Catarina smothered a laugh and winked at him. He hadn’t meant his interest in Anna to be so obvious. “Yes, we’re old friends. I’ve known Isaac forever. He’s like a brother.” She turned to Anna. “We’ve got four rooms available.” Catarina pulled her long, black braid over her shoulder. “You can take your pick, but the upstairs ones are nicer.” Her hand, with manicured bright red nails, reached for the tote, and he surrendered it. He passed the suitcase to Anna.
Before he turned away, Isaac said, “Catarina will be more helpful with shopping than I could be. You should ask her for the best places to go.”
“Shopping?” Catarina’s eyes twinkled, “My specialty.” She draped her arm around Anna’s shoulders as she led her away. “Maybe we can go shopping together in a couple of hours when I’m off, and you’re settled.”
Anna shot Isaac one last look over her shoulder. He nodded, and his face warmed.
He hadn’t asked Vince’s question, and now it was too late, but he wasn’t sorry. He shouldn’t care if she dated his brother—but he did. He didn’t move as the two women headed for the stairs, unable to rip his gaze away.
Anna turned back and said in accented Spanish, “I’m not interested in a date with your brother.” She took a deep breath and clutched the handrail. “But if you ask me out for dinner, I’d say yes.”
She’d understood Vince’s words. And his own. Heat rose up his neck and face, but before he could speak, Catarina chortled. “You’re turning down Vince Vasquez? I think we’re going to get along famously.”
Before Isaac stammered something awkward or ridiculous, Anna and Catarina turned the corner of the staircase, and she was gone. He wouldn’t tell Vince the last part. He’d say that he’d forgotten to ask, which was true.
Isaac left the Inn with a spring in his step and returned to his brother, thinking about Anna’s declaration with a smile. He wouldn’t ask for that date, but her unexpected preference filled him with pleasure.
“Well,” said Vince, passing Isaac’s bike back. “Is she coming over later?”
“I didn’t get a chance to ask,” said Isaac. “Catarina has taken her in hand. By this evening, they’ll be best friends. This might be the last we see of her.”
“Catarina is coming on tour with us this year,” said Vince absently as he mounted his bike and pedaled toward the mountain road they favored for daily conditioning rides. “I talked to HRC about her last week. They hired her as my new umbrella girl because she wants to get back into the racing world and travel. Unlike some girls at the venues, she won’t bother me or be a distraction. She knows I’m serious when racing. Not like the other one.”
Vince had asked for the other umbrella girl to be let go. The first problem had been that she’d kept talking to him onthe starting grid. Anyone with sense would know the MotoGP riders concentrated before races, visualizing each corner and replaying braking markers for each part of the track. Instead of providing shade and giving him peace, she’d chatted incessantly and snapped her gum. She’d lasted two races.
Isaac wasn’t surprised Vince had gotten someone safe, someone familiar, to accompany them this year. Too many women on tour were ‘helmet chasers’ who tried to sleep with the racers. That sounded great in theory, but it wasn’t in practice. They weren’t Isaac’s type of woman. He’d rather find someone with whom he had something in common.
Vince would be considered a prize, but he’d never been interested in the circuit girls either. He might casually date at home or in the city, never on the road. He maintained that racing and dating didn’t mix. The championship came first. Some riders might welcome the idolization, but Vince had been unimpressed when one had snuck into his trailer, waiting in his bed stark naked. She’d lost her job on the spot. Women like that were unnecessary distractions.
Isaac had never had trouble. Most of the time, his umbrella was held by one of his mechanics, or his mother if she joined them for a race or two. He’d long since stopped thinking life was unfair. It was just how things were. Vince got special treatment, and everyone worked around him. Isaac couldn’t even begrudge him for it. Nobody worked more relentlessly to succeed than Vince.
