Rome was supposed to be my clean slate.

It was supposed to be three months of absolutely zero academic responsibilities, endless scoops of pistachio gelato, and looking aggressively chic in silk headscarves while pretending I was the main character in an old 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 instead of a suburb in New Jersey. She was currently leaning dangerously far out the floor-to-ceiling window of our tiny rented apartment, holding her phone at a precise forty-five-degree angle to catch the afternoon sun.

"If I don't post a photo of this balcony in the next five minutes, did we even actually cross the Atlantic?" Maya asked, her thumb flying across her screen with the speed of a professional gamer. "Seriously, Avery, look at this light. The Roman sun is doing things for my skin that my thousand-dollar multi-step skincare routine could never achieve. I look like a glowing, ethereal goddess."

I laughed, tossing my oversized tortoise-shell sunglasses onto the rustic wooden kitchen table. "Please tell me you didn't use the caption I think you used. Spare the internet, Maya."

"Of course I did," she beamed, spinning around on her espadrilles to flash her screen in my direction. The caption, stamped under a flawless photo of her tilting her chin toward the horizon, read: Rome, you have my heart. "It is a classic. It is timeless. It is very Emily Cooper chic, and I will not apologize for romance."

"It is a cliché, but I will allow it because we actually made it here alive," I said, collapsing onto the vintage velvet sofa. The springs gave a loud, protests-in-Italian squeak under my weight, but I didn't care. I kicked off my white sneakers and stretched my legs across the cushions.

We had spent the last two years surviving the most grueling college semesters known to humanity. Between the endless essays, the competitive literature seminars, and enough espresso to permanently 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, and absolutely no overachievers trying to make everyone else look bad. For the first time since I could remember, Avery Clark had absolutely nothing to prove to anyone. I was just a girl in Italy.

Then, a sharp, aggressive knock echoed through the apartment door.

Maya froze, her phone hovering mid-air. "Did you order room service? Wait, do Airbnbs even have room service? Is that a thing in Europe?"

"Maybe it is the landlord bringing us those welcome pastries he promised in his check-in message," I said, pushing myself up from the dented velvet. I smoothed down my linen shorts, adjusted the straps of my tank top, and walked over to the door. I pasted on my best, most polite American tourist smile, determined to be the most charming version of myself.

I swung the heavy wooden door open.

My smile vanished so fast I think I actually sprained a muscle in my jaw.

Standing in the dimly lit hallway, looking entirely too tall and holding a massive, expensive-looking leather duffel bag over one broad shoulder, was Julian Vance.

Yes, that Julian Vance. The exact guy who had spent the last three years competing with me for the top spot in our university department. The guy who had intentionally stolen my favorite corner desk in the library every single Tuesday morning just to watch my eye twitch. The guy whose arrogant, devastatingly handsome smirk had fueled ninety percent of my academic rage since freshman orientation.

He was wearing a plain black t-shirt that showed off way too much shoulder definition, and his dark, wavy hair was perfectly messy, like he had just run his fingers through it after a grueling transatlantic flight. He looked like he belonged in a high-end clothing ad, which only made me want to punch him more.

He looked down at me, his icy blue eyes widening in genuine shock for a fraction of a second before they narrowed into a familiar, infuriating squint.

"You have got to be kidding me," Julian muttered, his voice dropping into that low, gravelly baritone that always sounded like he was lecturing a courtroom.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded. My voice rose a little too quickly, completely pretending the calm, sophisticated persona I had been cultivating for the last two hours. "Are you literally stalking me across continents now, Julian? Is this some kind of sick joke?"

Julian let out a dry, humorless laugh, shifting his weight onto one leg and leaning against the doorframe like he owned the entire building. "Stalking you? Please, Clark. Don't flatter yourself. I paid for this apartment. Well, technically my uncle owns the entire building, and he told me I had the top-floor suite for the entire summer."

Maya popped her head out from around the kitchen wall, her jaw dropping the literal second her eyes landed on his face. "Oh my god. It is the nemesis. The actual campus villain has invaded Italy."

Julian glanced past my shoulder, giving Maya a polite, perfectly practiced nod that he probably used on professors to get extensions. "Hi, Maya. Good to see you too. Glad to know I am still the main topic of conversation."

He turned his icy gaze back to me, crossing his arms over his chest. The fabric of his shirt stretched over his arms, and I hated that I noticed. "Look, Avery, I don't know what kind of administrative glitch happened with the booking here, but there is a zero percent chance I am sharing a hallway with you for the next three months. I came to Rome to get away from university stress, not to live next door to it."

"Oh, believe me, the feeling is entirely mutual," I snapped, taking a defiant step forward so we were nearly toe-to-toe in the threshold. The sudden rush of pure, 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 the rental platform right now. There is no way I am letting your giant ego ruin my Italian summer. I will find a new place before I spend July looking at your face."

