What Happens Abroad Read Online Free

be on my own again. I undressed in the dark, remembering the way Hunter’s hands had lingered on my hips when he kissed me.
    I shook my head, hopping into bed. There was no point thinking about him. Besides, it wasn’t like I’d have another chance with him. The universe wasn’t that cruel.

Chapter Four
    Sarah woke me up with her singing in the shower. Well, I can’t really call it singing; the girl was belting like she was some jazz starlet, and it was hard to wake up angry with a smoky rendition of “My Way” seeping under the door. I wandered down the hall to the kitchen, hoping for coffee.
    Joelle was standing there, looking through the cupboards. I paused in the doorway, not sure what to say to her after all the true confessions last night, but she barely looked at me as she slammed the cupboard door and sank down onto the kitchen stool. “Damn it,” she growled, and I took a tentative step out of the kitchen.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” I asked from the safe distance of the hall.
    â€œNo one thought to buy coffee.”
    I shrugged. “We can get some on our way out, right?”
    Sarah appeared behind me, scrunching her long red hair with a towel. “She may have an amazing internal clock, but she’s also heavily dependent on caffeine. We better get the girl some espresso, and fast.”
    â€œI’ll shower quickly,” I promised. Joelle just groaned.
    I hopped into the shower, but I didn’t bother washing my hair. I got dressed in a hurry, pulling my hair back in a brown-and-red-striped scarf. It wasn’t like we were doing anything fancy today; before we’d gone to bed last night, Sarah, Joelle, and I had decided that we would hit some museums and do a little shopping. They wanted to find Michelangelo’s
David
, and I was itching to see the huge Botticelli housed at the Uffizi Gallery, so it sounded like a good plan.
    Joelle looked even crankier than when I’d first woken up, and Sarah and I hustled her to the elevator without saying a word.
    Riding down in the little gold cage was a strange experience, and I kept glancing up nervously, wondering if the elevator was really safe. It looked at least a hundred years old, but we got to the ground floor in one piece, so I didn’t complain.
    Joelle burst through the door to the street like the Hulk, and Sarah and I exchanged a glance. Fighting back a giggle, I pointed to the coffee shop on the corner, but Joelle was way ahead of me. When we’d all ordered tiny cups of espresso, Joelle started to become a bit more human. She tossed back her coffee like a shot and her eyes opened.
    â€œDamn, we really need to buy some coffee!”
    I laughed. “I had no idea you were such a fiend.”
    She nodded. “I work at a coffee shop back home, and my brother’s always called me Cuppa Jo.”
    Sarah leaned on the table. “This is the brother who just got married?”
    Joelle nodded. “Right.”
    I sipped my coffee, wondering if she were going to tell us more about the girl she’d met at the wedding, but she didn’t.
    Sarah sighed dreamily. “I love weddings.”
    Joelle grinned. “This one was pretty spectacular. Petra—that’s my brother’s wife—had a fairy-tale dress, and the party afterward was a lot of fun.”
    We finished our coffee in happy silence, but then Sarah pulled out a map. “If we’re doing the museums today, we should have a plan.”
    I nodded, leaning forward and trying to orient myself. “The Uffizi is my priority.”
    Sarah nodded. “We should be able to do the paintings and the David, and still have time to explore. I’m dying to try real gelato!”
    Wandering into the sunshine, I glanced at my companions. Even though I hadn’t known them for long, it was nice not to be alone. Together, we chatted and laughed as we made our way through the streets of Florence to the first museum.