Free The Five-Day Dig by Jennifer Malin

experimental archaeology, we might as well be drunk for it.”
    Laughing, he flipped through her book. “Instead of ‘In vino veritas ,’ our motto will be ‘In cerevisia veritas’ : ‘In beer, there is truth.’ ”
    “Good one. Anything else?”
    “Dunk mentioned you’re going to be a priestess for the reenactment segment of the episode.”
    Her jaw dropped. “Oh, no, I’m not. I’m taking a background role, if any.”
    “You’re the only one who speaks Latin well enough to lead the rituals.”
    She weighed the point, then shook her head. “Wouldn’t doing them in English make the segment more accessible to viewers?”
    “I hadn’t thought about that.” He closed her book and set it aside on the mattress. “I’ll be a supplicant begging for your favor. Of course, I’m used to that role.”
    Since he had been an ace student and a top-notch assistant, the remark was absurd – or laced with double entendre. “Oh, please!” She snatched up her book and put it on the nightstand. “Didn’t you learn anything relevant to the dig itself?”
    “Not much. One thing is that Signore Rentino is limiting the area where we can excavate. Enza is furious with him.”
    She shrugged. “We only have five days to excavate, anyway. How much can we get done in that time?”
    “Also, their house is being prepared for us to shift into. It will be much more posh than this place.” He looked around again. “My room here is even smaller than yours.”
    “Well, it’s time for you to get back to it.” She went to the door and opened it. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
      He took his time about getting up, smiling pointedly at her as he did.
    That was when she knew for sure that he was every bit as conscious of the intimacy of the setting as she was – and that her nervousness about it amused him.
    “ Buona notte , Chaz.”
    “ Buona nott e, Winnie.” His gaze locked on hers. “Remember: We’re meeting for breakfast.”
    She couldn’t hold his stare. “Right.”
    As soon as he exited, she shut the door and locked it.
    Egads. She combed her fingers through her hair. He had always been a bit of a flirt, but before this trip she had shrugged off his wisecracks without any thought. She still didn’t believe for a second that her own misplaced lust was requited. He was teasing her, and she was feeding the joke by responding like a schoolgirl.
    Now they were lined up to work side-by-side on an intense project in a foreign country. The temptation would be to stick close to him, but she couldn’t let him get any further under her skin. She had to back away. Having breakfast with him the next morning might be OK, but the late-night visits to her room and the car rides alone with him had to stop.
    Sighing, she went into the small bathroom off her room and splashed cold water on her face. On top of all her other qualms about doing “The Five-Day Dig,” she couldn’t believe she was battling a crush on her TA.
    She wondered what had really happened on his date with Enza Rentino. Even if the girl was a little starstruck by Dunk, it seemed unlikely she’d be attracted to a guy the same age as her father. Maybe she’d keep seeing Chaz, and he wouldn’t have time to hound Winnie. Then Winnie could console herself by flirting with Domenico.
    For the sake of her dignity, she hoped so.

 

     

     
    S ETTE

     
    F IRST THING IN the morning, Winnie checked e-mail and text messages. Sam still hadn’t responded, but she had a message from Liz inviting her to accompany the Weiland U crew that evening on a light-and-sound tour of Pompeii .
    At first she wanted to bow out. Her family had gone to Pompeii on that fatal vacation, and she still felt reluctant to return to the places they’d visited. On the other hand, she had wonderful memories of the ancient town, and if she went tonight, she would be visiting in the dark, which would be a different experience. She’d also been handling Italy well so far. Why not push herself a