Willow let out a shy grin and blushed.“He just left.Now, come on,” she coaxed as she pushed open the sliding door.“I’ll tell you guys over breakfast.”
***
Moments later, and after gobbling down a serving of Willow’s pancakes at the breakfast table, Rafa brought them up to speed with everything that had happened in St.Stephenshire.“Sal sent me pictures of the heritage town in Taal.It’s perfect,” he said, wiping his mouth.“Were you really not going to tell Harmon?”
Theola, whom Rafa had met just that morning, was quick to respond.“We were supposed to tell him after Cebu.”
“Yeah, but that plan went to hell, thanks to Willow,” Sal said with a tight smile.
Willow grimaced.“Sorry, guys, my tongue slipped with Baron.”
Rafa chuckled.“That’s not the only thing you did with him.But good for you.He seems like a decent guy.”
Willow rolled her eyes and flashed Rafa a playful smirk.“Ever the romantic, Rafa,” she said in a playful tone while taking a bite of pancake.“Just because I spent the night with him doesn’t mean I wanna date him.”
Rafa just shrugged.
“So…the grimoire is magical?”Willow asked, changing the topic but looking intrigued.
“I don’t know—but it is priceless.We’ll have it on display at the art show,” Rafa said with a raised brow.He noticed Sal was quieter than usual.He turned to her while Willow and Theola continued chatting about the grimoire.“Are you all right?”
Sal turned to him, looking as if his voice had removed her from a sudden daze.“Hmm?”she asked.
“I’m just wondering if you’re all right?”he repeated, placing his hand on hers.
Sal squeezed his hand.“I’m okay, just thinking about a lot of stuff…” she said, taking a deep breath with her chin down.
“What are you thinking about?”he asked in a tone that said,I can take whatever it is you’ll tell me.
Sal offered a soft grin and kissed him tenderly.“I’ll tell you later.”
Rafa’s heart melted when her lips touched his.He squeezed her hand in response.
“You guys are so sweet,” Theola cooed, prompting Rafa to feel uneasy.
“You’ll get used to it,” Willow chuckled.“By the way, we have our flight back to Manila tomorrow.What do you guys wanna do for our last day here?And no more museums, please.No offense, Sal,” she said, raising her hands in the air as though to call a ceasefire.
Sal chortled.“None taken, I’m burned out myself.How about we just beach bum?”
“That sounds perfect,” Theola agreed with a hand on her chin as she practically swooned at the suggestion.
Spending the rest of the day lounging at the beach with Sal and company didn’t feel like such a bad idea.They’d have time for leisure before diving straight into preparing for the art show.
“How about we grill some fish for lunch?”Theola suggested.
“A cookout would be fun!”Willow agreed, standing up and clearing up the table.
Rafa looked at Sal and she agreed, “We’ll need to shop for groceries, though,” Sal said, as she moved all the scraped plates to the sink and helped Willow wash it.
Theola was busy fiddling with her phone when she replied, “I’ve got that covered.Willow wants to see the wet market anyway.”Theola walked over to Sal and offered to take the plates she was wiping.“Sal, I know you’re super tired.Just take a breather for today.”
Rafa walked to the living room and hoisted his coffee cup to his lips.“I’ll prep the beachfront for the cookout,” he said between sips.
It was decided then.They’d have a delicious cookout by the beach until their skin browned and the sun set, their worries vanishing just for that day.
***
Theola and Willow prepped themselves for the fish market run.“We’ll just be at the market!”Theola called out.“If you need anything, just call me!”
