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I’d wanted to get into the office early, but I needed a shower and I knew no one on my team would be working on a Saturday or waiting on me to arrive. The hot water felt amazing and I wanted to say there forever, but I finally hauled myself out of the shower, got dressed, threw my hair into a wet bun, and walked to the arena.

My car was lonely in an almost empty parking lot, and I was grateful that no one had broken any windows or stolen the tires in the middle of the night. Entering my office I saw a large Starbucks cup and a bag on my desk.

An almond milk latte with vanilla cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon on top, and a blueberry muffin. There was not the slightest doubt in my mind who had left such wonderful gifts for me. Grabbing the coffee, I walked down the hall and out to a spot where I could look down at the ice. The whole team was there, weaving back and forth across the width of the ice in a serpentine pattern as they worked their way from one end to the other. It was a thing of beauty, even if some of the orcs were more than a little unsteady on their skates as they made the turns. Still, no one fell. Once they all had done a back-and-forth in the serpentine pattern, Ozar shouted something in Orcish and the team separated into four groups for a passing activity. My gaze focused on Bwat and I was thrilled to see how well he was doing. In spite of his penalties last night, the orc really was improving. Reluctantly, I walked back to my office, and began checking all the social media accounts as well as my emails.

Noon came and went as I worked on the announcements for our newest hires: Willa as the team athletic trainer, and Bill Rencovitch, the team’s coach. Willa was an easy sell, even if she didn’t have any professional sports team experience. She’d had some high profile local athletes as personal training clients, and I emphasized her as a Baltimore-born-and-bred local. Bill was a little more difficult. His hockey coaching experience had been at the high school level, and the owner had brought him in from out of state. Still, I highlighted his wins and just hoped no one Googled his background.

At two o’clock, my door opened and Bwat peered into my office. “Have you eaten?”

I held up the empty muffin bag. “Yes. I have eaten.”

His sigh practically vibrated the walls. “Abby. It is two o’clock in the afternoon, and I am sure you did not eat anything before you came to the office. One muffin isn’t enough to sustain you.”

I made a face, even though I knew he was right. “I know. I just want to get everything finished then I’ll pick something up on my way home tonight.”

“I can take you to lunch,” he suggested.

I reluctantly shook my head. “I’m absolutely swamped. No lunch break for me today or anytime in the near future. I’ll be lucky if I get out of here before nightfall.”

“Then I will be right back.”

The door shut before I could ask him where he was going and why. Ten minutes later he had returned with both hands full.

“There is a food truck out front of the arena with something called gyros. Do you want lamb or chicken or both.”

I laughed as the orc put four foil-wrapped gyros on the corner of my desk. “Lamb. Thank you, Bwat.”

Now that I was smelling the spicy goodness, I realized I was starving. We both dug into the food, not saying a word until we’d both eaten most of our meal.

“I like the lamb better than the chicken,” he announced. “Although the chicken is very good.”

“I swear I’d eat a piece of cardboard if it had tzatziki sauce on it. And while I do like chicken gyros, lamb is my favorite too,” I told him.

“The man at the food truck told me he is from Greece. I think I would like to go there sometime and see if the gyros there are better than the ones from this man’s food truck,” Bwat commented.

“Mmmm,” I agreed, my mouth full with a last bite.

“But first, I would like to go to Spain with you.”

There was an odd hesitation in the way he said it, as if he expected me to flat out tell him I had no intention of traveling anywhere with him.

But did I truly want to take a vacation with Bwat? I’d been all for it yesterday, but with all the strange feelings I’d had for him lately, suddenly I was a little scared to commit.

Commit to this or anything else.

“Dylan Emmet and I were texting last night. He and his wife are thinking of going to Spain once the hockey games are finished, and he invited us to come along.” Bwat fidgeted nervously, picking at the foil holding his third gyro. “I told him I wanted to travel, and that you were my friend and also wanted to travel. His wife’s ancestors are from Spain, and I am interested in hearing about her family history there.”

And now I felt like a total idiot for my hesitation.

“How long are you thinking of being there?” I asked. “I could get two weeks off, maybe three if I was able to do some work while I was there.”

“Then let’s plan for three weeks. Let me know if there are areas and cities you particularly want to visit. Dylan and I will make the plans and share the itinerary with you and Rae so you can comment and tell us what changes you both want to make.”

Rae. Dylan and Rae. And Bwat. Three weeks in Spain. I was nearly giddy with excitement.

“Oh, and I almost forgot to tell you that while Dylan is trying to arrange for family to watch their offspring Sarah, they may need to bring her with them on this trip. She will be a year old. I’m not sure what a one-year-old human requires in terms of care or how Sarah might affect what we can do, but Dylan said we can go places and do things without them if we want.”

“I honestly don’t know what a one-year-old needs or can do either,” I confessed. “I was an only child and don’t have any cousins or friends with young children.”