Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“What’s that?” Isaiah asks, edging closer.
“A group of tiny chapels located beneath a Roman church. It contains the skeletal remains of 3,700 friars.”
“Are you serious?” Zach asks.
“Dead serious.”
His little joke goes over their head, but I smirk at the floor.
“Capuchin monks had a long tradition of hanging their dead brothers to dry. Their crypt, now open to the public, is filled with still-clothed skeletons. The monks describe it as a space in which to reflect on the visitor’s own mortality and thus atone for their sins.”
“Wicked,” Zach says.
“Gross!” Kylie protests.
“‘What you are now, we once were; what we are now, you shall be.’”
The quote is spoken by an Italian-accented voice behind me. I glance over my shoulder and see a man approaching from down the hall.
He’s well-dressed in slacks, brown leather oxfords, and a button-down shirt with rolled sleeves. He’s extremely handsome. His wide-set jaw balances perfectly against his sharp cheekbones and thick dark brows. His brown eyes complement his olive skin.
He reaches our group and his gaze lands on me, narrowing only slightly, possibly with intrigue before he smiles at everyone.
“That quote is from the Capuchin Crypt,” he explains with a clap of his hands. “I’m so happy you’ve already begun to take an interest in my city. I’m Lorenzo Ricci, a teacher here at St. Cecilia’s International School, and I’m also the head of our summer study abroad programs.”
Hell freaking yes.
Let’s do this, Lorenzo. Put me on the back of your Vespa and let’s go.
From the looks of it, Noah’s not the least bit impressed with him.
Lorenzo holds out his hand for Noah, and Noah accepts it and introduces himself, but not very enthusiastically. It’s fine. I have enough excitement for the both of us.
“Your knee needs tending to,” Lorenzo tells me after we shake hands too. “I have a first aid kit I can get for you. Let me show you all to your rooms first.”
I grab ahold of my luggage again, but Lorenzo is right there to act the part of a perfect gentleman.
“Here, let me.”
He reaches out to take the hefty duffle bag off my shoulder, and his fingers graze my bare skin for the briefest moment.
ROMANCE! my body screams.
Clearly, I’m starved for it.
There’s been a dry spell as of late. Since Jeff and I broke up last year, there’ve been no sexy dates, no lusty phone calls, no late-night Tinder swiping.
I sort of hoped there would be someone for me here in Rome. I’ve daydreamed about it even. Nothing too specific, just a summer fling with an Italian named Leonardo who helps run his family’s restaurant. At first, he’s reluctant to take things too far because of the language barrier, but his attraction to me is impossible to ignore. We have passionate sex in an olive grove and he cries at the airport the day I fly home.
…just something like that.
Lorenzo heads up to the front of the group, beside Noah, and together they lead us around a side hallway on the second floor, toward the dorms. With them side by side, I have to fight the urge to compare the two men. It’s impossible not to.
Lorenzo is handsome, but Noah is something else entirely. The way, in movies, the devil always takes the shape of your most worshipped human form, so does Noah. His looks are deceiving, and I constantly remind myself of that.
“You all will have this block of rooms to yourself,” Lorenzo tells us.
My students waste no time. They immediately fan out like they’re in some kind of unspoken competition, clinging to their friends-turned-roommates.
“Isaiah, let’s get this one! It has a sick view!”
“Kylie! Here! It’s closest to the bathroom!”
Since there’s an odd number of students, Zach claims his own room and immediately starts bragging.
They’ve forgotten Noah and I exist.
Soon, the hallway empties, doors slam, and I’m left to shout, “Find a roommate and get settled in, freshen up, and meet down in the courtyard in an hour for lunch!”
My instructions are met with halfhearted groans. I turn to see Lorenzo watching me with a curious smile. He inclines his head back toward where we came from.
“The teachers’ rooms are on the same floor, just on the other side of the courtyard.”
My eyes widen.
I don’t remember reading that in the information packet.
“That far away? Shouldn’t we sleep nearby in case they need us?”
Or, more likely, in case any of them tries to sneak out.
“A security guard patrols the school at night,” Lorenzo assures us.
Pfft. Like that’s enough?
“Middle schoolers can be sneaky.”
“Yes, but in Europe, we give children a bit more freedom than you all do in the States. The children will get into mischief one way or another. You can’t keep track of them every second of the day.”
Watch me.
I turn to Noah to gauge his feelings on the topic, and he shrugs. “Let’s see how far the rooms are and then make up our mind.”