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Ada peered intently out the window. Suddenly, she gasped. “There it is! It’s even bigger than I imagined!”
Although the statue was impressive, Arlo was mesmerized by Ada. Seeing her erupt with happiness made joy flow through his veins like lava cascading down a volcano.
“Are you seeing this?!” Ada tugged his arm to make sure he was looking.
“It’s incredible.”
They continued flying around the statue so that Ada could see it at every angle. She snapped photo after photo. His favorite was the selfie they took with the statue in the background. Their faces were smooshed together and her hair smelled like peaches.
As Ada gazed out again at the outstretched arms of Jesus, Arlo asked, “Did you know that the statue is actually a mosaic made of thousands of triangular soapstone tiles?”
“Seriously? I thought it was made out of concrete.”
“It is predominantly made out of reinforced concrete. But, women intricately placed the triangle soapstone pieces overtop. While they worked, they would write the name of their loved ones on the small pieces.”
Ada shook her head in awe. “That’s amazing.”
Arlo forced himself to focus back on the statue, instead of Ada. She was adorable with her long blonde hair and gigantic headset. More than that—she was beautiful.
Slow down,he reminded himself.She’s just starting to tolerate you.
After the helicopter touched down on Ilha de Segredos, Arlo asked their driver, Carlos, to stop at his favorite bakery. It was situated in an unassuming neighborhood, away from the main drag. He put on a baseball hat and sunglasses as a quick and easy disguise that would hopefully keep him from attracting too much attention.
“I’ll be right back," he told Ada.
A moment later, he returned with a brown paper bag in hand.
“Carlos, please take us to Parque da Ilha Leste, East Island Park.” It was a secluded spot that only the locals knew about. He hoped Ada would like it as much as he did.
After stepping out of the car, Arlo held up two round, bite-sized bread rolls. “This is the best pão de queijo in the world.”
“It looks delicious. But what is pão de queijo?”
“It’s essentially cheese bread. Try one.”
Ada lifted one of the bread rolls to her mouth. Taking a bite, her eyes grew wide. “I could eat fifty of these.”
Arlo held the bag high in the air. “I only bought twenty. And you don’t get them all. I need my fill.”
Ada attempted to grab the bag, but it was no use. Arlo had a good eight inches on her. He was only six foot, but she barely seemed to make 5’3”.
“Might as well give up shorty. You don’t have a chance,” he teased.
Narrowing her eyes at him, she took two steps forward and jumped into his chest. Arms around his neck, legs wrapped around his waist.
“Ugh,” he groaned at the impact.
They stared at each other, eyes meeting.
Then, she planted a kiss right on his lips. Arlo nearly fell over as he tried to process what the heck was happening. He dropped his hands so that they were cradling her back.
She suddenly pushed away, releasing her legs and landing on the ground.
“I’m… so sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She ran a hand through her hair, clearly flustered. “Apparently, I’ll kiss for baked goods.”
Arlo smirked and held out the bag of pão de queijo. “I’ll take that trade.”
Ada snatched it out of his hand. “It was a one time exchange.” Grabbing another roll, she popped it into her mouth and walked a few steps ahead of him.
