When the bill came, Lopez reached for it but Cohen snatched it off the table. “Please,” he said. “You can get breakfast.”

She folded her arms across her chest. “Sergeant Cohen, that’s a bit presumptuous.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he stammered.

Lopez had never seen him redden. She found his bashfulness endearing. “I’m kidding.” She reached over and gently caressed his hand. “Hurry up and pay, big spender.” She winked. “It’s a long walk to get to Pittsburgh by morning.”

Outside on Market Street, the combination of the Chianti and Cohen’s proximity emboldened Lopez. She reached over and took his hand in hers. They walked the rest of the way back to the hotel, hand in hand, chatting on subjects ranging from their favorite books to the places they most wanted to see in the world, and found out that Machu Picchu topped both of their lists.

When they reached the hotel’s front door, Lopez let go of Cohen’s hand. They walked together to the elevator, riding up to the fourteenth floor in silence. Cohen escorted her down the hallway to her room.

Standing outside, Lopez was overcome with fresh butterflies and a sudden shyness. “There’s this, um, great fridge in my room that is loaded with free beer and wine,” she said.

Cohen smiled. “I could handle a free beer.”

Lopez slid her keycard into the slot and opened the door. Once inside, she turned to close the door and stepped right into him. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him. Tenderly, his lips found hers.

Kissing him back, she tasted the flavor of his breath mint. She tightened her arms around him and pushed her lips harder against his. When she slipped her tongue between his lips, his tentativeness gave way to urgency. Their tongues met and his fingers dug into her back.

Flushed with excitement, she began to pull him backward toward the bed. She stopped when her foot touched the bedspread.

Cohen’s eyes bore into hers. “Lina, maybe …”

“Maybe we should wait.” She smiled and stood on her toes to kiss his forehead. “Right?”

“God, I don’t want to wait.” He looked down at the bed. “But this was our first date. I haven’t felt like this in a long time. I don’t want to mess it up.”

She touched a finger to his warm lips. “Then we should wait.” She smiled again. “It will make it that much better when it does happen.”

55 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

55

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Kilburn sat at a small table in the hotel room, picking listlessly at the spinach salad he’d ordered from room service. He reached for the cold beer and drained the last of the bottle, before giving up on the salad and wandering over to the bed.