is not. And if she doesn’t know that, you have to make her understand.”
Strands of determination coursed through him. He’d do better than that. I’ll show it to her. “I need to make a phone call.”
…
Alexa looked at the airline website. She slid her fingers down the mouse of her laptop, the same way she had for the last two weeks. Heat pitched low in her stomach, and her palms were clammy. Anxiety wrapped around her neck, squeezing her throat, and for a moment or two, her gaze fixed on the screen.
“Would you like anything else, señorita?” asked the waiter.
Alexa put down her small cup of black coffee and glanced at the Spanish waitress smiling at her. “No, I’m good.”
Was she? Not by a long shot. For the past three weeks, she’d been volunteering at one of Europe’s largest organizations for assisting victims of abuse—battered women and children. She was now Amanda Snowden, and had bought a charming apartment in a nice area of Barcelona.
She turned her laptop off and focused on the hustle and bustle of downtown. An old lady walked her French bulldog. Taking another sip of her coffee, she mused. She couldn’t buy a ticket to see Brooks in Texas—she was no longer Alexa. She’d become Amanda, an American with fat pockets who decided to do volunteer work and perfect her Spanish.
Her phone buzzed, and she fished it out of her bag, immediately recognizing Jackie’s number on FaceTime. She flicked it on, and Jackie waved at her enthusiastically.
“Hey,” Alexa said, her pulse fluttering with excitement.
She missed Jackie. Thankfully, Jackie had continued to run House of Alexa with a lot of success—which was why Alexa didn’t ask for updates very often, because she knew how busy Jackie must be.
And she had a life now, too. Enjoyed the work, even if a part of her felt like she ate delicious food without tasting the flavor.
“What’s wrong?” Jackie asked. “You look sad.”
“I’m not sad. I’m subdued and in a café.”
Jackie wrinkled her nose, like she didn’t buy her excuse. “You left a lot behind, Alexa. Make it count.”
“I am,” she said, injecting some enthusiasm in her voice. “I’m doing good work to help save the world, I’m walking everywhere, and oh, I’m also going to museums. A lot of them.”
“By yourself?”
“Yes.” A couple of volunteers had taken her out once, but she hadn’t really wanted to open herself to new relationships. Not yet. Not when she was still healing from one. Healing from Brooks. A knot formed in her stomach. She hadn’t expected to get over him quickly, but their memories playing back in her mind every waking hour didn’t help.
“Sounds like you could use some company,” said a deep Texan accent she knew too well. She glanced from the phone to the man standing in front of her, and every part of her froze for a moment. Her stomach dropped, and when her heart beat again, it throbbed all her pulse points at once.
“I’ll talk to you later. Gotta go,” she managed to say to Jackie before turning off the call.
He pulled out a chair and sat in front of her. He wore a casual shirt with jeans, but what caught her attention was the gleam of resolution in his eyes. How is he here? Jackie. Jackie must have told him about the café she usually went to.
She squared her shoulders. “Maybe I’m on my own because I want to be.”
He tilted his head to the side, like he wanted a good look at her. His gaze heated her flesh, but she managed to stay still. “Then you’re stronger than me, Madam. Because the last month has been hell.”
She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. His words echoed in her ears a few times until they made sense. He’d missed her. Was it possible he’d come all this way for her? She shifted in her seat, heart drumming in her ears. “Has it?” she managed to say, afraid she’d make a fool of herself.
“I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”
She meant to swallow, but her tongue got stuck on the roof of her mouth. Ripples of excitement moved through her, and she leaned in, finding it difficult not to move. “How’s your mother?”
“Alive and well. Asked me about you a couple of times.”
“What did you say?”
“I called her on my way here—after I talked to Jackie and found out your address—to say I’d be going out of the country to be with you.”
Be with me. Sweat slicked her palms. For