14
ISABELLA
It was the day of the wedding and I had to admit that I was infected by the spirit of romance. The city exuded romantic charm, and weddings had always made me full of hope for a life filled with epic love. The kind of love this particular city was known for—minus the poison, of course.
Despite Parker’s warped view of romance on our first day here, I suspected even he was feeling the effect of it all around us. I stared at him standing next to Josh and found him looking back at me with a surprisingly soft expression on his handsome face. I wondered if it was possible for a guy like him to get caught up in the whirlwind of love.
From what I knew about him, I wasn’t even sure if he believed in love. He seemed like the type who believed in it for one night but not for a lifetime. It didn’t matter to me if he believed in it right now, though.
I was sitting in an ancient chapel, in what had to be one of the most beautiful cities on the planet, listening to the officiant speaking about finding one’s true love, and I, for one, was swooning. It didn’t hurt that I felt like the heroine in a romance novel, wearing a vibrant red dress that had had Parker staring at me since I’d come out of the bathroom with it on.
The electricity that seemed to pass between us whenever our eyes met and the lingering glances while the officiant preached about love finding you when you least expected it sure made it feel like this could be the start of our story. Ourromancestory, whether or not he appreciated the finer nuances of actual romance.
All of it made me conveniently able to forget that I was already married to my job and fantasize about the day when I was swept off my feet by a dashing hero. Parker certainly looked dashing enough in his tuxedo, and I was enjoying being the woman on his arm this week.
I smiled when my gaze landed on his again, and the corners of his lips twitched up in response. Shining in through the open windows that were no more than holes left between the stones, the late afternoon sunlight illuminated him from behind, making him seem like a fallen angel encased in a golden glow.
Dear Lord, I really need to get a grip on reality again.This place was turning me into a dreamy doe-eyed girl who was going to have a hell of a time fitting back into her real life. Soon enough, we’d be flying away from here again, and when that time came, I’d have no choice but to go back to what I was starting to realize was a pretty miserable existence. While we were still here, I planned on making the most of being the girly girl in the pretty dress with the roguishly handsome boy having eyes for her and only her.
Good God, woman. He’s still your client. I mentally swatted at the internal voice trying her damnedest to kill my good mood.Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily, life is but a dream.
I’d had a rough go of it so far.So fuck it. I’m leaning into the girly girl thing for now.
Parker caught my gaze and held it as the couple recited their vows. My bones turned to mashed potatoes when he tossed me a cheeky wink as they kissed. Instead of fanning myself before I fainted, I did something I’d never done before.
I flirted right back with him, sending him a coy smile before blowing him a kiss. I laughed quietly when his eyes nearly popped out of his head. Then I turned my attention back to the happy couple. Josh dipped her down low and kissed the living daylights out of his new wife.
After the beautiful ceremony wrapped up, Parker descended the few steps at the front of the chapel and offered me his arm. “Have I mentioned yet that I have the most ravishing date here? You clean up well, Atkins.”
“Funny. I’ve thought the same thing about you,” I admitted. “You’re looking pretty ravishing yourself, Holmes.”
“Thank you.” He flashed me an adorably satisfied smile. “Shall we?”
“We shall.” I linked my arm with his and rested my hand on his forearm, trying not to cop a feel of the rock-hard muscle hiding underneath all those layers of couture. Needing to distract myself from my uncharacteristically lustful thoughts, I kept my eyes firmly fixed on the receiving line being formed by all the guests outside.
“Did you have a chance to look over the—”
He groaned, cutting me off. “Not today, Iz. Please? I kept my promise. We’ve been working more than we’ve been doing anything else. Today, can we please just be normal people?”
“We’re normal people every day.”
“Nope, we’ve been working like two crazy scientists trying to find the cure for a disease threatening the continued existence of mankind.”
“Wait, that’s not what normal people do?” I joked. “Plus, you’re forgetting that we’ve spent almost as much time messing around and sightseeing as we have on work.”
His free hand flew to his chest. “Messing around? There’s been no messing on your watch, unless I just haven’t been invited. Your pillow wall remains intact.”
“Do you have to turn everything into a dirty joke?” I asked, following up the question with a pretend sigh. “We have been messing around. Just yesterday, we went on a Segway tour and ended up racing each other.”
“That wasn’t messing around. It was speed sightseeing.”
“What about the water pistol fight at the Aquapark?”
“Wet sightseeing.”
“The flamenco dancing lesson?”
“Immersing ourselves in local culture.”