C
HAPTER
3
J
ulia slouched down low enough in her desk chair to rest her head on the back. She ran her fingers into her hair, grasping the roots for a quick squeeze. “How did people travel to foreign countries before the Internet? If I hadn't read the comment on that blog, I wouldn't have considered taking a bus from La Spezia to Lerici. It's a lot cheaper than a taxi and runs every twenty minutes.”
Her business partner, Camille, glanced up from the catalog she was ordering from. “Will a bus take you to the hotel, though?”
“No.” Julia rolled her head from side to side to loosen the tight bands of muscles in her neck. “But I checked that out, too. It's only a short walk.”
“Two miles is short to you.” Camille jotted something on the paper in front of her. “Remember, you'll have luggage.”
“I'm packing light.” Julia sat up and stretched her arms over her head. “The heaviest item will be my hiking boots.”
“You're sure your boobs are ready? It's only been six weeks. What's going to keep the friction from rubbing those new nipples completely off?” Camille flipped the pencil she was holding and rubbed the eraser roughly across the paper. Then she lifted it to her lips and blew away the debris. “Like that.”
“Thanks for that visual.” Julia shook her head as she covered her eyes. “Only you would come up with that comparison. The doctor says I'm already good to go, and the trip is still two weeks away. Trust me, the girls are ready.” Grasping a breast in each hand, she bounced in her chair. “And so am I.”
Camille's chin buckled, putting her face in serious mode. “I worry about you. Going by yourself. Hiking alone in a foreign country. Nobody to take care of you.”
Camille could be such a mother hen, despite being sixteen years younger. “I don't need anyone to take care of me. You know that.” Julia used a firm tone, hoping to put this subject to rest for good. “You know I've done my research and checked everything out.” She held up the brochure she'd been looking through yesterday. “The hiking trails around Lerici are popular, so there'll be plenty of other people on them.” She dropped that one and picked up another. “And the Cinque Terre trails will be filled. I'll probably have to step over the slow ones who get knocked down in the stampede.”
That brought a giggle from her friend. “I'm sure you'll lead the pack.” She turned her attention back to the catalog.
Julia stared at the photo of the village of Monterosso gracing the front of the pamphlet. The Cinque Terre was in her grasp. In two-and-a-half weeks, she would be living the dream she'd first conceptualized nine months ago. Her “baby's” due date was almost here.
Her hand and the brochure it held trembled with excitement.
She'd worked hard for thisâgoing from couch potato to someone who could walk twenty or more miles a day.
But she would be all alone.
Was she ready?
Her hand trembled again. She laid down the brochure and pressed the hand to the middle of her chest. Cancer-free, reconstructed breasts. Perky, new nipples, completely healed. What had once been her broken heart, now beating wildly at the mere thought of this adventure.
Oh yeah. She was ready.
* * *
Hettie squinted her good eye and peered at the paper Julia had given her containing the trip itinerary. “I've never heard of any of these places until you get to Florence. You're sure they exist?”
“Oh, they're popular destinations.” Julia considered it for a couple of seconds and then shrugged. “But maybe not so much for the first-time visitor to Italy.” She grabbed her tote and rummaged through it but didn't find the map she thought she'd put in there. That's right, she'd decided she wouldn't need it until she got to the hotel, so she'd put it in her duffel instead. “Let me grab an atlas.” She left Hettie at the table and hustled over to the reference books on the shelf of the nursing home's limited library, returning with the thick world atlas. She sat down and flipped to the page containing the map of Italy. Spying the magnifying glass on another table, she jumped up again and grabbed it, then settled on the edge of her seat.
Hettie gave her a lopsided grin. “You're as feisty as spit on a skillet this morning.”
“I am, aren't I,” Julia agreed. “I can't believe the day's finally here, and I'm on my way.” She positioned the magnifying glass over the northwest area of the map and pointed. “See. Here's Lerici.” She glided her finger across the small body of water and tapped the five villages. “And these are the five little towns that make up the Cinque Terre.”
