Chapter 46
ALEJANDRA
Roadtrip Home - Odhran Murphy
Carla had sent her a research paper on the Blue Mind effect that came out the previous year. Funnily enough, it was Sofia’s study, and as Callum drove through the English countryside, Alejandra read it aloud for both of them.
She flipped the pages on her phone, clearing her throat dramatically.
“The Blue Mind effect describes the meditative, healing state triggered by proximity to water, specifically the ocean. This state reduces stress hormones, improves mental clarity, and increases dopamine levels. For athletes and high-performers, frequent immersion in coastal environments has shown measurable impacts on resilience, mood regulation, and trauma recovery. The body heals faster when the mind is calm. And nothing calms the mind like waves lapping against the shore, the scent of salt in the air, and the infinite horizon.”
Alejandra paused, letting the words hang in the air. Then, with a sardonic smile, she added, “I should complain to Sofia. In here, she doesn’t mention how to recover after getting wiped out by a wave in Hawai’i and then being too scared to even look at the ocean.”
Callum, his blue eyes hidden behind sunglasses that made him unreasonably irresistible, tilted his head. “Sarcasm as a way to cope with pain. Great.”
Alejandra rolled her eyes. “I’ve been in Conil, and I was home, right?
I should’ve been fine. I know that coast like the back of my hand.
Surfed every possible wave there. And yet, I was panicking half the time.
I forced myself to walk on the beach, watch as my brother surfed, and I kept telling myself it was just the sling.
But... when I took it off, I realized it wasn’t the sling.
” She swallowed hard. “I’m fucking scared of the ocean.
I am terrified. And I can’t—I know how to swim, I know how to surf. I saved my life doing so but...”
Callum reached over and gently squeezed her knee. “It’s irrational and rational at the same time,” he said softly. “But I’m sure we’ll figure it out.”
The fact that he kept listening to her processing her feelings and emotions, put him on top of the list of the Greenest Flag she had ever met.
This guy kept showing how perfect he was—he was hot, sexy, smart and emotionally available.
Somehow, she had lucked out and she wasn’t going to question if it was another joke of her life.
She was going to embrace it and say it was the reward for almost losing her life and questioning her career.
She closed Sofia’s research on her phone.
Maybe that wasn’t the time to dig into it.
Maybe she should just enjoy the landscape—filled with green rolling fields and very gorgeous cows—and the idea of discovering new places.
It had been a while since she had been to a place she had never been.
Somehow, Wales had never been on her radar, and she was happy at the idea of seeing where Callum grew up, discover another part of him.
“Does the bonfire on Calan Mai work like the one in San Juan?”
“Explain how San Juan works,” he replied, butchering the pronunciation in a way that made her snort.
“You basically jump over it to leave behind all the bad stuff,” she explained, her voice tinged with nostalgia. Memories of bonfires in Conil with Sofia, Gabriella, Carlos, and their childhood friends flooded her mind. And too many drunken kisses with boys she thought were her forever after.
“Then yes. Same idea.” He nodded.
“Interesting.” She smiled faintly. She loved when she found common rituals in different cultures. “Maybe I can try to burn my fear, too.”
“Definitely worth a try.” Callum grinned, though his tone betrayed a healthy dose of skepticism. He was an accountant, after all.
As he took an exit from the highway, she frowned. “Are we there already?”
“Nope. But I thought, for our road trip date, we could stop in a town I’m pretty sure you’ll love,” he said with that smug smile that always meant trouble.
The one he reserved to her before going down on her and making her forget who she was.
Definitely a delightful experience she couldn’t wait to keep doing.
She refocused her attention on the name on the sign. It was one of those impossible Welsh combinations. “How’s that even pronounced?”
“Hay-on-Wye. Most people just call it Hay.” He chuckled.
“What’s so good about it?” she asked, and then squealed as the next sign came into view. “Town of Books?!”
“Yep. Between May and June they host the Hay Festival, basically a book festival. The town has twenty second-hand bookstores, despite being tiny. They have a population of just 1,500 people.”
He took off his sunglasses as the clouds rolled in, and his grin turned even warmer. “I figured you’d like it. Even though you already have a thousand books to ship from my apartment.”
“Callum, this is fantastic. I—” she didn’t even know how to finish. As he parked on the main street, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard.
“You’re welcome,” he said when they broke apart. “Anything to see that smile.”
“Are you ready to carry ten kilos of books?” she teased, stepping out of the car.
Callum groaned, raking a hand through his hair. “I mean, I brought this upon myself, didn’t I?”
Alejandra beamed. “Yes, Mr. Evans.”
He grabbed her waist and pulled her against him. “It kinda turns me on when you call me like that.”
“Mr. Evans,” she whispered in his ear. She could feel his cock grow harder as their hips pressed together.
“You’re insufferable,” he groaned, kissing her neck, biting it slightly, and then putting distance between them.
He looked like he didn’t want to, but they were indeed in the middle of the road.
As much as she would love to be taken there, she didn’t think jail was a good way to start that road trip.
“That’s why you like me.” She grinned up to him as she took his hand and they walked towards what looked like the town center.
Callum wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close, and kissing the top of her head.
If this was what it felt like to be taken care of by a man—really taken care of, without strings or pressure—then she knew it: Callum Evans had ruined her for anyone else.
She’d need him to stay in her life forever. That was it.