Spanish Surrender Excerpt

Hola Friends,

Spanish Surrender has been out for one week, and I am starting to recover from the death-warmed-over-style plague I came down with at GCLS, so let’s get the ball rolling for real now!

I can’t think of any better way to get you all interested in this book than to give you a peak at this book. Seriously, I know that might sound a little vain, but I honestly believe these characters speak best for themselves. So what do you say? Want to play hooky from work for the next few minutes and read the first chapter of my sexy, new travel romance?

Of course you do!

Spanish Surrender – Chapter 1

Simone sighed dramatically and tapped the tips of her high heeled shoes against the terra-cotta tile of the hotel lobby floor. The lone woman working the registration counter had been on the phone for six minutes and forty-three seconds. Simone checked her watch again, mentally preparing her strongly worded complaint to this woman’s supervisor. The clerk turned to Simone, giving her a little smile and shrug before laughing at something the person on the phone said and turning away once more. Simone’s jaw tightened, but she didn’t blow her top. Her temper simmered, slow and exacting, liquid nitrogen in place of fire.

“ Perdoname, señora ,” someone said behind her, but Simone didn’t turn around until the person added in unexpected English, “excuse me, ma’am.”

“Yes?” Simone spun on her three-inch spike of a heel, hoping for a manager, but the sight of a short, unassuming woman caught her off guard. She couldn’t be more than mid-twenties, with a broad, easy smile that didn’t seem consistent with management material.

The woman scanned her up and down before giving her a knowing smile. “I’m sorry,  señorita.”

Simone was vaguely aware that the title made some sort of comment on her age, or her marital status, but she got enough of those speculations in English that she wasn’t going to indulge them in Spanish, too. “Can i help you?”

“May I buy you a cup of tea?”

Simone was exhausted from her red-eye flight from Milan, but she examined the woman more closely. Her chestnut hair wisped deliberately across her forehead, and her bright blue polo shirt that read ‘Corazones Española Tours’ made her cornflower eyes stand out against her golden tan. Even without having slept in twenty-four hours, Simone recognized a tempting little dish when she saw one. Had she been on the vacation she was supposed to be on, she would’ve accepted. However, the vacation had turned business trip, and she hadn’t gotten where she had by mixing business with pleasure.

“Thank you, but I need to get checked in, and if that doesn’t happen in”—she glanced at her watch again—“the next thirty seconds, heads will roll.”

“Spain has seen a few beheadings over the years,” the woman said, not seeming the least bit intimidated, “but it seems a shame to get blood on those fancy shoes.”

Simone arched an eyebrow but didn’t budge.

“Fine,” the woman said with a grin, “would you like some company while you wait?”

“I really don’t think that’s—”

“I’m Ren, by the way.” She extended her hand.

Simone accepted with a quick firm shake, her frustration slipping despite her effort to maintain it. “Ren, you are persistent.”

“You really have no idea,  Americana.”

“Simone. I’d love to chat, but I don’t have the time.

“I doubt that.”

“Which part?”

“Both,” Ren said, her grin disarming despite the comment. “But we can focus on the latter, because I’ve been in this hotel every two weeks for the last two years, and I can tell you with authority, no one’s getting into any of the rooms until at least noon.”

“We’ll see about that,” Simone said, causing Ren to laugh softly.

She didn’t appreciate the humor. drawing herself up to her full height and folding her arms across her chest, she fixed Ren with a steely glare, but the smaller woman continued conversationally.

“The clerk doesn’t speak English, and I take it you don’t speak Spanish?”

“I speak with a visa platinum card.”

“Ah, so this your first time in this part of Spain?”

“I’m an experienced traveler.”

“Good. So, tell me this, experienced traveler, what do you notice about that sign?” Ren pointed to a white sheet of paper in a wooden frame that said, “wait your turn.”

“It’s shoddily made.”

Ren laughed outright this time. “What about the fact that you can read it?”

Simone read the sign again, then contrasted it quickly with the other signs in the hotel lobby. This was the only one in English, and it was written only in English, with no Spanish counterpart.

