start to our trip.