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As Olivia got out to face him, her heart beat in double time. She brandished the bag like a shield. “I’m sorry I made us late, but I think I found a site.”
She braced herself for his rage as he snatched it from her hands. She’d already decided she’d take full responsibility for her actions, no matter how dire the consequences. If she’d made a bad call, she didn’t want Rick to suffer.
But Grant smiled at her. Actually smiled. He took the pieces out of the bag, inspecting each one with care. “Well done. Geometric ware. That period was the subject of my dissertation.”
“Really?” Maybe she’d found a way to win points with him.
“Yes. ‘Kingship and Social Stratification during the Cypro-Geometric and Early Archaic Periods.’ I’m working on a few follow-up articles, so another site could add to my data. With a Geometric site, there’s a chance we’ll uncover chamber tombs.”
Chamber tombs? Hot damn. Even if she’d taken five days to get into a groove, she’d redeemed herself.
Today’s lunchtime casserole—moussaka with ground lamb—was lukewarm at best but still tasted delicious. As did the bountiful village salad that accompanied it, laden with cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, kalamata olives, and feta. Olivia was so ravenous she had two helpings. It didn’t hurt that everyone at the table wanted to hear about her discovery.
At two, Dr. Roth came into the lab for his daily visit. When he stopped by her team’s table, Olivia showed him her samples, which she’d washed and laid out to dry. He examined each piece, then scrolled through the photos on her phone.
“Excellent work,” he said. “You have the location marked on your GPS?”
“It’s on my topo map, too.” She forced her limbs to relax as she waited for his verdict. Would he deem her find worthy?
“Wonderful. It’s hard to judge from a handful of pottery, but I’d say your discovery merits further investigation. Rick, why don’t you head back over there and set up a test pit this afternoon? Depending on the yield, we could do more testing next week.”
Once again, Olivia resisted the urge to break out a victory dance.
Grant walked over to join them. “Since this period is my area of specialty, I should be there.”
“You’re of more use supervising the lab,” Dr. Roth said. “Rick can handle it for today.”
“But—”
Dr. Roth shook his head. “You’ll stay here.” He beamed at Olivia. “Do you want to join Rick? Since it’s your site?”
My site? If she wasn’t careful, her ego would explode.
Before she could answer, Grant spoke up again. “That doesn’t seem wise. If Rick’s going to be gone all afternoon, Olivia needs to supervise the team. They haven’t finished entering today’s data or processing their finds.”
Spoilsport. But she said nothing, too afraid to challenge him.
TJ looked up from their group’s table. “How about I supervise the lab session? I’m a pro at this stuff.”
“Thank you, TJ.” Dr. Roth said. He gave Olivia an indulgent smile. “Then you and Rick are free to go.”
Yes. She was going to check out her site. With Rick. Her heart could barely handle the anticipation.
Until Grant scowled at her. Damn it. Whatever points she’d earned from him by finding a site had vanished. If she was being smart, she’d step aside and let him take her place. But she couldn’t do it.
Temptation or not, she wasn’t passing up a chance to be alone with Rick.