“You, Ms. impatient  Americana , are that sign’s audience,” Ren said. “And you’re not the first of your kind to be in this predicament, so you have two choices: continue to stand here fuming, only to be summarily told there’s no room available yet, or have a nice, soothing cup of tea with me while my wife finishes up in our room. Then I’ll ask the clerk, in Spanish, to give it to you.”

Impatient American? Simone’s anger at Ren’s presumptuousness warred with her practical side, which recognized a useful partnership when she saw one. She glanced once more at the clerk, who was still chatting happily on the phone with little sign of wrapping up, and decided that, despite the well-timed mention of a wife, Ren was clearly the more enticing option for getting what she wanted right now.

###

Loreto opened one eye enough to see that the clock read nine. She mentally reviewed her schedule. It was a free day for her current tour group, so she didn’t have any responsibility to the students until dinnertime. She should be entitled to sleep off whatever it was she did last night, so why was her boss yelling at her from the other side of her hotel room door?

“Loreto, open the door,  por favor.”

Lina didn’t sound like she was here for a fun chat, and Loreto tried a little harder to remember the fuzzy parts of the previous night as an arm snaked over her shoulder and slid down her chest. The details came back to her. She rolled onto her back, allowing herself to look at the owner of the hand, who was now drawing circles around her nipple.  La Señora  Markus.

Loreto smiled. She always loved finding out one of those deliciously studious teacher types by day turned into a hellcat by night.

La Señora  bit loreto hard on the shoulder and sucked her skin. Apparently, she could be a hellcat during the day, too.

“Loreto, if you don’t open this door right now, I’m going to get the housekeeper to open it for me,” Lina called, her voice holding both annoyance and amusement.

“ Mierda.” Loreto groaned and disengaged herself from  La Señora  Markus’s lovely mouth. “I’m coming.”

“That’s what I was afraid of,” Lina said dryly, and Loreto laughed. She loved her boss’s dry sense of humor, and if she was wielding it so early in the morning, odds were good Loreto wasn’t in that much trouble.

She pulled on a pair of boxer shorts but left her chest bare and opened the door. Lina stood in the hall with three of the girls from their current tour group. “ Buenos dias, chicas.”

All three students immediately turned bright shades of red and averted their eyes, while Lina took the chance to give Loreto a warning glare, then shook her head.

“Loreto, the ladies are worried because they can’t find their teacher. She usually meets them for breakfast and then spends some time on the phone with her husband back in London, but she wasn’t in the restaurant, and her husband has been calling for her.”

“Her husband, you say?” Loreto rubbed the bite marks on her shoulder

“She went out with you last night,” one of the girls cut in. “Do you know where she is?”

Lina shook her head almost imperceptibly, and the little lie rolled naturally off Loreto’s tongue. “After dinner I suggested she take in the sunrise on the beach, and then maybe walk through the markets back up through the old town. I’m sure she’ll return within the hour.”

“See, girls, I told you Loreto had likely played tour guide to La Señora  Markus,” Lina offered soothingly. “She’s always eager to introduce people to the finer experiences Spain has to offer.”

“Well if you see her, tell her we’re going shopping in Larios this morning,” the same girl said, her tone infinitely more relaxed.

“If i see her, i’ll let her know,” Loreto said, and the girls hurried off, but Lina stayed put. “yes, boss?”

“What do i have to say to make you understand we have a responsibility to the people on our tours?”

“A responsibility to introduce them to the finer experiences Spain has to offer?”

Lina rolled her eyes. “We’ve talked about this, Loreto.”

“No, we talked about not sleeping with the students, you never said anything about the teachers.”

“Then put on your pants and come downstairs so I can clarify the company policy.”

“Right now?” Loreto whined. “I have plans.”

“Your plans have to call her husband back.”

Loreto’s stomach tightened just a bit. “Oh yeah.”

Lina tapped lightly on the large hickey on Loreto’s shoulder.

“And wear a shirt with sleeves.”

