Free Everything You Are by Evelyn Lyes

said. “They removed roofs, filled them with dirt and used them as foundations for new buildings. They didn't do that to single buildings, but levelled whole neighbourhoods.”
    “How do you know?” Jane laid her utensils on the empty plate before her and pushed it aside. She was full. She shifted closer to him until the edge of the table dug into her belly. She rested her elbows on the table. “From Discovery channel?” She had learned about really nifty things watching Discovery channel and National Geographic. If she ever found herself stranded in the desert, she knew how to find water, or more accurately, she thought she knew how to find water.
    “Izzy -- you remember my sister?” Ian picked up his glass of white wine and took a sip.
    Jane nodded.
    He lowered the glass and left his hand lying beside it. “She has a travel agency that specialises in extraordinary travel. Her agency got a client, a caver, who wanted to explore the city below. She mentioned how hard it was to find a guide for him and about how much paperwork they had to fill out.”
    She glanced down at her fingers that were just a small distance away from his. She liked his hands. They were strong hands, with long fingers. He had held her hand for a moment when they were in the Colosseum, to pull her with him past a group of tourists. His hold was strong but gentle, and his big hand fit so well with hers. She was tempted to tiptoe her fingers closer and to push his fingers up and backwards until her palm was pressed against his, as if she were comparing their hand sizes.
    “...we could go there now.”
    “Huh?” She lifted her eyes.
    “San Clemente, the basilica. It's near here. It has stairs that lead into the lower area.” His hand wrapped around hers. He stood up, tugged her up and around the table. “I don't know if it's open, or if the lower area is open to the public, but it doesn't hurt to try, right?”
    “Yes,” she agreed, staring down at his hand.
    “Okay. Let's try our luck, then.” He led her away from the table. He released her hand when they got downstairs, where he paid for their meal, but when they stepped onto the street, his big hand again found hers again and he laced their fingers.
    The warmth of his touch sent small tremors up her spine. She should have wiggled her fingers out of his grip, but it felt so nice to be holding hands with him. “How will we find it?”
    “I'll Google it.” With his free hand, Ian took his phone out of his jacket pocket,
    Jane looked at their hands again. If he weren’t her boss, and if they weren't on a business trip, she might really think that they were on a date. She snorted. As if she would ever be able to spark an interest in a rich player like Ian, who preferred girls totally different to her.
     
    #
     
    The door of the library opened and Jane, who sat in a chair in the living room across the hallway, rose. When Ian had told her that she needed an evening dress for dinner, she had assumed they were invited to a party or to dinner in a high-end restaurant, not to a dinner in a family circle of ten.
    Mr. Antonio, an elderly man, walked through the door of the library, Ian right behind him. The blond smiled at her.
    She hoped that meant that his business dealings were over and they were going home soon. It was already past midnight; she was tired and the food from the three-course meal that lasted from eight to ten weighted her stomach almost painfully. The food was delicious, but she wasn't used to eating so late, and to please the hostess she had forced herself to eat everything they set before her. It was a good thing that they hadn’t bought that blue dress, because if she had been in a corset, she would probably be having trouble breathing.
    Ian gestured for her to join him. “Are you tired?”
    “A little.”
    Giuseppe, a back-haired man of about her age, appeared by their side and accompanied them to the entrance, where he took hold of her hand and invaded her personal