He dreaded the phone call to Angel, but he forced himself to make it. When he hung up, his hands shook, and some of the weight had lifted. He’d done one of the hardest jobs. Angel hadn’t seemed surprised at his decision and wished him well.
It was official. He was retiring after Valencia. Eleven races from now.
Next, he called his mom and arranged a two-week window for her to stay with Vince starting this Friday. It would be up to Vince if she stayed longer. The last thing he did before packing was to call Catarina’s mother, Lily, who was a real estate agent.
“This is Isaac Vasquez,” he said. “I’m headed out of town for a couple of weeks, but I’d like to hire you to find me a house and property, at least half a hectare. I’d like to buy in this area.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said. “What do you have in mind?”
“Somewhere close to Vince’s but with flatter land, so I can make a beginner dirt bike track,” he said. “And a house bigenough for a family, including a guest suite for my mother to live in someday.”
They discussed other criteria, like the office with a window, while she took notes.
At the end, Isaac said, “Please keep this conversation confidential. I’d like to surprise my girlfriend, and I don’t want Vince to hear that I’ve bought a house until I tell him myself.”
“I understand,” the older woman said. “Keep it on the down-low, as Catarina and her sisters would say. Consider it done. I’ll let you know when I have a shortlist of places to show you.”
Isaac hung up and looked around his room, taking stock. Though he’d technically moved out, his belongings were here again. It left an ache inside that Anna was able to take all of her things. Everything she had still fit in a single suitcase and the airport tote bag she had when she arrived. He was lucky. His room had a decade’s worth of memories. She’d once mentioned a storage locker with colored glass dishes from her grandmother. He’d be sure to buy a cabinet where they could be displayed in the new house. The idea of making her happy made him satisfied.
He considered sending Anna a text to let her know he was, at last, joining her, but decided instead to let his arrival in Portugal be a surprise.
CHAPTER 17
Anna
Returning from her afternoon swim, Anna slung her beach bag onto her shoulder as she trudged up the path. The water had been refreshing and the beach house had been everything she’d hoped, but the ten days she’d spent here had also been lonely—especially at night when she wasn’t writing. She’d had nightmares that featured Spencer, ones that left her crying, shaken, and unable to get back to sleep. When she slept next to Isaac, she felt safe and unsettling dreams hadn’t been a problem.
Eventually, she’d gotten up to work on her book, taking some time to enjoy the sunrise. Early this morning, she’d written the ending, and tightened it up over tea and breakfast.
She was excited about the story, though it was much darker in tone than she’d expected. Thoughts of darkness brought her back around to worrying about Spencer. How would she avoid him when they returned to racing? If it wasn’t for Isaac, she might have quit her umbrella girl gig. Money or no money. The reason she loved being at the racetracks was because he was there and he loved it. She’d even become a fan of the sport.
Yesterday she’d expected Isaac to call or text, but once again, he’d been silent. She could have called him, like every time they’d spoken so far, but she wanted to give him a chance to make the first move. She didn’t want to seem clingy when he was helping his brother. He might be too busy to talk to her. Maybeshe was bothering him too often when he had more important things to think about. There’d been several bouts of insecurity recently, with thoughts that maybe Isaac wasn’t head over heels, even if she was. Maybe she’d misread the situation, and she’d simply been convenient. That didn’t feel true, but it was her worry.
These thoughts bruised her heart.
She kicked a rock as she left the beach and watched it skitter along the shoreline path. In the ten days since she’d arrived in Portugal, she’d averaged ten hours a day writing her story. Her modern fairytale was complicated, rife with both beauty and horror, and she was proud of what she’d accomplished. She’d written an entire book-length story from beginning to end.
She’d sent Isaac a text mid-morning to share her accomplishment, but he hadn’t replied. Had he become so wrapped up in Vince and his old life that he was drifting away? Perhaps the distance made it easier for him to let her go. It would be easier to bear than fighting and breaking up, but no less painful. She left the beach and strolled up the stairs toward the house on the cliff overlooking the ocean.
The beach property was perfect, and Portugal was lovely. It should have been an ideal vacation but, without Isaac, it was lacking. Being here was something she and Isaac had planned for the two of them. Since the day she arrived, when she’d stocked up at the market, she had gone nowhere else to take advantage of her holiday. All she’d done was write and wander down to the water for a swim every afternoon. It had been more like work than a vacation. Maybe tomorrow she should celebrate the end of her book by doing touristy things and enjoy herself with something new. She could find some more gelato, too.
She wasn’t sure what remained to eat in the house for dinner tonight, but she didn’t feel like going out, so she’d have to find something. Tomorrow she’d get groceries and let her story sit fora few days before starting revisions. Maybe even a week. She’d leave it longer if she could, but her fall deadline still loomed. She’d read that editing advice somewhere, that taking a break allowed you to have fresh eyes when you read over it the next time.
Maybe that was the same with people. If you were away, you saw things differently when they were around again, like the expression that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Turning the last corner of the windy stairs up from the beach to the rental, she looked up. A man sat on the front stairs of her beach house. She took only another step before the realization of who it was sunk in, and she bounded up the final stairs. She arrived at the top as Isaac jumped forward and swung her up and around in her favorite kind of Isaac hug. He felt like he always did and she exhaled a deep breath, all her doubts and worry expelled.
He squeezed her tight. “I missed you. I’m an idiot and should have come sooner. Will you forgive me?” He set her down and met her gaze, waiting for an answer.
A smile tugged at her lips, and she pulled his mouth down to hers. The familiar tingle of electricity ran through her, stronger than ever. Absence hadn’t strengthened her feelings. She was already all-in.
“I missed you too.” She’d missed the warmth of his eyes and the way his smile lit up the world, making everything better. She stepped back, suddenly self-conscious of her sandy, sunscreen-covered skin that had left her sticky.
“You aren’t getting away from me yet,” he said, tugging her closer and kissing her again. The faint scent of his peppermint soap enveloped her, and she inhaled. Everything about being with Isaac took the edge away. She felt safe, something she couldn’t remember feeling anywhere else since her grandmother had died. She’d been silly to doubt.
When they came up for air, she said, “Shower with me? I’m covered in saltwater, sunscreen, and sand. You know how I hate feeling gritty.”
“A shower. Now you’re talking. I’m hot from the road.” Isaac returned to his car and hefted a suitcase from the trunk while she waited before going inside into the air-conditioned interior together. He leaned into the car and grabbed his phone, glancing at the screen.
“You finished your story.” He grinned. “Congratulations.”
