Chapter 24
‘Adrián, can Oscar come and watch a few episodes of Bluey with us before bed?’
Liss’s question as they wandered into the lobby of the hotel after an early dinner that night took Adrián by surprise. ‘Do you and Dec like it too?’ he asked in confusion. The sudden mental image of him snuggling up on the sofa with Jo while their kids sat in front and they all laughed caught him in the guts.
It was miles away from the picture they’d made at the pizza restaurant they’d been dragged to for dinner with the rest of the immediate family. Jo had seemed nervous and withdrawn, which he didn’t like at all. The wedding was tomorrow. Of course she was withdrawn.
‘We got into it in Zaragoza,’ Liss explained with a bright smile – a little too bright. ‘You wouldn’t have to come. We’re just in the room next door.’
‘Oh, I love Bluey. Oscar probably shouldn’t get to bed too late, but a few episodes is a great idea if you’re sure you and your mum don’t mind us piling into your room.’
Liss was blinking at him, unimpressed. Her eyes were a darker blue than Jo’s, but there was a sparkle in them and a tilt to her smile that was so familiar, he struggled to remember that he barely knew her.
‘Oh, Mum won’t like Bluey,’ Liss said, dropping her chin and enunciating clearly.
‘Why not?’ Adrián said in mild offence. ‘I know it’s a kids’ show, but it’s really funny, with lots of hidden messages for parents.’
‘Adrián,’ she said through clenched teeth. ‘I’ve been watching Oscar off and on for a week. You don’t have to stay. Mum doesn’t have to stay.’ She met his gaze and raised her eyebrows.
Understanding dawned slowly. Surely she couldn’t mean— He glanced at Jo, who was staring pensively at her sandals as they headed for the stairs. He had fond memories of undoing those sandals.
‘Liss, I appreciate the thought, but you don’t?—’
‘You two are hopeless,’ she said, cutting him off.
‘It’s just not the right time,’ he said gently.
‘Will there be a better time?’
With a shot of panic, he realised they would all leave on Saturday and he might never see Jo again. The prospect was intolerable. Their footsteps echoed in the stairwell as they climbed the two floors to their rooms.
Outside the door of Jo’s room, Liss paused and said, ‘Mum, Oscar is going to come and watch some Bluey with us.’
Jo still seemed distracted, which only sharpened Adrián’s panic. ‘Oh, what’s Bluey?’
‘It’s a TV show for kids,’ he explained. ‘But it’s wonderful – funny and insightful and sometimes it makes you cry.’ He trailed off as he felt the amused gazes of the whole family.
‘It makes you cry?’ Dec repeated teasingly.
‘Well, yes, it’s very… poignant.’ His gaze flitted to Jo to find a hint of a smile on her lips.
‘I might have to check it out,’ she said.
There was something in the way she watched him intently that tightened everything up inside him until he heard himself saying, ‘Do you want to have a drink? On the balcony? The kids should be okay if they’re all crying in front of Bluey.’ He held his breath.
‘Sounds good,’ she said lightly, but something shifted, as though spending time together was a bigger deal than it should have been, after all they’d been through. She was glancing at her shoes again. Was this… a date? He flushed to his hairline. Were they ready for that?
When they arrived at their doors, Liss opened up and shooed them in the direction of Adrián’s room. ‘Oscar complains when people talk while he’s trying to watch TV,’ she explained.
Adrián grinned at her. ‘He does. Did I… already apologise for leaving you stuck with him for so long?’
‘Sometimes being stuck with someone means you get used to them,’ she replied, looking him square in the face.
He opened up his room, which was sweltering even though he’d left the curtains closed. As he tugged off the sling, he cranked up the air-conditioning so he and Oscar would be able to sleep and fetched two more tiny beers from the restocked minibar before leading a quiet Jo out onto the balcony where the evening breeze brought a refreshing hint of the cool night to come. Taking a seat across the table from her, he popped the caps and tapped his bottle against hers without looking at her for too long. He didn’t like the hesitation between them, but he also didn’t want to risk her leaving.
An ocean view soothed everything, in his opinion. He gazed at the castle as the lights came on, bathing the brick crenellations in an orange glow, and then out to the distant horizon. The air was salty and the sight of the beach, now mostly empty, reminded him of the afternoon he’d spent getting to know a boy who made cutting jokes just like his mum.
‘Did my kids set us up?’ she asked doubtfully.
‘They did,’ he said after clearing his throat. ‘Liss did. I don’t know if Dec had anything to do with it.’
‘Were you trying to get on Dec’s good side today?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ he admitted readily, glancing again at the rolling sea. ‘I didn’t think he’d like a manicure, so?—’
Her foot nudged him – hard – under the table. ‘You don’t need to suck up to my kids.’
‘I know,’ he said, unable to stop himself continuing, ‘but if you’re not around, they’re the next best thing.’
Her mouth dropped open. After a moment of studying him with something like dismay, she stood slowly. Worried he’d laid it on too thick and she was about to leave, Adrián leaped to his feet as well. But she didn’t turn to go. She stepped closer.
