“You should come for lunch with us,” said Daniela. Vanessa saw Joey side-eye her friend. Part of her wanted to see what Joey was like with someone she actually liked. But the other part wanted to be away from the awkwardness that seemed to strain the atmosphere between them.
“I’d love to, but I have to finish this. Carmen is expecting something special, apparently.” Vanessa gritted her teeth, hoping that she’d be able to pull this off. It had been so long since she had baked anything, and the stakes felt very high.
“Well, we won’t be too long,” said Daniela. “See you later.”
“Yeah,” said Joey, nodding at Vanessa and leaving hurriedly.
The kitchen was hers. Vanessa sighed. She’d definitely rubbed Joey up the wrong way. It was a shame, really. It would have been wonderful to make a friend here. Especially one who knew the Spanish bakery secrets. And spoke English.
She retrieved a plate from the freezer and used a teaspoon to drop a dollop of jam onto it. She left it for a moment, then dragged her finger through the mixture. It had quickly developed a skin and wasn’t too liquid. Perfect.
She checked the oven. The sponges had risen well, if lopsidedly, and looked like they might be ready, too. She grabbed the oven gloves and pulled them from the giant oven, gently pressing her finger into the golden cake. It sprang back, just the way she wanted it to.Phew. This had to be good.
She carried on working for the next twenty minutes,finishing off her creation. It was a simple classic, but it was a classic for a reason.
Chapter Eight
JOEY
“So, what’s the face about?” asked Daniela as she tore into some tomato bread.
Joey rolled her eyes. “It’s just my face, Dani. Nothing different about it. I can’t help it if you don’t like it.” She felt the salt crystals from the bread they were sharing melt in her mouth.
“You look even grumpier than usual,” Dani replied, staring intently at her friend. “If I were a gambling woman, I’d say it’s that cute woman who’s baking in your kitchen right now.”
Joey huffed. “Oh, she’s fine. It’s like people think I can’t share my space.”
Dani cocked an eyebrow. “You can’t. I remember when we went on that camping trip and we shared a tent.” She grinned. “I love you dearly, but I’d never do that again.”
“I think it was the weather, not you,” Joey countered, taking a sip from her espresso.
“I think it was both. But we are digressing,” said Dani. “What’s the deal with the hottie?”
“The what?” asked Joey.
“The hottie. Wouldn’t you call her that?”
Joey groaned. Dani and Carmen often tried to pair her up with suitable women. “I hadn’t noticed,” she said. Which was enough of a lie to be betrayed by the red blooming on her cheeks.
“I don’t believe you.” Dani’s eyebrows were raised.
“Carmen has adopted her. She wants to open a Spanish bakery in the UK or something, but she can’t speak a word of Spanish and it’s clear she’s never eaten anything Spanish in her life.” Joey tutted.
“You can be very judgy, you know,” said Dani. “All power to the girl. She’s taken herself out of her comfort zone, come to Barcelona and she wants to learn. Everyone has to start somewhere. I bet your Spanish wasn’t brilliant when you moved here.”
“No,” said Joey, “but that was fifteen years ago. And at least I’d done GCSE Spanish. I knew how to say please and thank you.”
“Well, if you’ll come down from your high horse, I would imagine that there were kindly folk who helped you.” Dani’s curls moved as she tilted her head to looked over her glasses at her friend.
“Carmen was amazing,” admitted Joey.
“Well there you are, then. Perhaps now you can return the favour for hot Vanessa.”
Joey decided not to respond, instead leaving some Euros on the cafe table and getting ready to return to the bakery.
The duo walked slowly through the streets. It was too hot to hurry. “You still coming over for drinks and food tomorrow?” asked Dani.
“Sure.” Joey smiled. Dani always held such lovely soirées.
