Free The Five-Day Dig by Jennifer Malin Page B

came in. Liz rushed over to their table. “I’m glad we caught you. I forgot to tell you we’re meeting in the lobby at seven tonight.” She turned to Chaz. “Are you coming with us? The more, the merrier.”
    He looked at Winnie, his expression curious.
    She faltered. If not for her crush on him, she would have seconded the invitation without hesitation – not that she would have expected him to go. He probably had something better lined up for his last night in Italy .
    The realization eased her mind, and she smiled. “We’re going to do the Pompeii night tour. It’s touristy, not scholarly, and I know that you worked on the site one summer, so I guess it’s probably not worth your while.”
    “I’d love to go.” He looked back at Liz, missing the surprised reaction from Winnie. “I spent a little time documenting the site, but ... it’s Pompeii . You never stop learning from a place like that.”
    Liz smiled. “Fabulous. We’ll see you both tonight.”
    Winnie drew in a deep breath. At least they’d be with a group, not alone.
    “If we’re going out tonight, I’d better get my packing done now.” Chaz got up and addressed Winnie. “Are you going upstairs?”
      “I think I’m going shopping. Now that I’m extending my stay, I need a few things.”
    They left the dining area, and he headed for his room while she asked the front-desk clerk about local stores. He told her about a volcano-shaped mall in nearby Nola. Tickled by the idea, she decided to drive to Il Volcano Buono for the day.
    When she got to the mall, she laughed to herself. The replica building, partly covered in sod, looked reasonably realistic, but the concept had a whiff of hubris about it. If she’d had any faith in volcano deities, she would have expected Vesuvius to bury the place and show everyone who was boss.
    Wishing she had someone to share the sight with, she paused to snap a photo with her phone. She accidentally hit the Send button and saw Chaz’s name in her contact list. He would find it hilarious.
    She sent it to him and almost instantly got an LOL message back.
    With Fortuna’s blessings, she finished her errands without an eruption and made it back to the hotel safely.
    On the way out that evening, a different type of disaster threatened when Will Farber spotted the Pompeii party in front of the hotel and asked where they were going. While Chaz explained, Winnie dreaded the prospect of her boss tagging along.
    “Would you like to join us?” Nico asked him, to her dismay.
    Luckily, he declined the invitation. “The Pompeii night tour is a load of schlock cooked up for tourists. It’s hardly the way I’d spend my last night in Italy . I have a dinner meeting at the Grande Albergo Vesuvio in Naples . And since Charles and I are leaving early tomorrow, addio to those of you I won’t see again.”
    Winnie tried not to look too pleased. “ Buon viaggio .”
    As he went inside and the rest of them climbed into Liz’s car, her spirits soared. No more Farber until the next in-service day, a month and an ocean away. She still had other concerns, but suddenly life felt brighter.
    In the backseat, she ended up on the hump squeezed between Chaz and Luca. “ ‘A load of schlock,’ ” she quoted Farber, once everyone was inside. “Never let it be said that my department chair minces words.”
    Liz laughed and backed the car out of the parking spot. “Schlock might be a fair assessment of this extravaganza. We’ll see.”
      Winnie glanced at Chaz. “I guess this isn’t how you’d like to spend your last night in Italy either.”
    Seeing a break in traffic, Liz yanked the car into the road with a lurch, and Winnie fell against his chest.
    He looked down at her and grinned. “I have no complaints.”
    She sat back up and didn’t dare respond. In the rearview mirror, she caught Liz’s laughing eyes watching her. Very funny.
    To her relief, it was a short drive, and her companions had plenty to say about their