###

Ren set a small kettle of tea on the table between them. The hotel’s restaurant was more of a café or collection of tables on a patio off a small kitchen. Simone had no idea why her boss’s secretary had booked her in a place like this. Something about a film festival, and last minute. The excuse hardly seemed acceptable.

“What brings you to  España ?” Ren asked, pouring the tea through a small mesh sieve and into a baby blue mug.

“Work.”

“ Trabajo ,” Ren said, then added, “Just in case you wanted to pick up a little Spanish.”

“I’d rather pick up a good translator. Are you interested? I’d be willing to pay well above the going rate.”

“I’m a tour guide, not an interpreter.”

“I could use a guide, too. I have an important meeting this time next week, and I need to pick up some conversation topics between now and then that make me seem in tune with Spanish culture. If you want the job, I’ll gladly compensate your employer for your time.”

Ren’s smile faded. “Make you  seem  in tune with Spanish culture, not actually help you get in tune with it?”

Before Simone had the chance to dismiss that idea, a sexy, young woman with long, dark hair and olive skin sidled up next to Ren and placed a sweet kiss on her cheek. “I’m so sorry to interrupt, but Loreto is on her way down.”

Ren snorted softly. “Down on who?”

“ La Senora  Markus, but then down here for a talking-to before we head home.”

“This day just keeps on getting better.” Ren sounded tired for the first time, but she regained her smile quickly enough. “Lina, this is Simone,  una Americana  with money to burn and in need of a tour guide to help her fake an affinity for Spain.”

“ Hola  Simone. Forgive my wife. Spain has softened her edges, but she hasn’t lost all her American bluntness yet.” Lina ran her fingers through Ren’s hair and gave it a loving tousle.

Simone sipped her tea. “I can respect bluntness as long as it’s paired with efficiency.”

“ Excellente ,” Ren said with a mischievous grin. “Then I’ll go tell Marcela to turn over our room so you can get some rest. After the siesta we’ll meet back here, and I’ll introduce you to your guide.

“Introduce me? i made the offer to you, or maybe to your employer.

Lina slipped an arm more possessively around Ren’s shoulder. “Her employer isn’t willing to share her.”

“ Corezones Española  is your company?” Simone asked coolly, refusing to show the hint of disappointment that pricked her chest.

“It’s  our  company,” Lina corrected, exuding pride, “and between school trips and family holidays, the summer is our busiest time, but if Ren thinks we can spare one of our guides, I’ll trust she has a good reason.”

“I’m certain her reason is better than good,” Simone said. “It’s platinum.”

Lina bit her lip as if trying not to smile. “Be careful. The last time I underestimated her, I ended up wearing this.” She pointed to a gold band on her left ring finger.

“Thankfully, that’s not something I have to worry about.” Simone stood. “Now if you’ll be so kind as to show me to my room, I’ll freshen up and meet you back here at one o’clock?

“Three o’clock,” both women said in unison.

Simone sighed. She was used to setting the schedule. Why was everyone in this country so contrary?

###

Loreto checked her coal-black hair in a mirror she passed on her way down the hotel’s wrought-iron staircase. Not that she minded looking disheveled. If anything, she preferred it. Women like  La Senora  Markus seemed to prefer it, too. The fact that her white T-shirt and cargo shorts weren’t exactly business attire didn’t bother her either. Lina and Ren had always been lax about stuff like that, though judging by the stern look on their faces when they saw her, that may be about to change.

Loreto was not what anyone would call a morning person, so she bypassed the table in the café and ordered a café cortado, a strong, black coffee with just a kiss of milk, before joining them and laying her arm, palm up, across the table. “Okay, here’s my wrist, boss. Go ahead and give it a little slap.”

Lina shook her head. “We’ve been through this before.”

“Not exactly this. You said no university students, and I listened. La Señora  Markus is a teacher, and she crawled into my lap, not the other way around.”

Lina showed no sign she found this logic any more compelling than she had earlier, so Loreto changed tactics. “And wasn’t Ren one of your clients? Can you honestly say if she’d showed up in your room wearing nothing but a bath towel, you’d have just said, ‘Sorry, my boss wouldn’t like that?’”

