Page 111 of The Sweet Spot

She smiles, coming closer, hands clasped. “Maybe I’ll come out to São Paulo one day. You can show me around.”

He gives her one of his charm-infused grins and takes her hands in his. “I would love nothing more; it’s a spectacular city. Perhaps Luca could have you visit.”

“What time’s your flight, Pai?” I ask, hoping he doesn’t kiss her hand oranything equally over-the-top.

Thankfully, he doesn’t. “Noon. I’m dropping the rental off right at the airport.”

Nodding, I clap his back. “Okay. I’ll see you soon, then.”

He gives me a quick hug. “Have a wonderful night, Wren. It was a pleasure to meet you.”

“Your dad is…nicer than I thought he’d be,” Wren admits as we walk back inside through the garage.

“He has a soft spot for women,” I say. “But that’s about it.”

“He loves you,” she says softly.

I wonder what she’d say if she knew what he’d said about putting her behind my career. But I’m tired, and I don’t want to think about that. All I want is to crawl into bed with Wren and fall asleep with her next to me.

“I know he does.”

* * *

I come back to the room with two forks and an enormous hunk of cake.

“Oh, my God.” Wren sits up with a giggle. “That cake was crazy good.”

“The best.” I kick the door shut, pausing to lock it. The last thing I needis Daniel strolling in while we’re messing around. “You haven’t been to a Brazilian birthday party till you’ve had this.”

“Chocolate cake?”

“Brigadeiro cake.” I slide into bed with her, balancing the plate as she takes a fork. We eat in appreciative silence for a while.

“So, you did it,” says Wren, placing her fork down. She licks a crumb from her lip. “You graduated. You never have to go back to school again, unless you want to.”

Nodding, I put the plate aside and lie back. “I know. It’s surreal. You were probably right when you said it would be different this time, going to Brazil.”

“How so?”

“It’ll be more like a job, less like an internship.” I clasp my hands behind my head, staring at the ceiling. “It feels more…real.”

When Wren doesn’t say anything, I look at her. She pulls at the blanket, kneading the thick fabric between her fingertips. “It is real.”

“Hey.” I wrap my fingers around her wrist, shaking her a little. “Just a few months, right? You know I’ll be back. I have a return ticket, Wren. I’m not staying over there.”

She nods, smiling a little. “I know.”

“But I have been thinking a lot about something. About us.”

“What about us?”

My stomach turns over. Gorging myself on all that cake right before having this discussion wasn’t the best idea. “You’re gonna be gone with your dad, traveling all over the world. And I’ll be in São Paulo, working like a dog. Pai doesn’t fuck around.”

She nods, her eyes intent on mine.

“I think maybe we should take it easy while we’re apart.”

Wren stares at me. “What do you mean?”

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