I smile at the look on his face. ‘Have you known each other long?’
‘All our lives. Our parents are friends,’ he explains.
‘Have you ever gone out?’
‘Dated?’ He shakes his head. ‘No. Much to our mothers’ dismay,’ he adds aridly. ‘Hey, this is the design museum,’ he realises, glancing at the building we’re about to walk past. ‘Do you want to go?’
‘Not really. Not unless you do?’
‘No, I was thinking about you.’
‘Let’s stick to the plan.’
It’s kind of him to offer, but traipsing around a design museum – even a blissfully air-conditioned one – is the lastthing I want to do. It feels like a small rebellion against my parents to walk straight past it.
It’s not every day that you get to see an eleventh-century Moorish castle in the middle of a big city, but it’s too hot to properly enjoy it as we walk from tower to tower along the castle walls. Eventually I take my crumpled black dress out of my bag and drape it around my shoulders, an action that prompts Ash to place his new cap on top of my head with an amiable, ‘You need it more than I do.’
‘You have to put some of this on, though,’ I insist, handing him my factor 50 before adjusting the size of his cap to fit. We’ve paused under an umbrella pine. ‘I love these trees,’ I say. ‘I’d kill to have one in a garden someday. Or maybe a few. I adore pine nuts,’ I add with a smile, glancing at him to see that he’s put his sunglasses on top of his head while he applies sunscreen to his face.
I get a small shock at seeing his light brown eyes again after so long. They’re incredibly clear.
‘Is this where pine nuts come from?’ he asks with interest, staring up at the branches.
‘All pine trees produce pine nuts. But only around twenty species grow them big enough to bother with harvesting.’
‘How the fuck do you know that?’ he asks with a baffled laugh.
‘I googled it once. I don’t know why.’
‘Where are you planning to live when you go back home?’ he asks.
‘Where I’ve always lived – with my parents.’
‘You didn’t move out when you went to university?’
I shake my head, noticing a small spot of sunscreen that he hasn’t rubbed in properly. ‘It was easier to commute.’
I act on impulse as I reach up and smooth my thumb over his brow. His eyes flare wide as he stares down at me. His hair is falling forward, caressing his high cheekbones. He’ssogood-looking.
‘I’m starting to regret not going to the air-conditioned museum,’ I say awkwardly as I back up and fan my face.
‘We could go there now?’
‘I’d rather head to a park,’ I reply hopefully.
‘Happy to follow your lead.’
The Botanical Garden is closer, but as soon as I see the name Jardim da Estrela on my phone map, I’m sold.Estrelameans ‘star’,Stelladoes too, and Ash studied astronomy, so it feels like fate.
The garden is a green oasis in the middle of the city, countless trees and beds bursting with flowers. We wander past fountains and statues and a pond full of carp before settling on the grass in the shade of a jacaranda tree.
‘This is the most walking I’ve done in a single day,’ I say as I take off Ash’s cap and my white trainers, desperate to let my skin breathe.
‘Yeah, I reckon we’ve earned a few drinks tonight,’ Ash replies.
‘Are you still up for the Chinese bar?’
‘Absolutely. I’m intrigued.’
