The Barcelona Bakery (The Wanderlust #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter One

VANESSA

Vanessa was still wearing the black trousers and polo-neck she’d paired with a velvet jacket and heels as she checked in at Birmingham International Airport.

The funeral had finished just hours before, and she had a nagging sensation in the back of her mind that her family had expected her to stay a little longer at the wake.

But she knew Maria would have wanted her to put her plan into action. It was a plan that had only become clearer in her mind since Maria’s death.

A text popped up on her phone. Chloe. She swiped up to see read her ex-girlfriend’s message, a few heartfelt lines, conveying her sympathies at Vanessa’s loss. It was warm and friendly, and reminded Vanessa of why they had been so good together. Until they weren’t.

She sighed, pushed her silky dark hair behind her ears, and drafted a short message of thanks.

Then she put her phone away. Today wasn’t just about endings, but beginnings, too.

Travelling light, with only hand luggage, Vanessa was soon seated in departures waiting for an update on the gate for her flight.

She thought back to the last conversation she’d had with Maria, her father’s mother.

“Vanessa,” the elderly woman had said, her Spanish accent still strong, despite the half century she’d spent outside the country. “If you are going to do this, you really have to make it work.”

“Yes, Gran,” Vanessa had replied, holding Maria’s hand as the ambulance they were in raced towards the hospital.

Maria’s voice was weak. “I mean it. When I’m dead, I won’t be here to advise you.”

“Gran, you’re not dying,” said Vanessa, trying to insert a cheeriness into her voice that for once, she didn’t feel. She could hear the siren blaring and knew they were travelling faster than the roads usually allowed. She stroked the papery skin on her grandmother’s hand.

“I am, mija.” Vanessa smiled at the Spanish term of endearment. “Don’t kid yourself. I’ve lived a good life. And you need to live one, too.”

“I do,” said Vanessa.

“But you need to stick at something,” Maria went on, her eyes wide, pleading with Vanessa, whose cheeks had reddened.

“I will.” This time Vanessa was solemn.

“Do you promise?” Maria looked as if she could see into her granddaughter’s soul.

“I promise,” said Vanessa, concerned by the falling numbers on the machine the paramedics had hooked her gran up to. The ambulance rocked as it sped past traffic.

“In that case, once I’m gone, look in the drawer in the bedside cabinet in my room. What’s in there is yours.” Maria’s eyes promptly closed and machines began to beep. A paramedic hustled Vanessa out of the way.

Maria hadn’t died in that moment, but she’d never fully woken again. A few days later she was gone, as she had accurately predicted.

Vanessa pulled out her phone again. She really should learn at least a few words of Spanish.

She knew Barcelona was a city of tourists, and many people spoke English.

But she had Spanish roots and should at least make an effort.

She downloaded Duolingo and opened up the app.

Perhaps a digital owl could put her in touch with her heritage.

The owl, and possibly the package her gran had left her, safely tucked inside her small suitcase.

The airport was a mass of people coming and going.

Harried expressions on the faces of parents trying to shepherd their children, excited voices of groups of young adults off on their first trip abroad with friends.

As Vanessa looked across the departure lounge, she couldn’t see many people alone like she was.

She revelled in the anonymity of it, tickled by the notion that being dressed all in black might lend her an air of mystery.

A black widow, perhaps. She grinned. Her gran would have liked that idea.

She glanced at her watch, realising she had time for a coffee and pastry before boarding, and made her way to the fancy-looking bakery and coffee place on the concourse.

As was her habit of late, she appraised the selection of cakes and pastries on offer with a critical eye.

This place looked better than most, but she still had the sense that she could do better when she opened her own cafe.

She ordered a latte and a pastel de nata.

A classic custard tart originating from Portugal.

Not too far from Spain. And a personal favourite of hers.

She revelled in the crispy flaky pastry and the soft, silky-smooth custard.

It was the perfect contrast of textures, and to Vanessa’s mind, the reason the sweet treat was so popular.

She smiled. Her new Spanish cafe in the heart of the UK, in Birmingham, was going to be amazing.

She knew it in her gut. She dismissed her previous forays into business in recent years as simple learning experiences, the steps she had been obliged to take to build to this moment.

This time things were different. Her Spanish bakery was going to be the start of everything.

The Tannoy echoed across the vast space, announcing the gate for the flight to Barcelona. Vanessa smoothed down her long hair and stood up.

Once on the aeroplane, Vanessa put in her ear buds to drown out the engine noise, pulled out her notebook and opened it up.

With its dark red cover, it promised so much, but for now, it was empty.

There was something both exciting and daunting about an empty notebook.

She reached into her bag for a biro, took a deep breath and opened the book. She paused.

And then she began to write.

Dear Gran,

It seems so strange to be writing to you from the skies above Birmingham, where you lived for so long.

You never told me why you left Spain behind and why you didn’t go back.

But then, there were a lot of things you didn’t tell me.

I guess every girl needs her secrets. And I guess you can’t tell any of yours anymore.

You made me promise to make something of my life, and this is me making good on that promise. This trip is going to change my life forever, for good. It’s a new start, and the beginning of a new business. My cafe is going to be the biggest success. And you have played a part in that.

Vanessa’s mind turned to the paper-wrapped object in her luggage, in the aircraft hold.

This is the first day of the rest of my life. And it breaks my heart to know it is another of so many days without you. Te amo, Gran.

All my love,

Vanessa