An Heir For Her Enemy (Bossy Bachelors #3)

9. Delaney

CHAPTER 9

DELANEY

T hings were going very poorly.

Delaney wasn’t sure why she’d agreed to a tour of the city with Logan as her guide. She should have struck out on her own and explored the sights by herself, but instead, she was stuck with Logan all day.

Yes, they’d managed one conversation in the car outside of Mr. Vassallo’s house without sniping at each other, but that was no indication that the day would go smoothly.

As they drove into town, Delaney tore her eyes from the scenery outside and sent a few quick emails to clients and friends, rescheduling plans she’d made for the rest of the week. Then she turned her phone off and prepared to soak in as much of Italy as she possibly could. She might be dedicated to her work, but when she took time off, her job had no place in her life.

When they arrived at Saint Peter’s Basilica, their first destination of the day, Delaney jumped out of the car almost before it had stopped moving. The building in front of them was enormous, with rows of columns in the front and a domed roof overhead. Despite it being the off-season, long lines of tourists queued outside to enter.

“I think we’ll be waiting here for a while,” Delaney said, a little sadly.

“I wouldn’t worry about it.” Logan gestured for her to follow him. At a ticket booth, he purchased a pair of express tickets that allowed them access to the Basilica without waiting in line.

“I don’t mind waiting,” Delaney said, but Logan waved her off.

“It’s the least I can do.” He handed her one ticket. “Shall we go in?”

Delaney felt more than a little guilty skipping the line, but her guilt was replaced by awe when they stepped into the main room. High above, the domed ceiling was beautifully painted with intricate designs that she could have stared at for days. Windows at the top let sunlight stream in, illuminating the ornate columns and gleaming marble floors. Delaney felt like she had stepped into a movie.

She walked slowly along the center aisle, staring up at the woodwork on this part of the ceiling and stopping to admire the patterns on the marble floor below her feet. Despite the large number of people in the basilica with them, it was relatively quiet as everyone spoke in hushed voices. It felt almost magical.

As she neared the end of the first aisle, Delaney came to a row of pews. She sank into the first one and spent a while gazing up, her head back. This kind of beautiful architecture fit perfectly with the image she’d had of Europe. She felt perfectly connected to the history of this place.

Suddenly remembering that she wasn’t alone, Delaney looked around for Logan. He must be just as much in awe as she was, and perhaps this would be another moment in which they could put aside their past. After all, it would be impossible not to be moved by this place.

For a few moments, she didn’t see Logan anywhere. Perhaps he’d gone into one of the side rooms, which apparently held tombs that were also considered to be works of art. Just as she was about to go look for him, though, she spotted him. He was sitting in another pew on the other side of the basilica, engrossed in the glowing screen of his phone as he typed furiously.

Delaney rolled her eyes. How could Logan be surrounded by so much beauty yet so completely uninterested in any of it? It seemed unimaginable that whatever he was doing on his phone was more important than what they were seeing.

His disinterest in the basilica was more proof that he was just another rich, entitled jerk. The proof had come at a good time, too — Delaney had been starting to soften towards him after his willingness to show her around. No more.

Delaney spent almost an hour wandering the basilica. She looked at every tomb, read the information signs, and even turned her phone back on to snap a few pictures of particularly beautiful details. Finally, she collected Logan from where he still sat on the pew, his phone in his hand.

“Did you enjoy the basilica?” he asked Delaney as they exited.

“It was beautiful,” she said. “Truly a living work of art. And did you enjoy your phone?”

Logan raised his eyebrows. “I had to do a few urgent tasks for work.”

“I get that, but I don’t know how you could sit in such a beautiful place without seeing any of it.”

“I’ve been to the basilica before.”

“So, the first time you went, you really enjoyed it?”

Logan gave her a shifty look and Delaney had her answer.

“Would you like something to eat?” he said. It was a clunky change of topic, but Delaney followed.

“I am getting hungry.” She looked around. Across from the basilica, a maze of narrow streets led off the square. “Let’s go look for something.”

“I can ask the driver to take us.”

Delaney shook her head. “It’s an adventure. Come on. Just let the driver know we’ll be back in an hour or so.”

She led the way across the square and down the first alley. Initially, the restaurants were all filled with tourists, but after a short walk they started to find restaurants populated by Italians. Delaney picked one with sidewalk seating more or less at random and gestured for Logan to stop.

“Let’s try this place.”

“All right.” Logan pulled out a chair for Delaney, who sat, before he circled the table to his own seat. A waiter brought the menus over a few minutes later, and Delaney laughed as she saw they were written completely in Italian.

“Lunch might be a bit of a surprise.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.” Logan flipped through the pasta section, then pointed to a dish somewhat at random. “I’ll be having this one.”

