First out came a carafe of pale-coloured wine, followed by a parade of delicious tapas dishes. Catherine didn’t stand a chance of remembering the names, but the tastes wouldn’t be as easily forgotten. Each bite was an explosion of flavour. She’d trusted Jules to lead the way and found herself transported on a culinary adventure. The metaphor had not escaped her.
Jules rested her chin on her hand; her hazel eyes looked darker in the low light. “I love watching your face as you eat,” she said.
“Oh, have I got food on my chin?”
Jules giggled. “No, not at all. You just look like you’re savouring every mouthful. Like you said in your Yoda-Nigella blog, I suppose. It’s captivating… and kind of hot.” Her eyes dropped to Catherine’s mouth and, not for the first time that evening, heat surged through her. If Catherine wanted to make it through the meal, she needed to compose herself. She collected the napkin from her lap and dabbed the corners of her mouth before moving the conversation on to Jules’s first week in her new job.
“Yeah, it was good.” Jules nodded and sipped her wine. “I’ll be honest and tell you I was pretty distracted for most of the week because of what happened with us.”
“Oh no, I’m sorry that was on your mind instead of focussing on your work.”
Catherine grimaced, but Jules leaned forward and cupped a warm hand over hers. “It wasn’t your fault. But itdid have me wondering whether I’d made a huge mistake and should just go back to Barcelona.”
Catherine shook her head. “I don’t want you to do that.”
“Good, because my first week went really well. Turns out being distracted by you stopped me overthinking being a total noob. I was able to hang my hat on twenty years of first-hand experience, so I ended up being the go-to trainer by the third day.”
“Did it feel strange working at a normal altitude?”
“Ha! Yeah, but I’m so glad to be done with all that flying. I can’t wait to take trips for pleasure now.” A disarming smile lit up Jules’s face. “We should do that.”
“What?”
“Go somewhere together. Book a trip and explore somewhere new.”
Catherine almost spluttered her wine.
Jules winced. “Too soon?”
“A little, perhaps. But yeah, I’d like that. One day. Where do you want to go — Tbilisi?”
Jules cocked her head. “I don’t know where that is.”
Catherine laughed. “You have the guidebook, so I thought it might be…”
“Well, if I bought the guidebook, I must’ve liked the look of the place. I’ll look it up.”
“I already did; it’s in Georgia. Think — ancient buildings perched on cliff sides, vibrant markets, and, most importantly, good wine.”
“Cool, okay. Well, Tbilisi it is then. I’d also love to showyou Barcelona; you’d get a proper local’s tour. And after that, we could visit Will and Phil?—”
Catherine spluttered again, and Jules grinned.
“Will’s husband’s called Phil?”
“Yeah, and their last name’s Hill.”
“Seriously?”
“No, it’s Jones actually.” Jules laughed. “They have a beautiful place in Lisbon. We could definitely take advantage of that.”
“Sounds good. Well, whilst we’re compiling a list; there’s somewhere I’d like to go. An old friend I promised I’d visit.”
“Tell me more.” Jules sipped her wine.
“My friend Mei. I haven’t seen her since university, but we sort-of stayed in touch online.”
“Is she one of your six Facebook friends?” Jules teased.