Julian smirked, that same annoying, hyper-confident expression that usually meant he had just aced an exam I got an A-minus on. "Good luck with that, Avery. It is peak tourist season. Every room from here to Florence is booked solid. But until you figure out your evacuation plan, try not to stare at me too much when we cross paths. I know it is hard for you to keep your eyes off the competition."

I didn't even give him the satisfaction of a verbal comeback. I grabbed the edge of the heavy door and slammed it right in his face, the force of the wood hitting the frame rattling the vintage picture frames on our kitchen wall.

I leaned my back against the door, closing my eyes and taking a deep, shuddering breath. Rome was supposed to be full of romance, historic art, and beautiful, unpredictable surprises. Instead, I was trapped on the third floor of an ancient building, sharing a wall with my actual worst enemy.

Maya walked over, holding out a half-eaten container of strawberries, her eyes wide with a mix of horror and intense entertainment. "Well. So much for a relaxing, drama-free summer."

I opened my eyes and looked at her. "He is going to pay for this."

The summer had officially begun, and it was already going to be a total, absolute disaster.

The next morning arrived with a blinding shaft of Roman sunlight that cut straight through the gaps in our wooden window shutters, hitting me directly in the eyes. I groaned, pulling the thin linen sheet over my face, desperately wishing I could block out the reality of where I was.

For a single, blissful second, my brain remained in a state of peaceful amnesia. I was just a girl on vacation in Italy. Then, the ancient terracotta floorboards right outside our bedroom door gave a loud, heavy creak, followed by the distinct, low rumble of a throat clearing.

Julian.

I bolted upright in bed, my heart instantly snapping into high-alert combat mode. Maya was still sound asleep on the twin bed across from me, a faint, peaceful snore escaping her lips, completely oblivious to the fact that our academic tormentor was currently pacing around our living room.

I checked my phone. It was barely seven in the morning. I rubbed my aching temples, grabbed my laptop from the nightstand, and opened up every single travel and rental app I had downloaded. I didn't care if it was peak tourist season. I didn't care if Rome was completely packed. There had to be a spare room, a couch, a literal broom closet available somewhere within a twenty-mile radius of the Colosseum. I was not going to spend my summer vacation sharing a wall with the guy who had spent the last three years trying to ruin my GPA.

For forty-five minutes, I scrolled through page after page, my thumbs flying across the trackpad in a frantic rhythm.

Sold out. Sold out. Unavailable for your selected dates.

I finally managed to find a tiny, questionable studio apartment near the main train station. It had terrible reviews and looked like it hadn't been updated since the nineteen-seventies, but I didn't care. It was Julian-free territory. The moment I aggressively clicked the book button, a flashing red error message popped up across my screen: We are sorry, but this property was just reserved by another traveler.

I let out a loud, frustrated sigh, slamming the laptop lid shut with a definitive click. Julian's smug, arrogant warning from yesterday afternoon echoed in my ears. Every single decent room from here to Florence really was booked solid for the summer. I was officially trapped in this beautiful, frustrating friction trap of an apartment.

My stomach let out a loud, traitorous growl right then, reminding me that I hadn't eaten a real meal since the stale airport pretzels yesterday afternoon.

Giving up on the digital hunt, I threw off the sheets. I was wearing a slightly oversized, faded university t-shirt and a pair of short gray lounge shorts. My hair was undoubtedly a wild bird's nest, but I was too hungry and too determined to care about my appearance. I needed caffeine, and I needed it immediately if I was going to survive the day.

I quietly cracked open our bedroom door, stepping out onto the cool terracotta tiles of the shared space, and slipped into the kitchen area.

I took two steps toward the counter and froze dead in my tracks.

Standing in front of the silver espresso machine, completely backlit by the golden morning sun streaming through the open French windows, was Julian.

And he was wearing next to nothing.

He was in a pair of low-slung, dark gray sweatpants, and absolutely nothing else. No shirt. No shoes. Just a ridiculous, uncalled-for expanse of tanned skin, broad shoulders, and sculpted back muscles that looked like they belonged on a marble statue in the Vatican museum. As he turned around, holding a freshly brewed ceramic espresso cup, the morning light caught the incredibly sharp, defined lines of his abs.

My brain completely short-circuited. The sheer physical presence of him in such a small space was overwhelming. I stood there clutching the kitchen doorframe, staring like a total idiot.

Julian raised an eyebrow, his icy blue eyes slowly sweeping down my mismatched sleepwear and messy hair before a slow, deeply infuriating smirk spread across his face.

"Like what you see, Clark?" he asked, his voice rough and incredibly deep with sleep. He took a slow, agonizingly deliberate sip of his espresso, leaning his bare hip against the edge of the kitchen counter. "Because if you're going to stand there and objectify me at seven in the morning, the least you could do is make me a piece of toast."

