Page 53 of Only One Tour Bus

Asha looks confused at the abrupt subject change. “Much better. I don’t have a fever, and I feel much more energetic.”

“Check.” I toss the thermometer her way.

She rolls her eyes but puts the instrument in her mouth. She does look better this morning, remnants of congestion on my jumper aside.

“It’s green! This piece of plastic and metal and whatever else makes up a thermometer says we don’t have to be worried.” She does a happy dance around the room and I try not to notice how her breasts bounce at the movement.

“Good. Then if you want to get out of the room and get some air, do you want to see the city with me?”

She stops her dance. “What did you have in mind?”

“Oh, if it doesn’t meet your strict qualifications, will you not come?”

“Nah, I’m in for whatever. Especially since you nursed me back to health and brought me fine dining and a souvenir, both of which I loved. And you let me use your clothes as a tissue while I was unconscious. So my treat, wherever we go. And a new sweater.”

I try not to think too much about me nursing her back to health. She makes it sound so…intimate. Like I was at her bedside patting her feverish forehead with a damp cloth. Like a cherished lover or a dear friend.

But I’m none of those things. And it’s what any coworker would do.

“You’re not buying me clothes. I was thinking of going to Sainte-Chapelle. Maybe the catacombs, too. We could catch a cab today and Sainte-Chapelle is small. We can skip the catacombs if you’re not up for it, walking-wise.”

They’re the perfect set of sites for a date, if I were asking her on one. Which I’m not. Sainte-Chapelle is a royal chapel with some relics of the Passion. And it’s housed in a Gothic building with soaring walls made of stained glass on every side that lets in colorful light, giving it the nickname the Jewelry Box.

And on a day like today, with the sun shining, the light will bathe Asha and she’ll be stunning. She’ll shine as much on the outside as she does in the inside. And she’ll love the bright colors. Usually I don’t agree with her taste, but this is one exception that even I’ll enjoy.

And the catacombs, those will have the opposite effect. It’ll be dark and cramped, and more than a bit scary with all the human remains. Maybe she’ll want to stand a wee bit closer to me. Maybe she’ll need to hold a hand, or tuck herself under my arm.

…are all thoughts I would have if I was asking her on a date. But those sites are also historically significant, and places I haven’t been. So it has nothing to do with the potential for romantic moments and that nonsense.

And frankly, it’s Paris. There’s not much I could choose that wouldn’t be romantic. I did put a cemetery in the plan; that’s the best I could do to keep some professional distance between us. I don’t want to do things separately, which would be the smartest option, but this is the second best, enough that I can see her without getting deeper involved.

“I haven’t been to Sainte-Chapelle in forever, and I’ve never been to the catacombs. That sounds like a good plan.”

“Her Majesty approves of the itinerary?” There. If I was trying to ask her on a date, I wouldn’t be so sarcastic with her.

But wee sunshines are made of sterner stuff than to be defeated by some sarcasm, so she sticks her nose in the air. “The terms are acceptable.”

Then she sails out of the bedroom and into the bathroom without looking back at me.

“I’ll just go change then, shall I?” I ask, already halfway out the door. I don’t get a response, not that I expected one. “I’ll be back in twenty minutes.”

I don’t think I want to be away from her for much longer than that.

CHAPTER 23

ASHA

Twenty minutes? That’s not going to be enough time to get over the emotional impact of waking up in Callum’s arms, after he took care of me the past few days. It’s not enough time to get over the embarrassment of getting my snot on him.

And it’s not going to be near enough time to decide if he’s actually into me, or if he felt bad I didn’t have anyone else to help me.

Because after last night, I know I’m into him. He’s grumpy, but it’s kind of charming when he does sweet things while complaining about doing them. It’s such a fascinating contrast. Why are you doing them if you’re so unhappy to be doing them? Why not just stop? He wasn’t paid to take care of me.

The only explanation is that he is happy about doing them. So why hide it? I don’t know, but it’s adorable and I want to find out more about it.

It’s not against any rules. We’re not each other’s boss. There’s nothing stopping us from dating. Even if it was against company policy, it’s not like we’d be the first. There are plenty of people eating where they shit in this particular job.

It’s actually perfect. He’ll understand my inconvenient schedule, and our tours will intersect occasionally, so we’ll have dates all over Europe. A dream couple. And if it doesn’t work out, it wouldn’t be hard to avoid him. We may be coworkers, but aside from this one-time joint tour, we usually work alone. And the cities we go to are big enough to avoid each other when the tours overlap.