“And I’ll have… this.” Delaney selected a random dish as well. When the waiter returned, they placed their orders by pointing and smiling, and he disappeared with the menus. “I’m excited to see what we get.”

“Me too.” Logan grinned that playful grin he’d worn on their first evening together. “What do you think of Rome so far?”

“I love it. Like I told you, I’ve always dreamed of visiting Italy, so this is an amazing experience for me.”

“You’ll have to see some other cities next time, too. I love Milan and Venice. And Lake Como is truly spectacular.”

Delaney tugged at the corner of her napkin. “It seems like you’ve traveled in Italy a lot.”

“A bit. I brought my parents here for their anniversary last year and we saw a lot of nice sights.”

“Are you close with your parents?”

“Sort of. They live in Ohio, so I don’t see them all that often, but we keep in touch and I try to visit at least once a year. They visit me in New York, too. I don’t think they understand what I do exactly, but they try. How about you? Are you close with your parents?”

“Sort of,” Delaney echoed. “I think they don’t understand what I do exactly, either. I’m the youngest of four, and my two older brothers and older sister all went into ‘safe’ professions — my sister is a nurse, one brother is a mechanic, and the other runs a sporting-goods store. My parents are a little worried about me making my way in the art world.”

“Wow, three older siblings.” Logan whistled. “I can’t imagine.”

Delaney shrugged. “It felt normal to me. And it was nice to always have someone around to talk to or ask for help. Do you have siblings?”

“One little sister,” Logan said. “We have a big age gap, so she’s just starting college.”

“What’s she studying?”

“Anthropology.” Logan grinned again. “I’m so proud of her.”

“I bet.” Though Delaney wondered how Logan had been so careless with her feelings when he had a little sister. At least he hadn’t brought up what she’d said last night.

As if he’d read her mind, Logan leaned forward. “About last night…”

Delaney’s stomach dropped but, thankfully, their food arrived before he could say anything else. Logan ended up with a steaming plate of short, thick pasta covered in a fragrant green pesto and studded with potatoes and green beans, while Delaney had a dish of gnocchi with cheese, tomatoes, and crisp pancetta.

“This smells amazing.” She lifted her fork to try a large bite. Gooey cheese and zingy tomatoes exploded in her mouth. “And it tastes even better.”

“This is really good as well. I’ve never seen potatoes in pasta before, but I like it.” Logan took another bite. “Would you like to try?”

“Um, sure.” Delaney speared a piece of pasta and a green bean. Logan was right — it was delicious. “Do you want to try mine?”

“Yes, please.” Logan savored a bite of gnocchi. “Delicious. Surprise lunch is going well.”

And it was. Now that they were chatting easily and enjoying amazing food, Delaney began to soften again. Logan had been to the basilica before, after all. Perhaps it was understandable that he’d taken a little time out of the day to work.

They chatted easily as they ate their pasta, then Delaney ordered a tiramisu.

“Nothing for me,” Logan told the waiter.

“Oh, come on. We’re in Italy. The desserts are amazing. You should try something.”

“Fine. I’ll have the… raspberry and pistachio cake.”

“Good choice, sir.” The waiter disappeared with their order.

“Are you determined not to have any fun?” Delaney asked.

“Just because I wasn’t going to order dessert doesn’t mean I’m not having fun.”

“Are you?” Delaney raised her eyebrows. “Or are you working?”

“I can do both.” They looked at each other for a long, intense moment, then Delaney shrugged.

“Anyway, you got dessert, so I’m calling that a win.”

The waiter reappeared with their desserts a few moments later and set them carefully on the table. Delaney tried a bite of her tiramisu, which was absolutely delicious.

“Would you like to try mine?” Delaney asked, looking up from her beautifully cocoa-powder-dusted tiramisu. Logan wasn’t looking at her, though, or at his dessert; he had his phone out again.

“No, thanks.” He typed quickly. “There’s a problem with one of our stocks.” His phone began to ring and he looked at Delaney. “I’ll be right back.”

He got up and walked away without waiting for an answer. Delaney sighed. She shouldn’t have expected anything else, but it was still disappointing that Logan was walking away again. She finished her tiramisu, then, when there was still no sign of Logan returning, she ate half of his raspberry and pistachio cake as well. It was delicious, but less so with no one to share it with.

Delaney waited for several more minutes, but Logan was still nowhere to be found. Finally, she paid the bill and went to look for him. He was sitting on the edge of a small garden wall, engaged in what sounded like a very adversarial conversation with someone on the other end of the line. Just as Delaney was about to try to get his attention, he hung up and stood.

“Hey.” She folded her arms.

