When she finishes her answer, silence reigns and the questions that hang in the air are obvious.
Could they choose each other?
Haven’t they already decided not to?
Bianca avoids those questions neatly, changing the subject. “Speaking of degrees, I don’t think I ever asked, why didn’t you do your PhD in Archaeology? That seems like the more natural next step, no?”
“I’ve been studying archaeology since I was eighteen years old – before that really, I was fascinated as a kid.”
“So you just got tired of it?”
“No. I love it, but I never really understood the guys who got off on the find. It’s not about the find. It’s about the history, about getting a more complete picture of what came before us. We’ve dug up so much in the last thousand years and it’s all just sitting in museums, taken away from the people it belonged to in the first place and it’s not right. If I can play even a small role in righting that wrong, then it’s all worth it.”
“But the job in Greece, it’s a dig?”
“Ongoing restoration, really. It’s one piece of a larger project. The group I’ll be working for funds both archaeological and repatriation work.”
“So it was basically designed for you.”
“Not . . . not specifically for me, but yeah, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do. It felt like a fucking miracle when Paolo called me and said he’d pitched me to the group and they wanted me to be the face of things.”
“Wow.”
“He’s on the older side, not up to the amount of travel it’ll take, plus apparently I look the part.”
“Xavier . . . did you get this job because you look like Harrison Ford?”
“I don’t look like Harrison Ford,” he grumbles, since it’s not the first time someone has made that comparison.
“It’s more a vibe thing than an actual resemblance. You look like what Harrison Ford would look like if he was thirty right now.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“I think you do,” she challenges with a grin.
“My nose isn’t crooked.” It’s a weak protest and he knows it.
Her grin just widens. “Haven’t been getting into fights with any Nazis?”
“Maybe I have, maybe I just don’t let them get a punch in.”
“Truly the only way to deal with a Nazi. Punch first, ask questions later.”
“Amen.”
“So they liked the Harrison Ford look, too.”
“What?”
“For the job?” she asks.
He lets out a groan from deep in his chest, but she just laughs.
“You’re the one who brought it up. Don’t worry, I’m sure you didn’t just get it because you’re pretty.”
“Never occurred to me that I did.”
“Sure.”
