Preston pointed to the elevator. “Clear us through to the residence, okay?”
“Yes, sir,” the guard said, and a moment later we were all inside an elevator with a marble floor and mirrored walls. A chandelier of Murano glass hung overhead.
“Cool place,” Bex told Preston under her breath.
“That’s the thing about having a dad who runs for president.” Preston gave an awkward smile. “Even losing has its privileges.” He took us all in, but really, he had eyes only for Macey. “It’s good to see you, Mace.”
Bex and I looked at each other. He calls her Mace?
“Hi,” Macey said. “So…Rome?” She looked around the ornate car. “It’s nice,” she told him, and he nodded.
“Yeah, it was this or the embassy in Tokyo—I told you that, right?”
Macey nodded. “Yeah. But I haven’t talked to you since the move.”
When the doors opened, I could tell we were on the top floor because the light was different. There was a tall window with a view of the city. Lush, thick carpet was beneath our feet.
“I’ll just be a second,” Preston whispered, pointing to the opposite end of the hall. “You guys can wait in the dining room. No one uses it in the morning. Cammie knows the way.”
I started to say that, no, I didn’t, but before I could utter a word, there was a man at the end of the hall, raising an arm and saying, “Cammie! You’re here!”
The first time I ever saw Sam Winters, he was the governor of Vermont and a front-runner for the presidency of the United States. The last time I saw him…Well, judging by the way he threw open his arms and pulled me into a massive hug, it was pretty obvious I didn’t remember the last time I’d seen him.
“How are you, Cammie? It’s so good to see you and Preston back together again.” Ambassador Winters lingered on the words, and from the corner of my eye, I saw Preston blush. “So, my dear, what brings you to Rome?”
“Fall break,” I said, pleased with how natural the lie sounded. “And I knew I couldn’t come to Italy without stopping by, because of…”
“Me,” Macey said. “I insisted we come by even though it’s early. We only have a few hours before we catch a connecting flight and leave town.”
“Oh, Macey, dear. I didn’t see you there.” It was probably the first—and last—time that a man had missed seeing Macey McHenry, but no one said so. The ambassador was too busy giving Macey a hug and asking me, “And who are your friends?”
“Ambassador Winters, allow me to introduce my aunt Abby and her…boyfriend.” Townsend tensed. Abby glared. And Rebecca Baxter looked like she was going to choke on her own chewing gum.
“And this is our roommate, Bex,” Macey said.
Bex took the ambassador’s hand and said hello in a way that would have made Madame Dabney extremely proud.
“And this is Zach,” I said, rounding out the group; but Zach just stood stoically with his arms across his chest. (I guess the Culture and Assimilation curriculum at Blackthorne leaves a lot to be desired.)
“Welcome, welcome.” Ambassador Winters gave a nod to the group, then turned back to me. “Now, I’m afraid I was just about to run out for a breakfast meeting at the Vatican, but I’m so glad you stopped by. Preston, take good care of these fine people.”
“Yes, sir,” Preston said.
His father slapped his hands together in the universal signal for My work here is done. But before he turned away, he reached for me, gave me one last hug. “Cammie, dear, it was good to see you again.” He gave us one final smile. “You all come back any time.”
And then he was gone, down the plush hallway as if he’d never been there at all.
Two minutes later, Preston was ushering us through a door and saying, “Can you wait in here a second?”
“This is fine, thanks,” Abby told him, and then he was gone.
I looked around the room. There was a long table surrounded by a dozen high-backed chairs, all upholstered in the best Italian leather. Rich red curtains framed tall windows that overlooked the city. It was the kind of view that I’m pretty sure normal tourists would have remembered. But then again, I hadn’t been normal in a very long time.
“So you’re Zach.” Townsend didn’t even try to hide the judgment in his voice as he looked Zach up and down in some sort of silent but dangerous examination.
Zach huffed but smiled. “So you’re Townsend.”
The two of them stared for a long time, wordless. It felt a little like I was watching a documentary on the Nature Channel, something about alpha males in the wild. I didn’t have a clue how it was going to end until Townsend nodded and took a deep breath.