Breathe Me - C.R. Jane Page 0,74

the one who makes them understand. And I won’t be able to do that if I let myself be swept over by Carter’s seducing smirk, or Quaid’s infections laugh, or Logan’s shy smile. I need to have my wits about me, because they need me to.

That’s what Dad was trying to warn me about.

Only fools rush in, and my father didn’t raise any fools

Chapter 15

Now

________________________________________

Valentina

After a few more days in Paris, in which very little progress was made with Carter, but a lot of fun was had with Quaid and Logan, we make our way to Malaga, Spain. Since airfare is so cheap between all of the European countries, I hadn’t bothered to book any of them ahead. And since I hadn’t exactly given the guys a full itinerary when I’d suggested this adventure in my letters, the guys obviously hadn’t booked anything either.

It had been a long time since I'd had companions on a flight. It was nice to have someone to hold my hand when I freaked out about the turbulence we encountered twenty minutes in. Carter only gave me a little crap about the fact that I screamed when the plane seemed to drop out of the sky at one point.

Maybe we'll travel by train for the rest of the time.

Malaga is beautiful with its yellow sand beaches that border the Mediterranean Sea and all of the historical buildings and high-rise hotels intermixed with each other everywhere. The color of the Mediterranean Sea is almost unreal, and I feel like I've stepped into a postcard or something. Malaga and Paris are so different, but both equally beautiful.

"Why are we here again?" Carter asks, bored as he puts his sunglasses on and looks around, looking like a dangerous playboy as he does so. My heart skips a beat, and it takes me a second to answer his question.

"We're drinking wine and napping under a tree," I tell them.

"You really put that on your list?" Logan asks with a laugh, his golden hair sparkling in the sun, making him look a bit like a fairy tale prince.

"Of course. I've got everything we talked about that day right in this notebook," I respond with a smile, patting my leather purse I've got slung over my shoulder, which carries my notebook and everything else I have of value in the world.

"Do you have a particular tree in mind?" Quaid smirks, his gaze dancing along the boulevard where we are walking. There are palm trees gently waving in the breeze, and the beach is right below us. I'm itching to find my way there later.

"We'll save that for tomorrow. There's a wine cafe right on the beach that I booked us reservations at, and I want to spend the day on the beach before we go."

"Lead the way," jokes Quaid.

I did research on hotels and decided on the Palacio Solecio. I'm immediately enchanted the second we step foot through the lobby. "This used to be a palace, and it's just recently been restored and opened up as a hotel," I explain as the guys also look around enchanted.

We check in, and there's an awkward moment when we're asked how many rooms we want.

"Do you have a suite?" I ask, before Carter can ask for his own room. At least if we're in a suite, he will be in the general vicinity of the rest of us.

"The only one we have available is the Presidential Suite," he explains apologetically, figuring there was no way that I can afford that.

He's definitely right.

Before I can just give us our names for single rooms, Quaid slaps down a black card that has everyone's eyes widening.

"We'll take the Presidential Suite," he says, and the hotel employee's eyes light up. Perhaps he gets a commission when he manages to book it.

I touch Quaid's shoulder. "You don't need to do that. We can just get single rooms," I tell him. Logan rolls his eyes and slaps down his regular colored credit card. "Put a fourth of it on my card," he says.

Quaid looks at him in disbelief. "One fourth?"

"You're a lot richer, bastard," Logan says with a cheeky grin, and I can't help but snort, which has the three of them plus the employee staring at me.

"I'm not contributing anything," Carter announces.

"Didn't think you would, asshole. Seeing as how you don't even want to be here," mutters Logan as the employee pretends not to be listening avidly to us.

Carter’s eyes reflect hurt briefly at Logan's comment, but then he