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“Oh! I almost forgot your gelato. It’s totally melted by now, I’m sorry.” She pushes a small cup to my chest, and I stiffen as her knuckles brush my sternum. Her brows lift when I don’t immediately take it from her. “Are you wanting me to feed you again? Because I can, but it will cost you.”
“Cost me?” I grumble.
“Mmhmm. Better make your choice quick.”
If I’ve learned one thing about Adalyn Hutton over the past few days, it’s that she loves to push. She did it at the restaurant, and she’s doing it now. The question is whether I give in and let her have her fun or shut it down.
One look at the glint of excitement in her eyes is all it takes for me to decide.
I open my mouth and blink down at her, waiting. Her lips tug into a massive dimpled grin as she scoops some brown gelato onto the spoon and slips it into my mouth. It’s coffee flavoured, the taste as strong as sipping a cup of it fresh out of the pot.
“I took a guess at what kind an old man would like. Was I right?” she teases.
I fake a scowl. “We both know you just picked your favourite.”
“Not a chance. Do I look like a plain-coffee girl to you?”
Again, the question feels like a dare, but this time, I back down.
I’m grateful when Luis joins us again, this time holding the stem of a perfectly grown hibiscus flower between his fingers. It’s a pale orange colour with a burst of pink in the centre. The length of time it took for him to find that must speak to how hard it was to find among the jungle of flowers surrounding the stand.
Addie’s attention falls on Luis, and she takes a step back. “Oh, my God! That’s for me?”
“Sí. Sí. One of a kind, this colour.”
She’s quick to take it from him, bringing it to her nose. A sheen slips over her eyes, making my stomach tighten.
“You’re too much. Should I put it in my hair? It even matches my dress.”
“Yes,” I blurt out. “If you want to.”
“My wife wore flowers in her hair,” Luis says lowly, the pain Addie was describing early now becoming obvious to me. “Not hibiscus but lilies. Her favourite.”
“Let this flower honour her, then,” Adalyn murmurs. She slides the flower behind her ear and lays a comforting touch on the man’s forearm. Her smile is brittle but genuine.
My chest grows warm as I watch an odd yet beautiful friendship grow between the two of them. They’ll most likely never see each other again, but right now, it doesn’t matter. Adalyn has given him something that he probably hasn’t had in years.
Companionship. Even for a fleeting moment.
Each day we spend together exposes another part of her that I’ve never seen before. She’s intuitive and caring, even to those she barely knows, like it’s second nature for her.
Luis sets a shaking, wrinkled hand on top of Adalyn’s and says, “Nunca dejas que nadie te haga sentir ordinaria. Eres cualquier cosa menos.”
The adoration beaming from Adalyn’s face is enough to tell me she doesn’t care that she doesn’t speak Spanish and has no idea what he just told her. His words slither themselves inside of her heart anyway.
11
ADALYN
Our rental in Dublin,Ireland, is small. By the time we get inside and drop our bags on our beds, it’s half past one in the morning, and exhaustion makes my bones heavy. The flight was quick from Madrid, but I think I left a part of myself there after our four-day stay. The tiniest piece, but one I can feel missing. I wonder if Cooper feels the same or if Madrid is already in his rear view.
“You can use the bathroom first. I’m going to check the place out,” he says. His tall frame is perched by the bedroom window, one arm holding the long curtain to the side so he can see out.
“Alright. Thanks.”
I unzip my suitcase and dig around for everything I’ll need before entering the bathroom. It’s small, like the apartment. A standing porcelain sink, a small mirror above it, a toilet, and a bathtub with a showerhead. The shower sputters when I turn it on, but the steam that follows is euphoric.
My eyes are heavy as I wash the plane ride away, and by the time I drag myself out of the water and slip my pajamas on, I feel like a zombie. After brushing my teeth and applying my moisturizer, I push open the door and make my way to the single bedroom.