The spell broke instantly. The sheer, unadulterated arrogance of his voice replaced my temporary shock with pure, hot rage.

"In your dreams, Vance," I snapped, finding my footing and marching over to the counter, intentionally keeping a strict two feet of distance between us. "I was actually looking to see if you had an ounce of basic human decency, but clearly, you left your shirts and your manners back in America."

"It is thirty degrees Celsius in Rome already, Avery. I am in my own apartment," he reasoned, tilting his head with a mocking half-smile that made me want to throw something at him. "Well, my uncle's apartment. If you can't handle a little skin, you're welcome to keep your eyes glued to the floor tiles. I know they're very historic."

"I can handle it just fine," I lied through my teeth, fiercely focusing my gaze on the silver espresso machine instead of his collarbones. "What I can't handle is your presence. Move out of the way. I need to make coffee before I lose my mind."

"Be my guest," Julian said, stepping slightly to the side but not actually leaving the narrow kitchen space. Our elbows were practically parallel, and the heat radiating off his bare shoulder was completely distracting as I reached for the bag of local coffee beans we had bought at the airport yesterday.

I picked up the silver Italian moka pot sitting on the stove, trying to figure out how to open the chamber. I twisted it to the left, but the metal wouldn't budge an inch. I gripped it tighter, my knuckles turning white, trying to force it open with sheer willpower.

"You're turning it the wrong way," Julian murmured, his voice infuriatingly calm and way too close to my ear.

"I am not turning it the wrong way," I hissed, giving the metal another violent, stubborn wrench. "I know how a coffee maker works, Julian. I have a higher GPA than you do, remember?"

"By point-zero-two percent, Clark. And that was before the finals were graded," he countered, stepping closer into my personal space. Before I could protest or step back, his large, warm hand clamped down directly over mine on the handle of the moka pot. His skin was smooth and entirely too warm, sending a weird, sudden jolt of electricity straight up my arm that made my breath hitch. "Look. It twists clockwise to open. Stop trying to break my uncle's kitchen appliances."

With a gentle, effortless nudge of his fingers over mine, the metal chamber clicked open smoothly.

I instantly yanked my hand out from under his, my face burning hotter than the Roman sun outside. I grabbed the coffee grounds, intentionally ignoring the smug look of triumph dancing in his eyes.

"I knew that," I muttered under my breath, dumping a spoon of coffee into the filter with a little too much force, causing a few dark grinds to spill all over the clean counter.

"Clearly," Julian chuckled, setting his empty espresso cup into the tiny sink. He leaned in just a fraction closer, his breath brushing the top of my messy hair as he looked down at me. "By the way, I saw you on your laptop earlier through the hallway window reflection. Find any open Airbnbs?"

I stiffened, gripping the coffee spoon tightly in my fist. "That is absolutely none of your business, Vance."

"So that's a definite no," he concluded, his tone dripping with effortless victory. He straightened up to his full, intimidating height, turning toward his bedroom door. "Have fun making your coffee, Avery. Try not to burn the building down. We have a very long summer ahead of us."

He walked away, his bare back muscles flexing with every single step before his bedroom door clicked shut behind him, leaving the living room completely silent.

I stared at the closed wood, my chest heaving as I finally let out the breath I had been holding since I walked into the room. I looked down at the spilled coffee grounds on the counter, then out the window at the beautiful city outside.

The academic rivalry was officially dead. This was a completely different kind of war, and as I listened to the sound of his shower turning on through the thin plaster wall, I realized I was losing horribly.

"If you stare at that espresso machine any harder, Avery, it is going to spontaneously combust," Maya noted, shifting her weight as she strapped on a pair of sky-blue espadrilles. She looked effortless, her hair twisted up into a claw clip, a silk scarf knotted around the handle of her canvas tote bag. "Come on. The apartment is officially a hazard zone. We are leaving. I found a café online that is supposed to have the best pastries in the Monti district."

I didn't need to be told twice. The sound of running water from Julian's shower was still echoing through the thin walls, a constant reminder that my mortal enemy was currently naked just a few feet away. I threw on a white linen sundress, slipped into my favorite leather slides, and practically sprinted out the front door before he could even turn off the faucet.

Ten minutes later, the crisp morning air and the scent of blooming jasmine fading into fresh espresso vapor completely washed away my kitchen panic.

The café, Caffè delizioso, was everything I had envisioned for my Italian summer. It was tucked into a quiet, sun-dappled alleyway, its outdoor seating area framed by sprawling ivy vines. Small round marble tables spilled onto the cobblestones, occupied by stylish locals reading newspapers and sipping tiny cups of espresso while smoking thin cigarettes.