“Delaney. Are you ready for the next excursion?” He didn’t apologize for leaving their lunch to take a call. And why should he? For Logan, work was clearly the most important thing. Everything else was secondary.

“I am.” Delaney nodded. “Where to?”

“First, back to the car. Our next stop is a museum, and I think you’ll like it.”

“I like most museums. Art museums, at least.”

“Then you’ll like this.” Logan got out his phone as they walked and began typing again. Delaney looked away, up at the blue sky and around at the beautiful buildings that lined the alley. She didn’t need Logan. She would enjoy this day with or without him.

Delaney half wanted to dislike whatever museum Logan picked, out of principle, but as she strolled through the National Gallery of Modern Art, taking in paintings by artists from Gustav Klimt to Monet to Cézanne, she had to admit that Logan had hit the nail on the head. This was one of the museums she’d read about in college and dreamed of visiting herself one day — and now here she was.

Sure, Logan was busy answering another urgent call from someone at Ordinal, even though by Delaney’s calculation it must have still been very early morning back home, but it didn’t matter. No jerk was going to ruin her enjoyment of this magical place.

After the museum, Logan led the way back to the car and opened Delaney’s door for her. This time, she allowed him to do so. As they drove away, he turned to her with an apologetic expression.

“I’ll need to go back to the hotel and work now.”

“Fair enough.” Delaney considered adding a snide comment about how he liked disappearing, but it wouldn’t have been fair. They’d had a nice day together and, even though he’d worked for most of it, she could understand that he’d have more to do.

“Feel free to order room service for dinner on my account. Or anything else you’d like.”

“Thanks.” Delaney bit her lip. “I had a nice day today.”

“So did I.” They smiled at each other. “I didn’t—” Logan’s phone rang, and he cut himself off mid-sentence as he reached for it. He declined the call but didn’t finish whatever he’d been planning to say.

“What’s the plan for tomorrow?” Delaney asked. “Do you need to work?”

“I’d be happy to see the sights a little more instead.” Logan put his phone back in his pocket.

Delaney hesitated. It had been a nice day, but she still felt torn. “You know… yes, I’d like to. But I want to give you a bit of a challenge.”

“Is it art-analysis related?”

“No.” Delaney grinned. “It’s much harder than that.”

“What?” Logan grinned back.

“I dare you to spend the whole day without your phone.”

Logan scoffed. “I can do that anytime. It’s hardly a challenge. But I do need to keep my phone on me so that I can keep up with work.”

“You know you just contradicted yourself, right?”

“Hardly.”

“Um, yes, you did. So, can you go a day without your phone, or can’t you?”

Logan hesitated, then hedged. “Let me see how much work I get done tonight.”

“That’s what I thought.” Delaney sat back in her seat with a shake of her head. It would be another day of Logan on his phone. Still, it would be nice to spend a little more time exploring the city.

“You think you know me, but you don’t.”

“Ha. I know a lot of things about you.” Delaney raised her eyebrows. “You might think you’re unique, but I can predict everything you’re going to do.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” Logan gave her an appraising look. “All right. I’ll take your dare. But if I go the whole day without my phone, I’ll need something from you.”

“What do you want from me?”

“Forgiveness. I know you hate me after the way I left things. But believe me, I was trying to do the best thing for both of us.”

Delaney sighed. She saw the truth in that, even if she was still upset. “Fine. If — and that’s a big if — you manage to go a whole day without your phone, I’d be happy to forgive you.”

“You’re on.” Logan held out his hand and Delaney shook it. It was the first time they’d touched since that first night, and his warm, firm hand on hers sent shivers up Delaney’s arm. She released him quickly.

They pulled into the hotel drop-off a few minutes later. Logan and Delaney both thanked the driver then got out. The evening was briskly chilly by now, and, though Delaney had planned to go out for dinner, she found Logan’s offer of room service distinctly appealing. They went upstairs and Logan hesitated in the hallway outside her room.

“Breakfast at eight tomorrow?” he asked.

“That sounds good.”

“Are you really going to show up this time?”

Delaney bristled. “Are you really going to come without your phone?”

Logan winked at her as though this were flirtatious banter and not insults being flung back and forth. “It looks like we both have something to prove. All I know is that I always hold up my end of the bargain.”

“We’ll see. Good night, Logan.”

“Good night, Delaney.”

Delaney spent the rest of the evening in the hotel room, trying out the clawfoot tub and ordering a plate of spaghetti carbonara and a side salad on Logan’s room-service account. It was a very relaxing evening after a long and confusing day, which was just what she needed.

As she climbed into the beautiful four-poster bed and turned off the lights, Delaney wondered if Logan would really spend a whole day without his phone. And, if he did, would she really be ready to forgive him? Maybe so. Just maybe…