“ Sí.”

“It’s the truth,” Ren said wistfully. “It took me days before she even let me kiss her.”

“You’re not helping,  amor ,” Lina said, but the bite drained from her tone, leaving her sounding more tired than angry. “And we aren’t talking about us. We’re talking about a habit that’s getting out of hand.”

Loreto sighed, finding the topic as tedious as Lina now seemed to. “You can’t tell me not to sleep with a grown woman on my own time. It’s my business.”

“No, it’s my business. Your meeting a woman and taking her back to your place is not the same thing as one of my guides taking one of my guests back to one of the rooms I’ve paid for, leaving my underaged guests unattended overnight . . .”

Loreto slumped in her chair resignedly. Lina obviously had a speech prepared, and Loreto had sat through worse. Ultimately, she’d learned she didn’t have to win every argument. She didn’t even have to engage them if she didn’t care to, and she didn’t care about much. besides, a stern talking-to was a small price to pay to keep a job as good as this one. Still, she wondered how long this was going to take. Lina seemed to be on quite a roll.

“. . . but it’s not only bad for our business. I’m starting to worry about you, too. I know you’ve been through a lot, and it’s probably hard to have faith in people, but you’ve moved past irreverent and into self-destructive. Are you even listening?”

“ Sí , you’re irreverent and self-destructive.”

Ren set her forehead down on the table with a thud. “Uh-oh

Lina threw up her hands. “Clearly, nothing I can say is going to change anything.”

“It’s good we realize we can’t change each other. No use going on about it.”

“No, we’re done  talking.  You’ve forced me to take action. You’re relieved of your next tour.”

Loreto sat up straight. “What? you’re firing me?”

“Not firing, just a leave of absence.”

I don’t have an apartment, or income. What about my papers?

Dios mio.” Loreto turned to her other boss. “Ren, help.”

“Why do people always think you’re the nice one?” Lina asked.

“Sorry, Loreto. This was my idea,” Ren acknowledged. “you’ve worked nonstop for three months. You need a break. or maybe you need a new challenge to pull yourself out of this rut you’re in.”

“Living ten days without a paycheck will be a challenge all right. What am I supposed to do? Lay on the beach? Go to the clubs? No offense, but that’s not exactly the way to get me away from women.”

“We thought of that. Obviously, we care about you.”

Loreto snorted.

“We don’t want anything to jeopardize your status,” Ren continued, “and the choice is yours. You can mope around if you need a break, but there’s another option.”

“Why do i have the feeling I won’t like this other option?”

“It’s a private tour.”

“I didn’t think you did private tours.”

“You don’t work for us for the next ten days,” Ren explained.

“The client doesn’t seem very interested in playing  tourista , so you’ll likely do a lot of driving and translation, maybe offer context and cultural insight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she expects you to carry her bags while you’re at it.”

Loreto started to understand. “So, the tour’s not the challenge, the client is?”

“Nicely put,” Ren confirmed. “An  Americana  on business for some important meeting next week. She’s willing to pay heavily for what I can only assume will be a very long seven days.”

“She wants a pack mule?”

“Pretty much, so if you want to sleep in hostels for the length of your suspension, no one would blame you, but personally, I think the job will be good for you.”

“Lina, you think working for this woman is what I need to do my penance?”

“No, I think one of you is likely to arrive at our next meeting in a box,” Lina deadpanned, “but if it’s you, just remember you dug your own grave.”

“Ouch.” Loreto had enough experience to know Americans with money could be a high-maintenance breed, and she had a particularly low tolerance for them. “So, it’s a test?”

“Consider it a contest,” Ren offered cheerfully. “You versus the naysayers.”

Loreto rolled her eyes. Nothing about this sounded promising, but she did have a competitive streak, and virtually no cash. Ten days of no plans and no money didn’t exactly appeal to her either. “Fine. i’m in.”

Ren grinned and Lina sighed again.

“When do I meet this woman?”

