Page 101 of Kissing Games
‘But you can’t buy a ticket without my details, my passport number—’
Abuela waved dismissively. ‘We have all of that already.’
‘How?’
Abuelita clapped. ‘We were spies!’
Charlie slumped against the nearest shop window. None of this made any sense.
‘We were thinking ahead,’ said Abuela. ‘We know your date of birth and your name, so we rang up the castle and spoke to a lovely girl called Zoe who’s marrying the King of Kinloch.’
His jaw dropped.
Abuelita chipped in. ‘And he got your passport and sent us a copy. He also said he was going to give you some of his special shortbread to bring to us.’ She paused and stared at him. ‘You haven’t eaten it already, have you?’
He shook his head. Rory had made him take several boxes and promise to hold onto them until after the anniversary party.
‘Good,’ continued Abuela. ‘So you need to take Charles back home, then go and pack. Your flight leaves London tomorrow morning. We’re emailing your tickets and instructions on how to catch a bus to our house. Take a book to read. It’s a three-hour ride.’
‘But how do you know my…’ Charlie sighed and gave up. They probably knew more about him than he did. ‘Anything else?’
‘Yes,’ replied Abuelita. ‘Don’t forget the shortbread.’
When Charlieeventually got off the call, he looked around to check he hadn’t slipped into an alternate dimension, then rang Mack who seemed unsurprised that Charlie wanted to quit his latest job. ‘Mate, I’m gobsmacked you lasted this long. Do you want me to look for something else?’
‘Not right now. I’m going to take some time off.’
‘No problem. Let me know if you come back.’ Mack cut the call before Charlie could ask how he knew he was going anywhere.
He ran his hands over his face, feeling the grin that spread from ear to ear. He was going to see Valentina. He just had to think of what he could do to impress her. The one thing in his favour was that he would be in Colombia for a couple of days before she arrived. He’d have time to meet her family and get their help. Could he surprise her at the airport? Find out what her favourite song was and play it? Buy her a gallon of chocolate ice cream?
A pang of self-doubt hit him in the chest. What was he doing? What if her family hated him? What if they thought an oversized, tattooed Brit wasn’t good enough for her? And what if Valentina agreed?
He held the dog bag up to his face and looked at Charles.
‘Should I do it?’ Charles barked. ‘Should I go and fight for her?’ Charles licked the end of Charlie’s nose. ‘Okay, buddy, you’ve convinced me. I’m going to Colombia to win her back.’
35
It was the first time Charlie had ever turned left getting on an airplane. Once he stepped into the rarefied air of first class, part of him wished he hadn’t. The rest of the passengers were still boarding and fighting over baggage space whilst he was drinking champagne and stretching out his long legs. He’d made sure he scrubbed up well before arriving at the airport, however, glancing at the other first-class passengers in their leisure wear, he felt overdressed.
His phone rang. He put his glass down and pulled it out. He didn’t recognise the number, but they were calling from the States.
Valentina?
‘Hello, Charlie speaking.’ His voice sounded tense.
‘Hi, Charlie, this is Lorraine Olson.’Who?‘We got your number from Brad.’Huh?‘I’m calling from International Asset Management. We’d like to speak to you about working with us. Have you got a few minutes?’
Close protection work in LA? Yes, please.He looked out the window at the line of people still shuffling down the walkway to board the plane. ‘Yeah, sure. Go for it.’
The flight was nearlythirteen hours, so Charlie ate, dozed and dreamt of Valentina. What could he say to convince her to take a chance on him? She was, quite literally, a star. Whereas he was one of the millions of lumps of rock in the asteroid belt, lucky to have even spent time in her orbit. He was so proud of her for walking away from that shitty job in London. So pleased she’d taken Shauna on to help. Even if Valentina still turned him down, at least he knew her life would be better now than it was before they’d met.
When he couldn’t eat or sleep any more, he flicked through the entertainment channels, looking for something to watch. He stopped when he saw Valentina’s face. It was the latest episode ofSaturday Night Live.No fucking way.She’d done it. He started to watch, his heart filling as he saw the Valentina he loved shining out of the screen. She was vibrant, alive, glowing and laugh-out-loud funny. The producers must have realised they’d stumbled on someone with a gloriously expressive face and impeccable comic timing, as she was in almost every sketch.
The highlight was devoted to her selfies. It was set in a government office and she’d come to get her passport photo taken. The joke being, of course, that she was incapable of pulling a straight face. Charlie watched it over and over, remembering every incredible moment they’d spent together, his heart beating double time at the thought of seeing her again.
It was already night-time when the plane touched down in Bogota. Charlie looked at his watch. He didn’t have long to get his bags, get to the bus station and find the right one for the next leg of his journey. The abuelas had given him detailed instructions, but he was worried he was cutting it fine. He was also concerned about turning up on their doorstep in the early hours of the morning. However, Abuela had insisted that a handsome stranger turning up in the middle of the night would finally give the neighbours something to talk about.
