The Summer I Fell For My Enemy

osed to be my

Italian movie. No textbooks. No grading rubrics. No sleepless nights fueled by panic and cold brew. My best friend, Maya, was already fully committed to the bit, acting like she had been born on a cobblestone street i

flying across her screen with the speed of a professional gamer. "Seriously, Avery, look at this light. The Roman sun is doing th

o the rustic wooden kitchen table. "Please tell me you didn't

aption, stamped under a flawless photo of her tilting her chin toward the horizon, read: Rome, you have my h

onto the vintage velvet sofa. The springs gave a loud, protests-in-Italian squeak under my weig

ntly damage our nervous systems, we were running on fumes. This vacation was our ultimate reward. No professors looking down their noses at our thesis statements, no cutthroat GPA tracking, an

ive knock echoed throu

you order room service? Wait, do Airbnbs even

lf up from the dented velvet. I smoothed down my linen shorts, adjusted the straps of my tank top, and walked over to t

heavy wood

t I think I actually spr

o tall and holding a massive, expensive-looking leathe

ment. The guy who had intentionally stolen my favorite corner desk in the library every single Tuesday morning just to watch my eye

vy hair was perfectly messy, like he had just run his fingers through it after a grueling transatlantic

n genuine shock for a fraction of a second before

s voice dropping into that low, gravelly baritone th

ending the calm, sophisticated persona I had been cultivating for the last two hours. "Are

owned the entire building. "Stalking you? Please, Clark. Don't flatter yourself. I paid for this apartment. Well

opping the literal second her eyes landed on his face. "Oh my god

nod that he probably used on professors to get extensions. "Hi, Maya. Goo

oticed. "Look, Avery, I don't know what kind of administrative glitch happened with the booking here, but there is a zero percent chance I

unadulterated adrenaline was completely ruining my relaxed, vacation mood. My heart was pounding, and it wasn't from the steep Roman stairs. "I am going to call th

luck with that, Avery. It is peak tourist season. Every room from here to Florence is booked solid. But until you figure out your ev

edge of the heavy door and slammed it right in his face, the force of the wo

supposed to be full of romance, historic art, and beautiful, unpredictable surprises. Instead, I

wberries, her eyes wide with a mix of horror and intense ent

ooked at her. "He is g

n, and it was already going to