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Laia puffs out her cheeks and exhales, nodding.

"Yeah, just at first. Once the ice is broken, I'm fine."

"But you already know me. You don't have to be nervous."

"I know." She shrugs, a casual gesture. "But I want this to go well. I've wanted this for a long time, and now that it's actually possible, I don't want to screw it up."

"Why would you screw it up?" Claudia moves closer until their arms brush and tilts her head toward her. "We've seen each other naked, Laia. I think we've already gotten past the tense part."

Laia coughs again, but her lips stretch into a nervous laugh.

"Okay, but can we not talk about that right now, please?" she asks, her cheeks as red as if she'd been sitting in front of a roaring fireplace.

"That can wait." Claudia turns serious and slips her free hand into her pocket. "When was it? You say you've liked me from the beginning, but when did it happen? What was the moment you realized?"

Laia lets out a slow breath before she answers.

"If I tell you, you might not believe me."

Claudia looks at her, perfectly serious.

"Try me."

"I saw you in the parking lot a few days before your contract started. You were with your parents and another man. I'd come out to run an errand and was standing by my car. When I saw you I froze. You looked elegant." She smiles, embarrassed. "You had that long coat open, hands in your pockets, walking with this confidence even though you seemed lost in thought. Something stirred inside me. You didn't even notice I was there, but I couldn't stop looking at you. That was the moment. Your presence did something to me that wouldn't let me sleep. And when I saw you that Monday and found out you were Elvira's niece, I knew I had a problem."

Claudia keeps walking without saying anything, turning over what she's told her and trying to find some sign she might have missed, but she can't come up with one.

"You hid it really well," she says quietly.

"When I put my mind to it, I know how to hide what I feel."

"You should have told me from the start, Laia." She murmurs it beside her. "Since I found out, I can't stop thinking about all those times Nadia and I—" She pauses for a moment and turns to look at her. "How did you stand it? I would have gone crazy. I was actually really bothered the night you left with that girl. I was in a bad mood for days without fully understanding what was going on with me. How did you do it?"

"It hurt a lot," Laia admits. "But I was so convinced you were simply not for me, that I was never going to have you, that some masochistic part of me made do with seeing you laugh, even if it was in someone else's arms. I know that sounds pathetic, but once I started spending time with you I didn't want to be apart from you. I knew your time at the company had an expiration date, and I guess I just wanted to make the most of whatever time I had to be close to you."

"If you'd told me, maybe I would have—"

"I don't think it would have changed anything at that point, Claudia." Laia cuts her off, and they start walking again. "All it would have done is make you uncomfortable and make everything weird between us. Or worse, you would have talked to your aunt so she'd put someone else on the assignment, and I needed that extra money."

"Fair enough," Claudia says. "But for what it's worth, I want you to know I'm really sorry you had to witness all of that. I wouldn't have done it if I'd known how you felt. I would have been more careful, I don't know. Sometimes I think about everything I do, and when I look in the mirror I don't recognize myself. That woman who goes out at night and acts like she's still twenty isn't me. She's… a version of me I use to numb my head. A cowardly version, I guess."

"I don't think you're a coward. And I don't know what's going on with you, and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. But either way, I didn't fall in love with that version. I fell in love with the real Claudia. The one who's thoughtful and kind and humble despite everything she has. You've always treated me with respect. You were warm from the very beginning, when someone else in your position would most likely have made my life hell. When I saw you that first day I had no idea who you were, but I watched you walk by, and on top of how attractive you were, I noticed something else."

Claudia looks at her, intrigued.

"You drew attention in a way you can't even imagine, without trying to, and you were the only one who seemed not to notice. That's when I was completely hooked. But then, once I got to know you, you were so genuinely charming that I knew it would be very hard to fall out of love with you."

They walk in silence for a while until they reach the end of the beach and turn around.

"So when you offered to sleep with me, you were serious," Claudia murmurs, unable to stop replaying every moment she's spent with her.

"Very serious," Laia admits, blushing. "That night in the bathroom, I wanted you to do anything to me."

Claudia shakes her head, unsettled.

"And I felt like a goddamn predator. I thought I'd pushed you into doing something you didn't want. That you were only there to make sure I left quickly."

"I would never do something like that for work," Laia says. "If I was there, it was because it was the only place I wanted to be. And when you pulled back, I was so overwhelmed by everything I was feeling that I couldn't think straight. I couldn't correct your mistake. That's why I didn't."