Hettie's good hand clasped around Julia's finger and tapped it against the map again. “And see right there? It's the sexy Italian you're going to meet. He's waiting right there.”
The pull of her mother-in-law's hand had brought the finger over the Ligurian Sea area of the Mediterranean. “If he's waiting right there, I hope he's on a boat . . . or a good swimmer.”
“Fisherman.” Hettie's hand lost its grip and dropped to the table. “They make the best lovers because they've learned to be patient.”
Frank's dad had loved to fish, so Julia couldn't keep from smiling at the subtle but unmistakable innuendo. “That so?”
“If I'm lying, I'm dying.” Hettie winked and made a cross over her heart.
“Well, patience is something I've been in short supply of lately.” Julia laid down the magnifying glass and slid back in the chair. “Camille was talking about how antsy I've been just yesterday.”
“Now don't start belittling yourself. You've got loads of patience. Too much when it comes to some things.” Hettie didn't say what, but Julia suspected she was referring to Frank . . . or herself. “I like seeing you restless and excited.”
“That pretty well sums me up right now.”
Hettie plucked another truffle from the new box Julia had brought this morning and nibbled on it. “Not sure where I failed with you. I can't imagine wasting fabulous vacation time with exerciseâat least, not the kind you're planning onâmuch less getting excited about it.”
Chocolate dribbled down Hettie's chin and Julia dug in her tote for a tissue to wipe it with. “Then you'll probably disown me for admitting this.” She dabbed away the sweet spot. “But honestly? I'm looking forward to the business part almost as much as the hiking. Getting to be the procurer? Mmmm! I
love
the treasure hunt.” She lobbed the tissue toward a nearby trashcan and drummed the table when it went in. Then she clasped her hands together, determined to quiet her exuberance. “Camille is way better than I am with the customers.”
“Don't sell yourself short.” Hettie laid a cold hand on her arm, but it warmed Julia's heart. “You're the one with the eye.”
Julia glanced down at her watch as she patted her mother-in-law's hand. Time was running out here much too fast.
“You need to go on. I don't want you rushing.” Hettie's words and tone were pure
mother.
Julia had said the same things to Melissa countless times in exactly the same manner.
She really should be going, but she couldn't bring herself to leave just yet. The trip was only for three weeks, but she'd never left Hettie that long, and the separation was one of the things that had her so jittery. “Do you want me to push you back to your room?”
“No, the book club will be starting here in about ten minutes.”
Julia had shifted to the edge of her seat, but now she settled back again. “What was this month's book?”
“
Pride and Prejudice.
” Hettie grunted and fitted the lid back onto the candy box. “Poor Lizzie. Blinded by her pride.” She gave her head a sad little shake. “Seven times I've read the dang book, always thinking one of these times she'll drop those blinders earlier and go for it.”
Austen was a favorite, so Hettie's comment piqued Julia's interest. “Hey, if Darcy had let his prejudice slip and quit being Mr. Snootypants sooner, she would've come around. And I didn't know you were reading that one. We could've read it together.”
“No, thanks. Seven times is enough. Lizzie and Darcy will just have to go on learning the hard way.” Hettie raised an eyebrow. “But don't be thinking you'll find a Darcy where you're going. Those hot-blooded Italian guys? They're anything but stuffy. Not a Mr. Snootypants in the bunch.”
The gentle reminder had Julia glancing at her watch again. She really should be on her way, but . . .
“Julia.”
She raised her eyes to meet her mother-in-law's firm yet tender gaze.
“It's time, sweetheart. Get out of here before you get caught by the book club. Those old women will be all over you wanting to talk.”
Julia's eyes blurred with tears. She was being silly and overly emotional, but she couldn't help it. She scooted close enough to give Hettie a long hug. “I'll miss you.”
