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‘You need to put some on. We’ll be leaving in—’
A single raised eyebrow stopped him in his tracks and he stifled a much deeper growl this time.Include her.She wanted to be part of this with him. He had listened last night. He had heard what she’d said and it had cut him deep to know that he had made his wife feel so alone. He knew that feeling and never would wish it on anyone. But the rawness of that realisation, the realness of it was too much too soon. So he forced levity into his tone to hide the acid beginning to erode the rust on doors better left closed.
‘Darling, I would love it if you would put on some sunscreen,’ he said, pitching his tone at an alarming tooth-rotting level. ‘I have somewhere that I’d like to take you and we would be leaving in about ten minutes—if that is something you would like?’
‘I believe there was even a question in there, husband. Iamimpressed,’ Emily responded, a light tease in her eyes, but also...a spark. A flash of joy that he had forgotten—one that lit something deep within him. Satisfaction. Peace. A joy of his own.
‘Where are we going?’ she asked.
‘Somewhere I should have taken you a long time ago,’ he admitted in a rare burst of truth.
Javier loved driving. Even the shock of the accident hadn’t worn that away. The first ten minutes, settling into the car and the drive had taken a lot more of his concentration than usual. But when Emily had slipped her fingers around the death grip he had on the gear stick he had allowed himself to relax into the winding curves that would take them out and away from Frigiliana towards their destination.
With the top down on the matte grey convertible, the morning sun streamed down on them. Emily lost the battle to tame the strands of her hair and sank into the passenger seat, unable to hide her excited smile.
Shifting gears up and down to navigate the twists and turns, there was a happy silence between them, neither choosing to shout above the roar of the wind and the engine. And he wondered how long it had been since he had simply let things go. Thoughts of work, the endless turnover of meetings and emails, managing his mother from as far away as possible. The thought turned in his mind. This was the longest time Renata had been quiet. Usually by now she would have been after him for money to help prop up the business she seemed determined to drive headlong into the ground.
He felt Emily’s fingers brush against his again, and forced himself to let go of the tension that had built shockingly fast. In the last few years his mother had been affecting him more and more. Whether it was because she was asking for more or whether over the years the weight of her had accumulated to become heavier and heavier, he didn’t know. He pasted a smile on his face as he turned to Emily, just as she saw the turnoff sign for their destination.
She leaned up in the seat and turned to stare at him. ‘Really?’ she asked and suddenly he felt awful. Awful that she was so pleased by such a small thing.
‘Really,’ he insisted, promising silently to never make her wait for anything she desired ever again.
As they turned the corner, a pounding joy thumped in her chest. Emily had wanted to visit the Alhambra since she’d first come to Spain, yet somehow in the whirlwind of her romance with Javier it had never happened. But as they pulled into an empty car park Emily’s heart dropped. She tried to tell herself not to be disappointed but, from the absolute quietness, it didn’t look as if it would happen today. Notorious for mile-long queues and renowned for only high, very high, or extreme periods of activity, the empty car park was clearly a sign of closure.
‘What is wrong?’ Javier asked, seemingly unaware of the situation.
‘Is it a bank holiday today?’
‘No.’ He frowned, confused. ‘Why?’
Emily shrugged. ‘It’s a shame to have come all this way and for it to be closed.’
‘It’s not closed,’ he replied easily as he got out of the car, came round and opened her door for her.
‘Javier, there’s no one here.’
He looked at her as if she were being obtuse. ‘Youare here.’
Javier led them away from the large stone arch that formed the main entrance before she could read the signs placed across the door and towards a small man in a uniform. A regal bow greeted them and the staff member beckoned them through a side door.
Javier begged just a minute from her and disappeared with the older man, while Emily turned in a circle in the dusty courtyard that was surrounded by such incredible beauty. The Alhambra had been a military fortress and a royal palace, displaying both Islamic architecture and that of the Spanish Renaissance. The different styles juxtaposed should have created chaos, but instead it was a work of art.
She bathed in the warm earthy glow of the walls that had inspired the name of the sprawling building, The Red One. Perched up high on the hill, the exterior of the walled palaces appeared no less regal for its martial purpose. But it was the interior of the Nasrid Palaces that drew her—the intricate tiling, mosaics, carved wood and, her favourite, the mirador—arcaded porticos that brought the stunning view outsidein. Here, the city of Granada, or the world-renowned gardens, appeared as if they were a piece of artwork displayed in the room.
She felt her creative well being filled with each breath and each new sight—creeping into her soul and feeding her heart. To be here—alone...it was as incredible as it was inconceivable. That Javier had done this—that he’dremembered...
‘Well?’ he asked, the crunch of his shoes on the gravel behind her alerting her to his presence long before his words. Beside him a young woman held a tray with flutes of champagne, glasses of what looked like fresh lemonade and small plates of tapas, exquisite enough to make her salivate.
She shared a delighted look with Javier and took a glass of lemonade and a few tapas, trying to swallow around the smile that pulled at her lips as Javier fussed over his choice. Finally satiated, he took a lemonade and, turning away from the staff member, he gestured towards the ancient buildings. ‘Where shall we start?’
He had taken his sunglasses off, twirling them loosely in his hand, his head cocked to one side and a look of pure indulgence in his eyes. His white shirt, open at the collar, folded back at the sleeves, only served to highlight the bronze of his skin—already losing the unhealthy grey pallor from the accident. The bruise on his cheek was barely showing and the fall of his dark hair covered the stitches he’d received from the cut on his head. A different kind of excitement warmed her now. Heat in his gaze, an eyebrow raised as if sensing the direction of her thoughts.
‘You know, we are completely alone,cariño...’
Frowning, she looked behind her to see that the woman had disappeared and she tried and failed—again—to stop the smile from pulling at her lips. ‘You’re incorrigible.’
‘You started it,’ he happily threw back, holding out the crook of his arm like a Victorian gentleman.