Lifting her face, she brushed her lips over his. Why did it seem more fraught every time they kissed? He pulled her close and enjoyed the relief before resting his forehead against hers and waiting a moment to get his breath back.
‘Are you sure you want to look Liss in the face after spending our time kissing?’
‘Kiss now, work that out later,’ she murmured, her lips against his.
Worried about making their situation worse, he scrambled for some order to his racing thoughts. ‘I thought we were supposed to just be friends,’ he reminded her, hoping she’d say, ‘Screw it. There’s obviously so much more between us.’
She hesitated, shrugged and gave an inarticulate noise and then just kissed him again – the only answer she seemed capable of giving. Adrián grasped her cheek and stilled her with a firm kiss.
‘Shouldn’t we talk about this?’
‘I’m so sick of talking,’ she said, her voice thick. Their lips met again, hot and sweet this time with the taste of crumbling intentions. He couldn’t have held a rational conversation if he’d wanted to with her mouth on his. ‘Don’t talk, just… show me,’ she whispered between unsteady breaths.
He understood her in his instincts – in his blood – feeling the vulnerability, the old hurts she usually wouldn’t admit to. And he understood in his heart what she was inviting him to do – the step she was taking, that might be the wrong one, but it didn’t matter because it was in his direction.
Gathering her gently with his bad arm, he lifted his other hand to her face, stroking his thumb over her cheekbone, her jaw, her bottom lip. A breathy kiss to her hairline was: You’re an amazing woman. A nuzzle to her jaw told her: I’m going to miss you so badly after the wedding. A slow, gentle kiss to her lips meant: I’m afraid you’ll say no if I ask to see you again when we get home.
Her eyes were closed and her hands fisted in his linen shirt. Despite the unexpectedness of everything that had happened, she felt more real to him than anything in his life with the exception of Oscar.
She was so beautiful, he needed to show her how he saw her.
Grasping her hand, he pulled her inside, curling an arm around her when she shivered at the change in temperature now the air-conditioning had done its job. Tugging her to the entryway, he turned her gently with his hands on her hips until she jerked in surprise at the sight of herself in the full-length mirror.
She tried to turn away, but he held her in place, holding her gaze in the mirror. Words were on his lips, but he had to say them with his eyes and his hands. Grasping the hem of her T-shirt, he eased it up and over her head, watching the movement of her throat as he nudged her out of her comfort zone.
Pressing kisses to her ear and neck to distract her, he watched her eyes grow dazed as they followed the movement of his hand skimming gently over her body. Catching her gaze briefly, he ducked to press a lingering kiss over her tattoo. Her breath was unsteady. His eyelids drooped at the tenderness gushing inside him.
With a final, firm kiss over the hummingbird, he urged her to turn and tipped her chin up with his fingertips, feeling the flutter of her pulse. He leaned down and when his open mouth met hers, he thought for a fleeting moment it meant: te quiero.
‘Adrián,’ she whispered, her voice tight with emotion that shuddered through him as well. Her arms wound around his neck and the afternoon being together as some kind of family had been perfect and he wanted her and she was here in his arms where she belonged?—
There was a knock at the door.
As they were standing right in the entrance, the sharp sound rang out like a crack and they wrenched apart.
‘Mierda!’ he muttered under his breath, smoothing his hair in frantic alarm.
‘It’s probably just one of the kids,’ Jo whispered in reply.
Adrián was halfway through a nod when the knock came again, followed by a strained, familiar voice saying, ‘Adrián? I have to talk to you – now!’
His stomach sank heavily and filthier curses rose on his tongue. He glanced at Jo in panic, struggling to gauge her thoughts – her feelings – from her grim expression. She clearly didn’t want to be caught with him.
‘I’ll try to get rid of her quickly?—’
‘No!’ She stopped him with a hand on his arm. ‘She’ll see me!’
To buy time, he raised his voice and said, ‘Eh, ?un momento!’ He only just remembered to speak in Spanish. Dropping his voice to a whisper again, he said, ‘What else are we supposed to do? Hide you behind the curtain?’
She glanced around her in dismay. ‘The bathroom. I’ll hide in the bathroom.’
‘You don’t have to do that. She won’t stay long, I promise. I’ll just see what she wants – and when she sees you, she definitely won’t stay long.’
Jo shook her head fiercely. ‘She can’t see me here.’
‘Why not?’ She hadn’t understood him when he’d kissed her with all of his hopes, or if she had understood, she didn’t share them. That realisation was more frustrating even than Mónica’s untimely arrival.
‘Don’t be daft, Adrián. It’s their wedding tomorrow. It’s awkward enough to be here as the ex-wife of the groom. I’m not going to be the other woman as well!’
‘You’re not the other woman, for fuck’s sake!’
She turned away and he grasped her arm to stop her, but she tugged it back angrily. ‘Don’t leave her waiting!’ A moment later, the bathroom door closed in his face.