“Love you, sweetheart.” Hettie let go and pushed her firmly away. “Now shoo. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.”
Julia stood. “Can I do anything for you before I leave?”
“Yes.” Hettie nodded toward the candy. “Stick that in the chair pocket, would you? I don't want to have to share.”
Julia did as she was told and then rested her cheek for a quick moment to the top of the lovely white head.
She paused at the door for one last wave.
Hettie threw her a kiss in return.
* * *
During the three-hour drive from Paducah to the airport in St. Louis, Julia sang loudly with each song that came on the radioâno need of her playlist to make her happy this day. And later, tethered to the airplane by a seat belt, she still felt like a kite set free, literally soaring above the earth, on her way to a new place, ready for a new experience.
Anything was possible.
The two-hour weather delay in Chicago didn't dampen her spirit either, even when she struggled to get her carry-on into the overhead storage compartment.
“Here, let me get that for you.”
Played against the surrounding drone of muffled murmurs, the vibrancy in the voice caught her off guard. Her body stirred at the brush of the hand that grasped her case and the male body that leaned in to her to give it a shove.
She turned to find herself staring at the pocket of a dress shirt and had to lean back slightly to make eye contact with the speaker, a payoff well worth the effort.
Fringes of dark blond surrounded jade-green irises in a pair of eyes that crinkled at the sides when he smiled. In fact, his whole face crinkled when he smiled. Deep dimples creased the jawline at the sides of his mouth, and a cleft staked its claim in the middle of his chin.
The whole effect was engaging and warm and, Julia couldn't keep from noticing, directed entirely at her.
He
saw
her.
She flashed him a smile of gratitude. “Chivalry's alive after all. Thanks so much.” She edged past the first two seats to the window seat she'd been assigned, and her heart launched into a three-two beat when he settled into the middle seat beside her.
She didn't even try to hold back the smile that sprang onto her lips. The next eight hours might prove to be very interesting.
“I'm Lancelot, by the way.”
Lancelot?
Julia choked on the laugh that bubbled in her throat.
Poor guy.
“Do people call you Lance?”
“No, they call me Howard.” A twinkle in the jade irises hinted she was being toyed with.
She ran her thoughts back to her chivalry comment. “Well, my real name is Guinevere, but my friends call me Julia.”
“Then Julia it is.” His face broke once again into a pleasant mass of dimples and grin wrinkles that somehow enhanced his features rather than detracted from them.
Men were so lucky. People would be chasing her down armed with Botox guns if her face wrinkled like that, yet on him it looked charming.
He slid the book he was carrying into the pocket of the seat in front of him. “And you're obviously on your way from Camelot to Italy.”
Julia nodded, getting her travel necessities out of her bag before shoving it under the seat in front of her.
“Business or pleasure?”
He punctuated the word
pleasure
with a flash of dimples that sent a tingle into places she'd all but forgotten.
“Both.” She buckled her seat belt, enjoying the feel of tightening it around a stomach thirty pounds lighter and much firmer than it had been a year ago. “I'm in interior decorating, so I'll be on the lookout for unique pieces for my clients. But before I get to the work part, I'll be hiking the area around Lerici and the Cinque Terre.”
Howard's eyes squinted. “What's the Cinque Terre?” He seemed genuinely interested, or else he just wanted to talk to her. She liked either option.
“There are these five villages in Liguria that are connected by a trail overlooking the sea. They're called the Cinque Terre, and people hike from one to the next. That usually only takes five or six hours, but then there are extra trails running from the villages up into the hills. I plan to hike most all of them.”
Howard let out a low whistle and those jade irises did her a quick once-over. “You must be in great shape.”
Julia's face grew a tad warm, in what she hoped was a becoming blush. “I've been training for a while, but it's not that bad really. Five to seven miles a day. And the terrain isn't too rugged.”
“Well, I'm impressed. Training for a while for the
fun
part of a vacation? I admire that conviction.”