After breakfast, Haley was suddenly exhausted once more. She covered a yawn with a fist, and felt her shirt rising and exposing her tummy.

Luc's eyes drifted down as her flesh was exposed, unable to help himself. He was finding himself more and more distracted by Haley, the more time they spent together, which was the opposite of how things usually progressed for him. Normally, when he met someone new, he was quite enamored of them initially, their face, their body, their voice, whatever, but he found that, as time went on, he was less interested in anything about them, what they had to say, whatever.

Haley seemed to have bewitched him somehow, from her adorable feet, up to her delectable belly button, her beautiful, round breasts, and up to her cherubic face, including those hypnotic eyes.

He tore his gaze away and looked out the window, hoping she hadn't noticed him staring.

"You know, unless there's somewhere we have to be, I think I'll take a little nap, if that's okay?" Haley asked, covering another yawn. "I'm absolutely exhausted, I just need a couple of hours."

"Of course, I have no plans today," Luc responded, relieved to have a reason to look at her once more. "I actually thought it would be fun to do a little sightseeing today, since I do have engagements starting tomorrow."

"Sounds like fun, but won't you, um, get recognized and chased and stuff?"

Luc laughed. "That sort of thing doesn't happen so much in Europe, though it can. I'll be careful, wear a hat and so forth, I think we'll be okay."

Haley shrugged. "Sounds great to me, just let me get on the other side of a nap first."

Luc rose and came around to help Haley with her chair, another gesture she found utterly charming, like when he held the door for her.

She murmured her thanks and rose.

He gestured down the hallway after grabbing her pull case, and Haley walked in front of him, unsure which room was hers.

"Just there, to your left," Luc said.

Haley opened the door and entered, admiring the furnishings and the fresh view which greeted her.

The bed was huge and looked fluffy and comfortable, and she could see her own en suite through an open door with an absolutely enormous bathtub.

"Wow, this is gorgeous, thank you so much," she told Luc, who stood just in the doorway.

"Be sure you change into your pajamas," he admonished. "You can't feel well rested if you sleep in your clothes."

Haley saluted him as he closed the door, obediently found her pjs and put them on before sliding gratefully into bed.

She slipped quickly into oblivion as sleep overtook her, and the next thing she knew, the sun was in a different place and it was nearly noon.

Haley rolled over, knowing she could easily sleep the afternoon away. She knew also that she'd never get over her jet lag if she did this, and forced herself to get out of bed. She took a quick shower and put on a sundress with blue sea horses on it before exiting her room in search of Luc.

The aroma of that fantastic coffee found her, and she followed it to the lounge, where Luc was waiting for her with a fresh cup and cream.

"Oh, Luc, that smells fantastic, how did you know I'd be waking up exactly now?" Haley asked, reaching for the cup with gratitude.

"I was going to wake you up at noon if you hadn't come out," he confessed, pouring himself a cup as well.

To his eyes, Haley was a vision, her face freshly washed, eyes still slightly heavy with sleep. Her dress left her shoulders and arms exposed, and she looked like exactly what she was, a young American student in Europe for the summer.

"What?" This time Haley had indeed caught him staring at her.

Luc shook his head. "Nothing. You're a very pretty girl, that's all." He lifted a sheaf of her hair, which she'd left down to dry, over her shoulder.

"Well, uh, thank you," Haley finally managed, feeling unaccountably shy for some reason. She was suddenly glad she'd shaved her legs, and chosen matching seahorse earrings.

She looked up at Luc, realizing how close they were standing. She took a step back to compensate, and took a swallow of coffee for something to do.

"So, what's on the agenda for this afternoon?" she asked, setting her empty coffee cup down. "And I want you to know that you don't have to entertain me if you have things to do."

"No no, like I said, I'm free today, and at your disposal," Luc said, bowing gallantly. "Let's go out and see the city a little bit. Of course we won't have time to see everything, but we can walk around a little, get some lunch and a gelato or something."

"Sounds fabulous, I'm hungry," Haley said with a smile. "Let's go."

"Hungry again already?" Luc laughed. "Marvelous. Let's get you fed."

They took the elevator down in silence, and Haley was struck again by how good Luc smelled. From head to toe he seemed to exude one sort of masculine aroma or another, from his conditioner to his deodorant to his cologne. She scooted a little closer to him so she could smell it better. She surreptitiously looked at him, admiring the planes of his face. He'd obviously taken the time to shave while she slept, as the angle of his saw was so smooth and sharp it could have cut glass. She looked away before he caught her staring.

They stepped out into the bright Roman sunshine, into the hustle and bustle of people running errands, going on dates, or maybe, like them, simply taking in the sights and enjoying the day.

The streets were actual cobblestones where they were, and Haley was glad she wasn't wearing heels.

They passed a cheesemonger, with huge wheels of cheese in the window and hanging outside from nets.

"Do you suppose I could take a picture?" Haley asked. The colors were pretty.

Luc asked the proprietor, an old man with a belly and huge white mustache.

He grinned and nodded, saying something to Luc. He then turned to Haley and said in heavily accented English, "For one kiss, you can take picture, okay?" And he pointed to his cheek.

Haley leaned in and pecked the gentleman's cheek, smiling.

"Okay?"

"Okay," he repeated.

Haley got a picture of the man standing in his doorway, colorful wheels of cheese surrounding him. Behind him the counters gleamed, with cheese covering nearly every square inch of space.

"Thank you," she told him with another smile.

"Any time, pretty pretty girl," the man responded, blowing her a kiss.

He shouted something to Luc as they were walking away, and Luc responded, laughing, waving a hand at the man.

"What? What did he say?" Haley asked as they walked down the street.

"Nothing. He, um, just wanted to know if you were my girlfriend," Luc responded, shaking his head.

"Oh."

They continued down the thoroughfare, and Luc found himself having to resist the urge to take her hand, or slide his arm around her waist or bare shoulder.

Haley turned heads wherever they went, though the Italian men were at least polite enough not to accost her when she was with Luc. Her blonde hair bounced as she walked, turning her head to see this or that.

She took more pictures, of a flower shop and a greengrocer, after asking permission first.

"Would you like to see some place more modern?" Luc asked as they sat at a cafe and ordered lunch. Some place where you could shop for clothes or handbags or whatever?"

Haley shook her head decisively. "I couldn't afford to buy anything, anyway," she said. "This is so much better, so much more fun, to see how normal people live their lives, you know?"

The waiter appeared with their food, mushroom pasta for Haley and pizza for Luc.

"Oh, yum, look at that!" Haley declared, picking up her fork in anticipation. "God, has anything ever smelled so good?"

Luc smiled at her as he selected a slice of his pizza. "I agree. I'm famished, and this pizza smells meravigliosa."

"Can I try a bite? I'll trade you a bite of mine," Haley offered.

Luc held out the slice, and Haley took a bite.

Then she held out a forkful of her pasta for Luc to try.

"Very good, yes," Luc agreed. "Thank you."

Haley looked around as she ate, taking in the street scene in front of her. "It's the most incredible thing that I'm here," she finally declared, smiling at Luc. "I know you're going to get tired of hearing me say this, but thank you, for all of this." She gestured around herself with her fork.

"And you'll certainly get tired of me saying that it's my pleasure, honestly. I don't remember a more enjoyable afternoon. You're wonderful company."

Haley looked at him and blinked. "Thanks for that, as well," she finally said. "So, where to next?"

"How about the Spanish Steps? And gelato?"

Haley shivered pleasurably. "Yes, and yes. Let's go!"