AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Carrie frowned. “You’re going?”
“Si,” he agreed, wishing he weren’t. Wishing, more than anything, that he was staying with her. That very thought was enough to propel him towards the door.
“Seven sharp.”
She lifted her fingers to her forehead in a mock salute. “Yessir,” she said with a small smile. He left, and Carrie wondered what she could do to distract herself from the sudden sense of pervasive loneliness.
CHAPTER NINE
The driver was a slim man in his late forties, with a dark crop of hair and an easy smile. He employed it when Carrie emerged from the hotel a minute after seven, much of her face hidden by over-sized sunglasses. The sun was breaking over the city, lending a golden peach hue to the ancient buildings and streets. She paused a moment to enjoy the view – the stone fronted hotels glowing in the early morning warmth. Spaniards were going about their business with their enviable elegance.
“Good morning.” The driver’s tone was accented, his voice formal. He moved forward and offered to take Carrie’s bag from her. She’d left her oversize Birkin at home and chosen a smaller handbag for the mysterious day of promised fun. With no idea what was on the horizon, she’d brought just the essentials – phone, lipgloss, money – reasoning that she could pop back to her hotel and get anything else she might need later.
Her smile was reserved, and her insides were churning. All night, she’d tossed and turned and told herself how ridiculous she was being to feel such excitement.
But she’d felt it regardless. Anticipation had teased and delighted her, and she’d woken exhausted, but uncaring.
“Hello,” she responded, belatedly realising he was waiting for her to respond.
“Senor Vivas asked me to give you this,” he said, once she’d settled herself in the back of the plush interior.
“Thank you.” She took the note and flicked her sunglasses onto her head in one swift movement. It was a cream envelope with her name scrawled across the front.
And though she was bursting to know the contents, she took a moment to admire the effect his strong, confident writing had on the fibrous paper. She ran her finger over it, and a small shiver began in her toes and spread through her body.
She turned it over impatiently and lifted the back triangle. A single piece of paper slid out.
“Ready, ma’am?”
She looked up at the driver with a sense of disorientation. All of her mind and all of her soul was focussed on Gael’s note. Her voice was a husky acknowledgement. “Yes, thank you.”
Her fingers were unsteady. She pulled the top half of the paper, carefully unfolding it.
Good morning, mi pequeno dulce. Memories of the way he called her funny sounding Spanish words made her heart flutter.
Eat your breakfast. There will not be another chance for a while.
G.
A brief note, then, and not what she’d been hoping for.
Which was? What exactly did she want from him?
Carrie looked around the limousine until her eyes fell onto a brown paper bag. She reached for it, having to stretch across the seat to grab it from the small table. She opened it and grinned when she saw an apple, and an almond croissant.
The apple was red and shining, like the classic forbidden fruit. She rubbed it on the fabric of her dress until it glowed and then bit into it gratefully. It was as delicious as all forbidden apples should be. Juicy and sweet, with an undercurrent of tartness.
Another fragrance met her nostrils and her stomach groaned in delightful anticipation. Coffee. Her eyes landed on the brown take away cup. Black and strong, just as she liked it. She sipped it and ate the apple, enjoying the passing scenery from the extreme comfort of Gael’s limousine.
As far as mornings went, it was not a bad way to start one.
And still, the fingers of anticipation curled through her at what might lie ahead. Time with Gael was a given, and that alone made her body sag.
It was just temporary, she reminded herself, with an attempt at her usual rationale. Just a fling. A bit of fun. Nothing serious, and nothing to over-think.
With a confident nod, she leaned forward in the car. The city scape gradually gave way to a different style of architecture. More bright colours and lower-set buildings, until the road opened up to a spectacular view of the ocean. “Oh!” She exclaimed audibly, her hand on the side of the car door as the sleek black vehicle wound down a steep track towards the marina.
Her smile made her cheeks ache, and it broadened when she saw Gael waiting for her. Dressed in a pair of jeans, one of his gorgeous shirts and a black leather jacket, he was handsome and captivating and sexy and beautiful all at once. She swallowed, and tried to wipe her smile away. Or at least to reduce it to a normal size.
