I have to find a way to make him see me as a woman, and not his best friend’s kid – even if I only have one day to do it.
Chapter Seven
Fernando
I don’t think I’ve ever been up so bright and early, so ready to tackle the day ahead – and that’s with all my years in the world of business, where punctuality counts. I’ve never wanted to spend the day with someone as badly as I do with Ashley.
If I thought that time together was going to make me less determined to have her, I couldn’t have been more wrong. As it turns out, it only makes me desire her more. Every word we exchange has me falling deeper and deeper, every tiny piece of her I discover shows me she is everything I hoped for and more.
I always thought that love, at first sight, was a stupid idea. I’d never felt that kind of instant attraction before. But maybe – maybe there’s a chance that I was wrong.
And now that I’m more resolved than ever that Ashley will be mine, I guess I’m going to find out.
We meet in the hotel lobby; I was concerned that I might be too early because of my eagerness, but in the end, she was ready and joining me within a couple of minutes of my call. She looks fresh this morning in a pair of bright capri pants and a white blouse, light enough to keep her cool. Paired with sneakers, I can see she’s in the right mood for some exploring.
“What do you think about Gaudi?” I ask.
I see her eyes light up. “I’ve been thinking about visiting Parc Guell ever since I first decided to come here,” she says.
“Great. Then today is your lucky day,” I grin, turning and gesturing out of the lobby and towards the street.
The hotel she chose is quite central, which is good news, it means that we can get around most places without having to take a car. That means more time to chat, to stroll in a leisurely way, to get to know each other more and more.
We reach Parc Guell and its strange and fascinating sculptures early enough that it isn’t busy yet. “Wow, this place is so vibrant,” Ashley says, glancing around from one of the more famous spots, overlooking the rest of the park below.
Not as vibrant as you, I think, and that gives me an idea. “Hey, stand by the wall,” I tell her. “I’ll take a photo and send it to you.”
“Oh, no,” Ashley blushes, throwing me a horrified look. “I hate having my picture taken.”
“What?” I say, so taken aback that I end up coming across a little rude. “Why not?”
“I just…” Ashley shrugs. “I don’t think I look good in them.”
I shoot her a raised eyebrow and a horrified look of my own. “What are you talking about? You’re beautiful.”
She gives a half-laugh and scratches the back of her neck. “Thanks for saying that,” she says. “I guess you kind of have to after I said such a thing.”
“No, I don’t.” I wait until she looks at me so I can catch her eye. “I don’t have to say anything. I’m usually quite honest, to the point of being rude. Just ask anyone I work with.”
“Really?”
“Once I told my assistant that his new mustache, which he had spent several weeks growing, made him look like he had a court order preventing him from going anywhere near playgrounds,” I tell her, deadpan.
She laughs. “No, you didn’t.”
“I did. And it was true.” I shake my head. “But you? You’re stunning. You should have your picture taken more often. When you’re old and craggy like me, you’ll be able to look back on them and remember how beautiful you were.”
“You’re not craggy,” she chuckles. “You don’t look as old as you are, at all.”
“Oh, thank you,” I tease her. “So just to make it clear, I am still ancient, I just don’t look it?”
Her gaze turns semi-serious as she bites her lip. “I don’t think you’re ancient. Actually, you don’t act like most men my Dad’s age at all.”
“That’s because I didn’t have a baby when I was twenty years old and still trying to complete college,” I wink. “That kind of thing can age a man. Now, come on. Stand there and let me take the shot.”
“Alright.” With a little less reluctance than before, Ashley turns and stands where I direct her, although she still doesn’t look happy. Her face seems tense, fearful even.
“You know,” I tell her, still holding up my phone with the camera open. “It’s not going to bite. You can dare to look happy if you like.”
My words prompt her to laugh, and even though it’s only a small laugh, it’s enough. I capture a great smile on her face, and I immediately send it over to her so that she can see how beautiful she looks. I surreptitiously save it to my camera roll as well, thinking I will want a memory of this day of my own.