“When are you flying back to New York?” she asked.
“Tomorrow evening.”
“Hmm. That doesn’t leave you much time for exploring.”
“No, but I’m hoping you can give me tips for a speed tour. Since you’re an expert and everything.”
She laughed. “Did Isabelle say that?”
“Yes.”
“What else did she say?” Her blush was telling me all the things I wanted to know.
“That you’re here on a medical exchange, though I didn’t catch what kind of doctor you are.”
“I’m a surgical resident at The Liberty.”
It was a private hospital in New York. I’d heard great things about it.
“Wow, that’s impressive.” She took my compliment well, but I could tell she was shy about it.
“Thanks. Anyway, there was an opportunity to come here for two months, and I thought, why not? It’s a unique experience, and Rome is fantastic. It was a bit of a stretch, because my Italian isn’t that good and I don’t know anyone on the team, but I’m glad I took the leap.”
I liked the passion flaring in her eyes, that she was fearless and adventurous. I liked her guts even more than her magnetic smile. When we received our bruschetta and limoncello, Laney immediately took a sip, licking her lips.
I had to force myself not to stare too long at her mouth. The rest of her was just as smoking hot: long, slender neck and a delicious cleavage. Her white dress was snug around her body. The rest of her was hidden by the table, but I’d gotten an eyeful of her curves when she’d arrived. I couldn’t wait for an opportunity to admire them again.
“You’re a New York native?” I asked her.
“No, I just moved to the city two years ago for my residency. Before, I was in Philadelphia.” She darted her gaze away, before quickly adding, “You work with Hunter, right?”
“Yes.”
“I’m glad Isabelle thought about putting us in contact,” she said.
“I’m glad too. So... back to you being an expert—”
“I’m not, really. Just did a lot of research about the country before I came here. I wanted to make sure I saw and did everything. Isabelle is always too generous with her praise.”
“Did she praise me?” I asked in a teasing tone.
Laney laughed, shrugging. “Wouldn’t exactly say praise...”
She was teasing me? Game on. The mutual attraction was palpable.
“I like to make the first impression face-to-face, not by hearsay.”
She flashed me a taunting smile just as the waiter took away our empty starter plates, replacing them with the main courses. We both had spaghetti. My spaghetti was simple, just with tomato sauce and basil. Laney’s had seafood.
“Why, you’re afraid the hearsay isn’t true?”
“Some things might be exaggerated. Or taken out of context,” I responded.
“I’ll ignore any previous information and make up my own mind. Satisfied?”
The things that would satisfy me were so inappropriate that I couldn’t even believe where my mind just went, but I nodded.
“So, about those tips?”
“Well, since you only have one day, you probably should go on two walking tours. They each last about three hours and show you different parts of the city. You can sign up on Tripadvisor. There is also a hop-on, hop-off bus, but the traffic here is a nightmare, so I wouldn’t recommend it.”
“Okay. You did all that?”
“Yes, on my first day. It was the perfect way to get an overview of the major attractions and decide in what order I want to visit them.”
“I like that you said in what order, not which of them.”
“I’m thorough. The schedule here is a little lighter than back in New York, but I mostly did my sightseeing on the weekends.”
We focused on our food—everything was so delicious and enjoyable—as we ate in companionable silence. Then she told me how she knew Isabelle; they’d grown up in the same town in Montana and went to school together before moving to Philly for college. She didn’t have an accent, but then again, neither did Isabelle. She also told me that she’d been here for seven weeks and was staying one more.
“This was delicious,” I said once I cleared my plate. “I was thinking this place might be a tourist trap.”
Laney’s eyes widened. “You thought I was an expert but would bring you to a place with bad food?”
“Not bad, just for tourists.”
“Hmm... so far, you’re not doing great on that first-impression thing.” She was teasing me again. I liked this woman.
“The evening’s not over yet,” I pointed out.
Laney tilted her head to one side, drumming her fingers on the glass. “I don’t know, Cole. We’re already