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“Yeah, well, what kind of friend would I be if I didn’t bring the birthday girl her coffee?” Yara offers me a sweet smile, and I continue drinking it. “I can’t believe you’re twenty-one now. The last couple of years have really flown by for us, haven’t they?”
“Yeah, they really have. Not to change the subject, but what are we doing? You woke me up before sunrise, so I know it has to be something big.”
“Oh no. I’m not telling you anything. You’d better get up and throw some things in a suitcase because we’re heading to the airport.”
I blink at her over and over again, trying to process what she’s just said. “Sorry, what?”
“You heard me. Now come on!”
“What do I need to pack for? Hot weather? Cold weather?”
Yara begins laughing. “Oh no, I’m not telling you anything and spoiling this. Bring a bit of everything.” Yara gets off my bed and walks toward the door. “You have fifteen minutes, and then you’d better be at the front door ready to roll out. Everyone else is waiting on us, too.”
Everyone else? Goodness gracious. What in the hell did Yara plan?
***
Yara, along with my sister and sisters-in-law, planned a girl’s birthday trip for me to Barcelona, Spain. I’ve never been here, and I once mentioned to Amelia how it was one of my bucket list cities to go to. Never did I expect they’d do something like this for me. I even told them they didn’t have to do something so big, and Amelia told me to “shut my yapper” and accept it because I only turn twenty-one once.
The flight was long but well worth it. We arrived late yesterday, and since we’ve been here today, we’ve been lying by the pool enjoying ourselves. I’ve had one too many mojitos, but goddamn, they’re delicious.
I lean back on my chair, soaking up the sun, when suddenly, darkness comes directly over me. I cock open an eye to see a silhouette of a shirtless man, and after my eyes adjust, I have the biggest smile on my face. “Ambros, I had no idea you were going to be here!”
“I didn’t know if I was going to make it either. I was supposed to be here early this morning, but I had a couple of flight issues.”
“I’m so freaking happy right now. Thank you for coming,” I say as I rise from my chair and hug him. Ambros holds me tight against his body for a couple of minutes before he presses a kiss to my forehead.
“Anything for you,ελ?φι.”
Ambros and I hang out at the pool with Yara and my family for the next couple of hours. Eventually, the two of us break off from the group so we can go have a date night.
“You haven’t been texting too much the past couple of days. I wanted to talk to you about that. Is everything okay?” Ambros questions me.
I suck in a deep breath through my nose. “I’m okay. I’m just… stressed out, I guess. I applied to that pastry school, and I’ve been having nightmares about what happened with the plane. It’s like when I don’t have nightmares about that, I’m having nightmares about being shot at. It’s all catching up to me, I guess.” I don’t know why it never really bothered me too much up until now, but I really don’t like how badly it’s affecting me.
“It makes sense. You went through something heavily traumatic, Xava. That sort of stuff doesn’t just stop messing with your body. You might not even realize it’s doing it, but deep down, your body recognizes the trauma and how scared you were. That’s why you’re having these sorts of nightmares, but I will tell you it’ll get better. It might not seem like it now, but it does.”
“I just wish it wasn’t ever anything I needed to go through in the first place.”
“I know, and you should never have had to.” Ambros slides his arm around my waist and holds me close against him as we walk down the streets of Barcelona.
I figure I should probably change the subject because I don’t want this night to be ruined by my anxiety. “What were you thinking for dinner?”
Ambros whips his head around to look at me. “What I think doesn’t matter in the least bit. You’re the birthday girl, so naturally, you decide where we’re going.”
I look around the street and see a fancier-looking restaurant. It appears to be a Spanish steakhouse, and I’ve never been to one. “What about that place?”
“If you want to go there, then let’s do it.”
“Okay, come on.” I lead the way, and we both head into the restaurant. My twenty-first birthday has already been the best, and I can’t help but wonder what the rest of my birthdays will look like. Are they going to be this amazing because Ambros is by my side? I sure hope so.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Ambros
It was adorable that Xava wanted me to pick where we went to dinner tonight. I had to remind her that it wasn’t my birthday. Therefore, she was the one who could pick wherever she wanted to go. I expected us to walk for a few more minutes until we saw some more options, but Xava noticed this steakhouse, and now we’re inside, sitting back in a quiet, tucked-away corner with a single candle lit between us. We’re sipping on red wine and overlooking a magnificent view of the city. The nightlife is alive and well, with neon lights, apartment lights, and people walking along the streets.
This is Xava’s first time in Barcelona, but it’s my sixth or seventh time in this wonderful city. There aren’t many places where I’d want to come back time and time again, though Barcelona is one of them. The people and culture are always so welcoming. It doesn’t matter where you’re from in the world, the citizens of Barcelona are happy to have you here and your deep pockets, so your money is spent in their city. They have a mind-blowing tourism system here. More cities like it should start adapting some of their ways.
