“I’m here on vacation.” She noticed how his green eyes sparkled in the sunlight.
“Traveling with anyone?”
“No.” She couldn’t keep the defensiveness out of her voice. “I’m here on my own.”
He nodded. “Good for you. Everyone should see Europe on their own, in my opinion. I’ve been over here with friends a couple of times, and it’s much less enjoyable. Too much arguing over where to go and what to do.”
“On the other hand, if I’d had someone with me, I might not have gotten my purse stolen,” Elise said, her eyes downcast.
“I don’t think that’s true,” Lucas said. “Thieves are going to steal. That kid wouldn’t have been discouraged from swiping your bag if you’d had someone standing beside you. You just had a bit of bad luck.”
“I had a bit of good luck, too,” Elise said. “I really can’t thank you enough for stopping him. I would have had no idea what to do if I’d lost my passport.”
“Well, for the record, the thing you’d want to do would be to go to the embassy,” Lucas said. “Just in case that ever does happen.”
Elise nodded. “You sound like you travel a lot.”
“More than I’d like, to tell you the truth,” Lucas said. “I’m in Rome on business, actually.”
“Oh,” she said. “Am I keeping you from something? I’m sorry.”
“Not at all,” he said. “I’m here to attend a conference, but it doesn’t begin until the day after tomorrow. I don’t have anything I need to be doing right now.”
“Lucky you,” Elise said. “When my company sent me to a conference in San Diego, I had to fly out at six in the morning the day the conference started. They wouldn’t pay for an extra night in a hotel. And you get two whole days in Rome before your event starts? You must work for a really great organization.”
“Well, I don’t know about great,” he said with a laugh. “It’s a pharmaceutical company.”
“Oh,” she said. “What kind of pharmaceuticals do you deal in?”
He eyed her for a moment, looking as if he was making up his mind about something.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said at last. “If you’re interested, why don’t you join me for dinner tonight? I can tell you all about what my company does, and you can tell me about your adventures in Rome thus far and what you have planned for the rest of your vacation.”
“Join you for dinner?” Elise was taken aback. She had not expected this conversation to last more than a few more minutes.
Still, she had to admit she was tempted. Meeting a man and going on a date while on her Roman vacation had always been a part of the fantasy—and the man in her fantasy hadn’t even been as good-looking as this.
“It doesn’t sound as though either of us has any firm plans tonight,” Lucas pointed out. “I know I don’t have anything going on.”
“Neither do I,” Elise agreed.
“Then let me take you out,” Lucas urged. “It will be my treat. You lost a lot of money today. You shouldn’t have to pay for dinner.”
“Well,” Elise said, “all right. I’d be happy to have dinner with you.”
“Wonderful.” Lucas beamed. “Where are you staying? I can pick you up at five.”
Elise wasn’t sure she was ready to give out her address to someone she had just met. “Why don’t we meet at Gianni’s for a coffee before we go to dinner?” she suggested. “Do you know the place?”
“That’s the little coffee shop with the red door?” he asked. “Sure, I know it.”
“Great,” Elise said. “I’ll be there at five, then.”
“I look forward to it,” Lucas said, beaming at her.
They stood there for another moment, and Elise got the feeling neither of them was entirely sure of how to end the conversation. Was a handshake appropriate? That felt too formal. But she didn’t know what to do.
Lucas chuckled bashfully and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay,” he said. “I’d better get back to my hotel. I’ll see you tonight.”
“See you,” Elise agreed. She backed away a couple of steps, then turned and hurried off down the street, clutching her purse close to her chest.
She had planned to spend the day exploring, but suddenly all she wanted was to get back to her apartment.
Via dei Capocci was a quiet, narrow street that featured a top-notch gelato shop and very little else. As soon as Elise turned onto it, she felt protected and safe once again.
She unlocked the outer door to her apartment building, hurried up the stairs, and went into the unit she had rented. She dumped her purse out on the living room couch and began to sort through her things carefully.
Her passport was still there, and it was undamaged. She ran her fingers over the cover. Tonight when she went out, she decided, she would leave it behind in the apartment. Carrying something so valuable around the city was a mistake.
She would take her bag. She needed to have her ID and credit card. But both of those things could be easily replaced if necessary. The passport would be much more difficult.
Having a plan always calmed her. She packed her things back into her bag, went into the bathroom, and started running a bath. A nice bit of self-care would be the perfect way to prepare for her date tonight.
A date! She couldn’t believe it. She had dreamed of romance in Rome, but that part of the dream had always seemed like a fantasy.
Don’t get ahead of yourself, she told herself firmly. It’s just dinner.
Yes, it was just dinner. But even if that was all it was, there was an air of romance around it.
She had been worried that the big memory she would take away from this vacation would be the experience of having her bag stolen. But now, thanks to Lucas, that had been eclipsed by something she was sure would stay with her a lot longer.
She turned off the water and, after testing the temperature, climbed into the tub. It was deeper and wider than her tub at home, giving her plenty of room to relax. She sank down into the hot water and allowed it to submerge her completely.
What a gentleman, offering to buy me dinner like that, she thought. She would have to be mindful not to take advantage of his generosity tonight. At the restaurant, she would pay careful attention to what he ordered and make sure that her own choices were slightly less expensive than his.
She came up out of the water, filled her hands with rose-scented shampoo, and began to scrub her hair. Already, Elise was sure that this was a night that she would remember for a long time. This was a story she would tell her friends and family back home. It might even turn out to be the defining moment of her vacation.
She was determined to make sure every detail of the evening was absolutely perfect.
Chapter 2
Lucas
Lucas was surprised to find that he felt nervous as he sat in the coffee shop waiting for Elise to arrive.
How long has it been since I felt nervous on a date?
It must have been years. Certainly it had been years since he’d taken dating seriously. He had decided long ago that he would never marry. After seeing the kind of unhappiness it had created in his own family, it just hadn’t seemed worth it.