Page 24 of Marry Me in Rome

Alexis tensed, but said nothing.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s just that . . . Jillie, you tend to run away from potential relationships. Are you sure you aren’t doing that again? We can bend the rules for another day if you want to spend it with him.”

I snorted. “I do not run away from potential relationships, Alexis, and how would you even know that?”

Kennedy bit her lip. “Um, I told her about the last few guys. I wouldn’t say you’re running away, exactly. Just . . . prematurely ending things with them.”

Correction—apparently Kennedy and Alexis didn’t see eye to eye unless it meant gossiping about me. I made a mental note not to discuss my love life with Kennedy again. “Not true. Relationships run their course, and it’s best not to lead a guy on if it isn’t going anywhere.”

“Which none of yours do.” Alexis flinched. “Ow.” She leaned under the table to rub her leg.

“What Alexis is trying to say,” Kennedy said through gritted teeth, “is that there’s clearly some attraction there, and maybe it would be worth letting it play out. Just to see what happens.”

That was exactly the opposite of what I wanted. This morning, Matteo and I couldn’t stand each other. By the time he dropped me off at the train station tonight, we could hold an easy conversation. We’d covered a lot of ground in that time. What could happen if I spent a second day with him? Even if I trusted him, I didn’t trust myself. What Kennedy described was the worst possible scenario—getting invested and then having to say goodbye.

“Better to end it before it goes too far,” I told them firmly. “Long distance relationships don’t work.”

Kennedy’s face fell and I stammered to correct my mistake. “I mean, I don’t do them, but it can work for you and Hunter. We’ll be home in a few weeks and then you’ll be together forever.” We all knew it. She’d have a ring on her finger by the end of the year.

“Matteo seems like a nice guy,” Alexis said. “What’s the harm in getting to know him better? You seem like you love Rome, so maybe you’ll be back someday. It might be nice to have a friend here.”

I didn’t want him as a friend, and that was exactly the problem. “I’m not going with Matteo tomorrow. I’m going to the Vatican with my sisters because it’s asister trip.End of discussion.”

“I’m taking Hunter to the airport around noon,” Kennedy blurted. “I’ll wait there with him until his flight leaves at four. You should go with Matteo, Jillie. Have fun without me.”

Alexis shifted in her chair, avoiding my gaze. “I was invited to zip line at Rocca Massima tomorrow. I haven’t told them yes. I was going to invite all of you, but if everyone has their own plans . . . ”

I glared at my sisters, who were both staring at the table. “So much for our family trip. A whole month together, bonding and getting to know one another.” I shoved my chair backward and rose to my feet.

“Don’t be like that,” Alexis said. “Eleanor said we don’t have to be together every minute of every day.”

“And we’ll have the rest of the trip for bonding time,” Kennedy said gently. “Just not tomorrow.”

Hunter looked back and forth between us and cleared his throat, drumming his fingers. “Look, Kennedy, maybe we should?—”

She silenced him with a single look.

I pushed my chair back in and lifted my head. “This isn’t what Grandpa wanted, and you both know it. I’m going dancing. Don’t wait up for me.” If they thought I would paste on a smile and pretend to be fine with being abandoned for a second day in a row, they were dead wrong. This time, I would do the leaving. Let them see how it felt.

They said nothing as I stormed out.

If the ship’sclubs were back home, I wouldn’t have lasted an hour. Every dance floor was packed too full of tipsy tourists to move, and they yelled over each other as lights flashed around us to the heavy beat. More importantly, every other woman there had someone with them. Because what woman in her right mind would go to a cruise ship club alone?

Besides me, obviously.

After a while, I found a place at the bar and camped there. I kept watching the door to see if my sisters would join me, knowing all the while that they wouldn’t. Kennedy would rather read a book than dance, and Alexis would drown herself in drink before she did anything that resembled dancing or flirting.

This trip would have been so fun with Mom. She would’ve danced with me all night long.

“Hey, pretty lady.” A man took the empty stool next to me at the bar. He looked to be at least ten years older than me and spoke with a heavy drawl, though rugged and handsome in a football player or lumberjack kind of way. Larger than Matteo, certainly, but not quite as tall.

Great. Would I be comparing every man to Matteo from now on?

I tipped my gin spritz with lime to my lips and finished it off, grateful for the numbness starting to burn through my veins. “Hi there.”

“You here alone?”

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