Page 110 of Hot Shot

He nods. “I know.”

“And I realized I wasn’t going to get that by running away to Spain.”

“The guys told me I should have asked you to stay, but I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t ask you to give up something like that for me.”

“And I haven’t,” I say softly. “I made this choice based on what’s best for me. I was going to miss my family and my friends. I really,reallywant to be involved in setting up the drop-in art place for the kids. And I want to do all those jobs people were offering me, taking pictures of their kids.”

He gazes at me, his face softening. “See? I told you you’re talented and amazing.”

I smile back at him. I might just be ready to believe that now. It took some tough soul searching to admit that I was going to Spain for the wrong reasons. I have things to do here. I have to make sure Julia is okay. I have to make sure Grandma still has some fun in her life. I have so many reasons not to go, and I’m not even a little disappointed at not going to school in Madrid for nine months. I’m excited about visiting Spain, though, planning to make the most of my time there and take tons of pictures. And oh wow . . . with Marco there with me . . .

“This is going to be an even better trip than I expected,” I say softly, snuggling into him again as best I can.

“Hey. I know how we could outdo Beck and Hayden.”

I pull back and frown at him.

“Mile-high club, baby.”

I laugh and swat at his shoulder. “Shut up.”

“Maybe not this flight. But we’ve got a seven-hour flight coming up. That would definitely help pass the time.”

“Hmmm . . .”

23

MARCO

“It’s our last day.”

I turn onto my side to face Carrie in the bed we’ve shared for the last two weeks. She’s so goddamn gorgeous it takes my breath away every single day.

When I booked my flight, I included the return flight home, but Carrie didn’t, planning to decide when she got here how long she’d stay. She’s chosen to fly home with me.

The time has flown by.

The apartment she rented is in the Justicia barrio, and it’s pretty cool, in an old building but completely modern, with sleek albeit minimal furniture. Luckily she rented it by the month and had no trouble canceling after the first month. It’s close to the school, a neighborhood with a lot of young professionals, within walking distance to many of the sights we wanted to see, and close to the metro station for those attractions not so close. We’ve strolled along stylish, upscale streets lined with boutiques and restaurants and private galleries, quiet during the day but lively and vibrant at night.

We’ve wandered beautiful boulevards and toured so many museums and art galleries. We visited Retiro Park, the Royal Palace of Madrid, and Palacio de Cibeles. We shopped along Gran Vía, walking until our feet hurt, then stopping for tapas and craft beers, enjoying the sunshine and people watching beneath leafy trees. We strolled along the wide, tree-lined Paseo del Prado and explored the Golden Triangle of Art. After that, I declared we were done looking at “old paintings,” which generated a small argument about what exactly I want to do versus looking at art, architecture, and shops.

“I want to see a bullfight,” I stated.

“That’s horrible! I’m not going to a bullfight!” Her outrage was so cute.

“And a football game.”

She frowned.

“Soccer,” I clarified. “It’s huge here.”

She wrinkled her nose. “Maybe I could do a soccer game.”

A heated negotiation ensued that resulted in us going to a bullfight Sunday evening at the La Plaza de Toros de Las Ventas, which ended with Carrie hiding her face in tears when they started stabbing the bull, and a soccer game, which had her yawning, but she was a good sport about it and I love her for compromising.

We took the train to Valencia for a few days. With its palm trees and beach location, we almost felt like we were home in California. We lounged by the hotel pool and yes, we went to the beach and Carrie sunbathed topless, definitely one of the highlights of the trip.

Carrie has taken tons of photographs and spent time working on them while we kicked back at the apartment or the hotel room, but apparently she still has a lot of images to go through and edit.

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