Not invisible. Not like the sister who gets left behind or the planner who works behind the scenes.
Just…seen.
“So,” I say, glancing up at him. “What’s the first stop on this impromptu Barcelona tour?”
“Patience,” he says, but he’s smiling. “You’ll see.”
And despite everything—the missed cruise, the disrupted plans, the fact that I’m wandering through a foreign city with a man whose last name I don’t know—I find myself smiling back.
This is definitely not the sort of thing that happens to girls like me. But maybe, just for today, it is.
two
brody
I’ve got exactlyzero business falling for this girl. None. I’ve got fifty grand burning a hole in my backpack and a dad to bail out.
But she’s a breath of air, and I’ve been under water so long.
She’s got no idea who I am. Who I’m supposed to be.
To her, I’m just Brody. Some guy who chased down a thief.
And maybe that’s the problem. Maybe that’s why I should walk her to her hotel and say goodbye. Because when she finds out who I really am, she’ll look at me differently.
They always do.
But for now, I’m happy just to be that guy as we take in the city together.
“So where are we going first?” Chloe asks, adjusting her purse strap, which she’s sort of tied to the ripped end. Her hair catches in the light, the warm brown turning almost golden before she brushes it back behind her ear.
“Hmm? Oh—” I clear my throat, pulling my mind back to the tour I’m supposed to be giving. “Sagrada Família. It’s close. Have you been?”
Chloe shakes her head. “I was supposed to go yesterday, but our flight got delayed.” She makes a face. “And then thismorning I spent three hours tracking down my sister’s lost luggage while everyone else went sightseeing. By the time I got back to the hotel, they’d already left for the ship. I thought I had time to do a little exploring on my own before meeting them, but…” She gestures vaguely. “Here we are.”
I shoot her a look, one brow raised. “So you’ve been left behind twice in one trip.”
“Well, when you put it like that, it sounds really pathetic.” She laughs, the musical tone echoing over the cobblestones.
“I was going for impressively consistent.”
She gives me a look, still smiling, but doubtful. “That’s a generous interpretation.”
We turn down a side street, and the sun breaks through the buildings, casting bright bars of light across the cobblestones. The warmth hits my face, and I can feel sweat prickling the back of my neck under the baseball cap.
My phone buzzes in my pocket. I pull it out?—
Dad
WHERE ARE YOU???
—then silence it without responding.
“Important?” Chloe asks.
“Nothing that can’t wait.” I shove the phone back in my pocket, along with a pang of guilt. I wasn’t planning to be gone this long…
He’ll be okay. “Come on. This way.”