"See?" Maya said, sliding into a wrought-iron chair and immediately adjusting her sunglasses to look across the alley. "This is the vibe. No stress. No economics. Just us and a metric ton of carbs."

I smiled, finally letting my shoulders drop. I ordered a classic cappuccino and a cornetto al cioccolato from a remarkably polite waiter whose jawline looked like a work of art. For a solid twenty minutes, everything was perfect. The coffee was rich, the pastry was flaky and warm, and Julian Vance did not exist.

Until he did.

"You know, for someone who claims to be a serious student of literature, you really don't possess any situational awareness," a smooth, deeply familiar voice drawled from behind my left shoulder.

My pastry froze halfway to my mouth.

I turned my head slowly. Julian was standing right there on the cobblestones. He had clearly finished his shower, his dark hair still damp and curling slightly at the nape of his neck. He was wearing a fresh white linen button-down shirt, the top three buttons casually undone, and a pair of tailored navy shorts. Under his arm, he was clutching a thick, printed stack of stapled papers that I recognized instantly from campus.

"Are you tracking my phone, Julian? Because this is getting illegal," I said, setting my pastry down with a sharp thud.

"Please, Clark. I have lived in this city for exactly twenty-four hours and I already know this is the only café within walking distance that serves actual artisanal blends," he said, stepping around our table and effortlessly pulling out the empty third chair. He sat down, placing his thick stack of papers right next to my napkin. "Mind if I join? The other tables are completely full."

"Actually, we-"

"Go ahead! Sit down," Maya interrupted, beaming at him over her iced latte. I shot her a look of pure, unadulterated betrayal, but she just gave me a subtle, highly entertained wink.

Julian settled back into the chair, spreading his long legs out under the tiny marble table. His knee accidentally brushed against mine, sending a sudden, annoying spark through my skin. I immediately yanked my leg back, crossing my ankles tightly beneath my seat.

He didn't even notice, or if he did, he was too busy looking at my outfit. His icy blue eyes scanned my white linen sundress, lingering on the delicate spaghetti straps before moving up to my face.

"Interesting choice for a historic walking tour," Julian said, leaning his elbow on the marble table and resting his chin in his hand. "A white linen dress in a city covered in ancient dust and dark espresso? Bold. You're going to have a giant coffee stain on that before noon. I give it two hours, max."

"It is classic European summer chic, Julian. Not that you would know anything about style," I fired back, leaning forward to match his posture. "You look like you're about to audition for a preppy yacht club commercial. Did your uncle provide the country club wardrobe along with the apartment?"

Julian let out a low, amused huff, tapping his fingers against his stack of papers. "This is functional, Avery. Unlike your dress, which has zero pockets for a notebook or a metro pass. Efficiency over aesthetic. It is basic logic."

"Life isn't a math problem to be optimized, Vance," I said, my eyes dropping to the title page of the document he had laid on the table. My academic instincts instantly flared up. I leaned closer, squinting at the bold text. An Empirical Analysis of Macroeconomic Fluctuations in Post-War European Markets.

I let out a loud, mocking scoff. "Are you seriously reading a doctoral thesis on post-war macroeconomics at a scenic Roman café on our second day of vacation? Who does that?"

"An overachiever who intends to keep his fellowship next semester," Julian replied smoothly, though his jaw tightened slightly at my critique. "Some of us don't just sit around eating chocolate croissants and pretending to be in a movie, Clark. I have a research proposal due to the department head by August."

"You are a literal robot," I declared, gesturing dramatically toward the ancient brick arches surrounding us. "Look around you, Julian! There is history, art, culture, and thousands of years of human emotion right in front of your face. And you are staring at a data sheet about market fluctuations. Your life choices are genuinely tragic."

"Data tells the truth, Avery," he murmured, his voice dropping into that low, serious register that always made the hairs on my arms stand up. He leaned in a fraction closer, his blue eyes locking onto mine with an intense, sudden gravity that made my heart skip a beat. "Emotion is unpredictable. It is messy. It doesn't get you a consulting job in New York."

"Maybe some things are worth the mess," I whispered back, completely caught in the sudden shift of air between us.

Maya cleared her throat loudly, breaking the spell. "So, Julian! Since you're the local expert with the rich uncle, where are the best vintage shops around here? Avery has a paper map and she isn't afraid to use it."

Julian tore his gaze away from mine, a slow, familiar smirk returning to his lips as he looked at Maya. "Tell your friend to put the paper map away. I'm heading toward the Centro Storico area anyway. If she promises not to spill espresso on herself, I might actually show you guys the hidden alleyways the tourists don't know about."

I stared at him, my cappuccino completely forgotten. He was infuriating, arrogant, and entirely too confident. But as he stood up, tucking his economics paper under his arm and waiting for us to move, I realized that escaping him this summer was going to be absolutely impossible.