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"No, it hasn't.I had some happy memories here."
He smiled."I'm glad there were some good memories from your one summer in Rome.I was thinking there weren't any."
"I guess the bad ones stuck with me."She spied a flash of red hair."I think I see Joelle."
"Yeah, there she is," he said, an odd note in his voice.
She gave him a thoughtful look."You don't sound very excited."
"Joelle is very…touchy."
Isabella laughed at his awkward words."She liked you.I would think you'd be used to women being touchy."
"I think she likes all men," he said dryly.
"You might be right.But Joelle was nice to me and wanted to know me, which was a shocker.I have never met anyone in my family, besides my grandmother, who was interested in who I was or what I thought."
"I understand, and I can handle whatever she dishes out."
"I'm sure you can."She was actually amused by Nick's reaction to how flirty Joelle had been.And maybe even a little pleased that he wasn't all that excited to see her cousin again, although she really didn't want to look at that feeling too closely.
Joelle wore a colorful figure-hugging dress, her red hair pulled back in a loose bun.She was helping a young woman try on some earrings while her partner, an older blonde woman, was finishing a sale.
She waited until Joelle's customer moved away before stepping forward.
Joelle greeted them with a huge smile."Isabella.Nick."She came around the display table to give them both a hug and a kiss on each cheek, and Isabella couldn't help but notice that Nick got a much longer embrace than she did.But he had a smile on his face, which reminded her he was a man who lived undercover, who knew how to be what someone wanted him to be.And Joelle wanted him to be interested, which he now appeared to be.
"So this is your work," he said, waving his hand at the display table."Impressive."
"Thank you," she said as she moved back around the table."These are my more modest pieces.I was telling Isabella yesterday that my focus right now is high-end personalized designs, but until that takes off, here I am, hawking my earrings and necklaces like I've been doing the last eight years."
There was a tinge of irritation in Joelle's voice, despite her pleasant smile.She clearly was a woman with far more ambition than this.Isabella could appreciate that.She wanted to get to the top of her field, too, something else she had in common with her second cousin.
"So, show me this ring you found," Joelle said."Whose did you say it was?"
"It was in my great-grandfather's things," Nick replied as he showed her the ring.
Joelle took it out of his hand and spun it around, the silver glittering in the sunlight."It's a beautiful design."
"Have you seen it before?Do you have any idea what thePmight mean?"she asked.
Joelle shrugged."No idea.You're talking about Tomas Caruso, right?It's not his initial."She chewed on her bottom lip."The swirling lines of the design around the letter remind me of some of Lucinda's drawings."
"Do you have some of Lucinda's drawings?"she asked in surprise."I didn't think there was anything left."
"Lucinda always made a special birthday card for my grandmother, Lucinda's daughter.She saved the cards and when I got interested in art, she showed them to me."
"Does your grandmother still have them?"
"Possibly.I can ask her."
"That would be great.And the sooner the better."
"Oh, wait a second.I have a date tonight.It will have to be tomorrow," Joelle said with an apologetic smile."I'm sorry."
"That's fine," she said, even though she hated to wait even a second to find another clue.On the other hand, it was doubtful some old birthday cards would reveal that much.
"Maybe we could all meet for brunch tomorrow," Joelle suggested, including Nick in her smile."We can get better acquainted."