CHAPTER 3
Anna
Anna breathed in the clear air of Cervera, relishing the quiet which had eluded her since she had left her old life. Barcelona had been hectic and busy, even if parts were postcard worthy. Despite being in a foreign country, Anna had been disappointed. It had seemed much like any other big city back home, except with more people and older buildings. Finding anywhere peaceful to sit and write in such a noisy throng had been impossible. Barcelona was also more expensive than she’d considered when she’d chosen Spain as her destination. The snap decision to head into the countryside had seemed inspired.
Cervera was lovely with the promise of spring. There were new green leaves on the trees and the picturesque old city on the hill enclosed by a wall from the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Though only an hour and a half from Barcelona by bus, it was a different world. The village might be the perfect place to write, but she wouldn’t be able to stay long unless she found a job. Preferably one that wouldn’t monopolize her time. She’d wasted enough time on things that didn’t matter.
She smiled at the idea of a possible new friend, Catarina. When they met up to shop, she would ask her for job advice. She’d come to Europe without sandals, a bathing suit, or enough underwear. Her only major purchases in Barcelona had been anelectrical adapter for her chargers to plug in and a new SIM card for her phone at the airport.
Anna had also converted the cash from selling her car into Euros, leaving her bank account in Seattle alone. It held enough money for six months’ worth of townhouse payments, because she couldn’t expect Adam to pay the mortgage. By the end of the summer, she would deal with the remnants of her old life and find someone to help her sell the place back in America. She didn’t plan to go back to that life, but she could return to North America if she chose. Maybe she’d choose a new city or somewhere quiet in a small town.
Anna glanced down at her phone and her Messenger notifications. She had eighty-seven unread messages—all from Adam. She’d muted him at the airport before she left. Now that she had Wi-Fi again, his latest messages were stacking up. She had a feeling they’d say variations of “Where are you?”, “Stop being childish”, and “Come home.” She didn’t want to talk to him. If she spoke to him, she would stammer through, and he wouldn’t respect what she had to say. He might even mock her for being “difficult” and “too emotional.” With shaking hands, she deleted the messages unread and blocked him. With luck, she could avoid him forever. Maybe she’d hire a lawyer to oversee the sale of the townhouse.
Someone knocked on the door to Anna’s room and she jumped, fear skittering through her for a second. In the days since she’d left Seattle, she startled easily, but her nerves should settle now that she had arrived in such a peaceful place. Cervera seemed like somewhere she wanted to stay longer. A familiar town would go a long way toward calming her jitters. She’d feel better when strange surroundings were no longer a source of stress. This was a new start.
She opened the door and smiled to find Catarina outside in the dim hallway. Anna felt less self-conscious about speakingEnglish while in Spain. Catarina’s English seemed good, Isaac’s had been even better, and his brother with the fiery eyes had spoken fluently with very little accent.
Despite Vince’s handsome face, she’d found his intensity unnerving. Isaac was more her style. She also appreciated his height, finding him more attractive than his brother. She might want to change her life, but she wasn’t about to change who she was. A fling in Europe might be fun, but she’d never been that kind of girl.
“You ready?” said Catarina, tossing her dark hair, no longer in its braid.
The language barrier didn’t seem to be a problem, which reduced the tension Anna had carried in her shoulders since she’d boarded the plane three days ago. She’d taken Spanish in school and been fluent on paper, but her anxiety stemmed from not having had many opportunities to speak it in the last ten years. Her skills were rusty.
This morning, the young men had spoken too fast for her to understand every word with her limited language skills, but she’d caught Vince’s lingering look, the word “date”, and the possible flash of disappointment in Isaac’s eyes. It had been brief, but she noticed only because she was used to tracking emotions as a matter of course. Reading people took work. But he’d also called her pretty.
“Are you sure you don’t mind coming with me? If it’s easier, you can just point me in the right direction. I’m just looking for clothes, a bathing suit, and underwear. Nothing exciting.” Anna hoped Catarina still wanted to go shopping, but only if it wasn’t a burden.
