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"Nah," she said. "Belongs to one of the grad students. She's letting me use it for the summer."
I raised my eyebrows. "Lucky you," I said, as I crammed my bags in the trunk before joining her up front. Vanessa was a third-year postdoc, and this was her second summer in Velarta. As such, she did her best tour-guide impression on the way through town, bouncing between lectures on local history and pointing out her favorite restaurants as we wound through the narrow roads toward the coast.
Up close, it was everything I'd ever imagined. Cruise ships and fishing vessels lined the coastline, and the ocean sparkled a rich, deep blue. I took a quick photo out of the car window, then opened up my messages, searching for the group text that included a couple of friends from the department who weren't involved in the dig.
Wish you were here, I typed, adding a kiss-blowing emoji before sending the photo off into the ether. It was only when my phone pinged a few moments later with a response that I realized my mistake. Vanessa had added a few members of the history department to the conversation two weeks before.
Unfortunately, one of those members was Theo.
His response wasn't to the group, though. It came directly to me. Looks beautiful. Call me when you get a chance.
I stared at the phone, my mouth going dry. Looks beautiful? Looks beautiful? That wasn't our style at all. What happened to Hope the peanuts on the plane didn't make you barf? Or maybe Stay out of the water, I'm not there to save you from drowning—a reference to the time I'd swallowed a mouthful of pool water during swim practice in high school and come up coughing. In a completely unnecessary 'rescue,' he'd dragged me out of the water, then smacked me on the back so hard I'd nearly fallen back in.
I cringed. I would have even accepted a vague and inappropriate reference to the night before, something like, I tripped on your bra on my way out the door and broke my wrist, you owe me for the x-rays. But certainly not looks beautiful.
Oh God, I'd been right. I'd ruined everything. I tucked my phone away without answering and turned my gaze out the window. As we drove, the towering buildings of Palia were gradually being replaced by broad swathes of farmland and densely-wooded pine forests.
Vanessa was talking again. "So, the dig site is just under an hour northeast of the city. The University of Kulmeira is only about fifteen minutes from there, though, so they've got most of us put up in the dorms. You can catch a few hours of sleep if you want, or we can stop at the site if you'd rather check in. It's on the way."
"Let's go straight to the site," I said. The last thing I needed was time alone to think about Theo, and besides, I was too wired with excitement to sleep.
"Good choice," Vanessa said with a wink. "Everyone should be just getting started, so you can see the best part of the dig."
I raised an eyebrow, and she gave me a conspiratorial grin. "Velartan men," she clarified.
I muffled a snort. "Excuse me?"
"Oh, come on." Her eyes sparkled with laughter. "I know you're not dating anyone. And the volunteers on the dig are mostly grad students from Kulmeira. Young, strong, occasionally shirtless grad students." She fanned herself with one hand.
"Vanessa." I bit back a grin.
"Raheem agrees with me," Vanessa said primly. "Baltic men are the best."
I did snort at that. "Raheem doesn't have the highest standards. And are you suggesting that Baltic men are somehow superior because of the way they look?"
She stuck out her tongue. "I said nothing of the sort. I just implied that mountains won't be the only nice view while we're digging in the trenches."
I smiled. I certainly wouldn't complain about a nice view. If nothing else, it might help keep my thoughts off of Theo.
3
Despite my anticipation, I did nod off on the drive through the countryside, waking only when the car rumbled to a halt in a gravel parking area on the edge of a large field.
"So, this is it, huh?" I said through a yawn, rubbing a palm against my eyes.
Vanessa spread her hands. "The ruins of Old Kulmeira. Impressive, right?"
I laughed, opening my car door. At first glance it was nothing more than a huge field, a couple of tents set up along one side, various sections of bare earth marked off with rope boundaries. But the dig at Old Kulmeira had been going on for years, and the full site was massive. The main feature of the old city was a medieval fortress, dating back to the early fourteen hundreds and located at the top of a hill overlooking the confluence of two rivers. The excavation of the hillfort itself had been complete for a few years, and a replica of the wooden structure had been built and now served as a tourist site and education center.
The current site was located down the hill from the old fort, inside the stone wall where much of the rest of the settlement had sprung up. So far the team had been working on excavating the remains of the stables, and rumor had it a chapel had once been located at the far end of the field, which with any luck would be our focus for the summer. It wasn't much to look at, but I was finally here, and I couldn't wait to get started.
"V and Shih," yelled a familiar voice, and I turned to see Raheem striding across the grass toward us, grinning broadly. "Took you long enough." He folded me into a hug.
"Don't let her fool you," Vanessa said. "Her excitement is strictly work-related."
Raheem waggled his eyebrows and jerked his head toward a group of young men standing in a cluster in the distance. "Not for long."
"Not interested," I said, laughing. I held up my hands. "These are touching dirt this summer and absolutely nothing else."
