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“It has brought us closer together.” That was no lie. This weekend had given me the opportunity to feel Diana up.

“Over the past few months, I’ve gotten to know Diana quite well. Honestly, I was beginning to think she’d made you up. She made you sound so perfect, it was almost unreal all those stories she’d told us about you.”

“As you can see, I’m real.” She didn’t need to tell me that fictional Levi was a hard act to live up to. Hell, I couldn’t even live up to my own expectations for myself. And because I wanted to wallow in how large the gap was between Indy’s ideal and my reality, I asked, “What stories did she tell you?”

“Oh my goodness, so many. She, of course, mentioned your career and your many talents.” She rubbed my arm. “But it was your thoughtfulness that really stood out. She said you used to watch Raiders of the Lost Earth with her on Sundays when no one else would, and you brought her food when she went on her weekend excavations because she always forgot to eat.”

At the time these details had seemed so unimportant. But listening to Helen list them, it struck me that Indy was the only person I’d ever routinely given so many small, intimate attentions. I’d certainly never done the same for Josh or any of my guy friends, that’s for sure.

Even with Ashleigh, I’d been less inclined to do things for her. Sure, I bought her flowers and took her to the fanciest restaurants my poor bank account would allow. Most of what I did for her though was motivated by my desperate teenage need for sex and by what I imagined a boyfriend would do for the girl he loved. It was transactional at heart. And Ashleigh had always seen those gifts, which often didn’t live up to her expectations, as an entitlement. That’s why she’d ultimately left me for the rich guy she’d married. I’d be lying if there wasn’t some petty part of me that was vindicated at their marriage ending. I’d convinced myself for years that I’d been deeply in love with her. Looking back on it now though, I was struck by how we’d never really known each other.

With Indy, every small thing I did for her was natural and it pleased me. I’d always liked taking care of her because she always forgot to take care of herself. I liked to think that I knew her better than she knew herself. And isn’t that what everyone wants? To be truly seen and known by someone else? Besides Josh, Indy was the person who’d seen me at my best and my worst.

All these thoughts were swirling around in my head while I listened to Helen. “I found it especially touching how you came to her rescue at her homecoming dance,” she was saying. “What a knight in shining armor you were!”

Was I though? Because I’d left her hanging that night and broken her heart. I knew it. I always knew how she felt about me, and maybe because my adolescent ego liked it, I never told her that I could never live up to her idealized vision of me, that she deserved someone way better than me.

“So tell me, when did you finally realize you were in love with her?” Helen asked, stopping me in my tracks.

“Love . . . ?” The word hung there between us. And it no longer made sense. Like when you stare at a word too long and it starts to look weird and you wonder how was it ever a word in the first place? I was convinced that “love” wasn’t actually a word.

“Levi!” Indy cried, breaking through my stunned silence. She and Marcangeli were standing with Signora Visconti on the back terrace of the house. The other guests had gathered on the lawn. Helen and I joined them, and as I slid my arm around Indy’s waist, she gave me the most breathtaking smile spread across her face, and for one crazy second, I had the urge to kiss her right there in front of everyone.

“We’re going to start the treasure hunt. We can either team up with someone or go by ourselves,” Diana said. No way were we teaming up with Pete and Sabrina again.

“I just want to be with you.” I let the words settle between us.

“All right.” She stared at me a beat too long. “I’m going to distribute the clues to everyone.”

I hung back as Indy walked around to each team, handing out manila envelopes. Her hair shone like fire in the sunlight, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She wore another of those knit dresses that clung to her lean frame. One that tied at the side of the waist and that would surely open up like a little present.

She came back to my side and, when Signora Visconti gave the signal, slipped her thumb under the seal. Inside was a sheet of paper covered with what looked like hieroglyphs. It was embarrassing to admit that I’d be of no help to her. “What’s the prize for winning anyway? Because if you’re depending on me, I’m pretty sure we’re going to lose.”

“I don’t think there’s a prize,” Indy said, leading me off to the side of the garden. “This is Linear B, the writing system that the ancient Mycenaeans used. It’s quite simple—look, these are ideograms.”

She traced the symbols with her finger, but I wasn’t following. I was too distracted by memories of her nipple hardening against the palm of my hand. Christ, I had to pull it together.

“Levi?” She was looking at me. “Were you even listening to me at all?”

“No, I was thinking about . . . something.” I scratched the back of my neck.

“Try to concentrate,” Indy admonished. “So it says: I fly all day long, but I don’t go anywhere. What am I?” Diana said.

“I feel personally attacked by this clue.” I grabbed it from her, sure that if I stared hard enough it’d magically make sense.

“Don’t be so sensitive. Think.”

“I don’t know.” I took in our surroundings: the perfectly manicured trees and bushes in the garden, the small dock in the distance with a flag dancing in the wind. “Ah-ha, over there.”

“A flag! Yes.”

We weren’t the only ones to quickly figure out the first clue. A few other teams had already retrieved the second clue. I opened the small envelope and sighed. “This is all Greek to me.”

“Ancient Greek,” Diana corrected. “Okay, this one’s more difficult. Is this one word?” She read out a chain of syllables, proving again how fucking brilliant she was: “λεπαδοτεμαχοσελαχογαλεοκρανιολειψανοδριμυποτριμματοσιλφιοτυρομελιτοκατακεχυμενοκιχλεπικοσσυφοφατοπεριστεραλεκτρυνοπτοκεφαλιοκιγκλοπελειολαγῳοσιραιοβαφητραγανοπτερυγών”

“Wide dish, portion of fish, school shark, something grated, honey and cheese.”

“The most disgusting recipe ever.” I grimaced.