Page 81 of The Roman Holiday Rule

Luca flicks the hose nozzle at me, spritzing me with cold, leftover drops that drip onto my shirt.

“You trying to start a war?” I wipe the water from my face, laughing.

He smirks and sprays me again, the punk. “You just couldn’t help yourself, could you?”

“Dude!” I pull my wet shirt away from where it clings to my skin.

Nonno laughs, angling away from the stray drops. “Can you blame him?”

Luca lowers his weapon, raising his eyebrows at Nonno. “You know about her?”

Nonno locks his hands behind his head. “I know a lot more than you think, kid. Ask Mark about why the police carted him away from Trevi Fountain.”

Oh, great. This’ll be fun.

Luca tosses the hose into the grass and twists to face me. “That story Lexi told was aboutyou?”

“She needed her lira back. It meant a lot to her.”

Luca collapses into what I would call ridiculous schoolgirl giggles. “Oh man, you’re further gone than I thought. There’s no saving you now.”

“Why does he need saving?” Nonno asks. “She seems delightful.”

“Oh, she is.” Luca flips his long hair off his forehead. “She takesno flack from Mark and gives as good as she takes. But she lives in America. And he barely knows her.”

“Right. Both of those facts are true.” Although I know her better than he thinks, and as much as my mouth keeps sayingI live here, she doesn’t,it’s only been eight days, my heart keeps telling me that some things don’t follow logic.

Like the shell curves of the Sydney Opera House. Every architect knows there’s a point where math becomes art. Where one dimension becomes three.

Where one week of sparring and flirting and an impossible ocean between us equals a future.

I’m just not sure how yet.

“Does your sister know?” Luca has never met Katie, but he knows about the blind dates she tries to set me up on every time I visit.

I snort. “Are you kidding? If Katie got wind of how I feel, she’d meet Lexington in the Boston airport with a wedding dress.”

For a split-second, I imagine Katie and Lexington brainstorming a wedding together, my sister’s excitement and Lexington’s event planning finesse. They would totally get along and gang up against me on issues that I don’t really care about, but in things that matter, Lexington would sweetly take my opinion seriously, and I would love every—

Luca and Nonno stare at me, and it’s a few seconds before I register what I’ve said and where my mind just went.Backpedal ASAP.

I give the world’s worst cover-up laugh. “Katie jumps to conclusions if I even make eye contact with a woman. She’s definitely Nonna’s granddaughter.”

“Yeah.” Luca winks at Nonno. “That’s why your eyes went all soft and now you’re blushing like a little girl.”

If the needling is this relentless with just the three of us, I can imagine the ribbing when we’re all together for dinner. “Hey, do I not get a tease-free pass on my birthday?”

Luca and Nonno double over in amusement.

Nonno wipes tears of glee from his eyes. “Not a chance.”

Forty-Four

Lexi

I don’t catcha single name except Alba’s, but the women pull me into the chaotic, busy kitchen before I can process that I’minthe villa from Mom’s painting.

The aromas of six or seven dishes in various states of preparation weaken my knees. Tomato, garlic, guanciale, sardines, pecorino cheese, toasted bread loaves ... It’s a lot for my senses to take in.