“Two-thirty,” they both said in unison and then laughed,

Loreto assumed at one of their inside jokes. Then Ren added, “Go get some sleep.”

###

“Thanks,” she mumbled and headed up the stairs. If this client was as bad as they were making her out to be, she’d need all the rest she could get.

Simone woke up to the familiar ring of her cell phone. It was two o’clock in the afternoon, which meant it was morning in New York, though she was too foggy to figure out what time. She’d had four hours of sleep, which was more than enough to function, but not enough to thrive.

“Hello,” she said, instantly sounding professional even if she didn’t feel it yet.

“I take it you’re on the ground,” Henry Alston said without introduction. he was used to being instantly recognized.

“Yes, sir. I arrived in Málaga this morning. I’m checked into the hotel your secretary suggested, and I have a meeting with a potential guide in an hour.”

“Good girl. I know I don’t have to tell you to do your home-work on Liberdad. I want this fish mounted on my wall by this time next week.”

Simone grimaced, both at being called “girl” and at her senior vice president’s absurd fishing metaphor. They were talking about a small publishing company, not a large-mouth bass. “Have I ever let you down?”

“Never,” He laughed, “Which is why I wrecked your first vacation in over a year, but you know I’ll make it up to you.”

He’d make it up to her bank account, which to him was the same as making it up to her, and generally it was. “Of course. I had a chance to glance at the specs on the flight from Milan, and it looks like an insanely generous offer, given their limited assets.”

“Asset. They only have one, Juanes Cánovas. He’s a fucking god with a pen, and American women are going to think he’s sex on a stick, but Liberdad Press has everything from translation rights and movie rights to right of first refusal on future works.”

“No one has everything. There’s no way their lawyers can stack up to ours. Why not poach him?”

“Already tried. He’s got some misguided loyalty to that little mom-and-pop shop in Málaga. They’ve fed him some line about his artistic integrity being compromised. He says they are quintessentially Spanish, whatever the hell that means. They’re all afraid we’re going to Americanize Juanes and sex him up.”

“Are we?”

“Of course.”

“If they won’t sell him, what makes you think they’ll sell the company?”

“Two reasons. One, we’re going to make sure the owners never have work again, and two, I sent you, and you never let me down.”

“Both very good points.”

“Wine them, dine them, hell, tattoo a Spanish flag on your ass. I don’t care how you do it, but get the contract on my desk without giving me any more headaches.”

Simone realized her window for asking questions had ended. “I’ll be in touch.”

She ended the call and got out of bed, mentally making a list of what she needed to do to get going on this project. powering on her laptop, she perched it on the bathroom counter while she hopped in the shower. There wasn’t time to luxuriate under the warm water. In a matter of minutes, she was drying her long, blond hair with one hand while she googled “ebooks on Spain” with the other. She picked out one on history and one on the country’s economic development, as well as a guidebook to southern Spain. She had them downloaded by the time she slipped into a pair of gray linen slacks and a white oxford shirt, a move she regretted the moment she stepped onto the hotel patio.

It had to be one hundred degrees outside, and the humidity made her hair seem to double in both volume and weight. She stopped to pull an ink pen from her leather business satchel, and winding her long locks into a bun, she stuck the pen through the center to hold it up off her neck.

“Nice,” someone said in a suggestive tone. Simone turned to see a rakish boy laying on his stomach on a lounge chair by the pool. He wore ratty shorts and beat up sandals. His dark hair was a mess, cascading over dark aviator glasses as he propped his chin atop his folded arms.

“You wish.”

The boy shrugged and resumed his nap while Simone headed inside to find a table in the lobby. Was there anything in this country that wouldn’t annoy her? The café was closed, and there was no one working the front desk. The entire place was empty and quiet in the middle of the day. What kind of establishment was this?

She took the seat that put her back to the wall, giving her a view of both the front door and the entrance to the patio. She was in control of this meeting, and she wanted to situate herself as such. She pulled out her ipad and checked the time. While the meeting wasn’t scheduled until three, anyone who wasn’t at least five minutes early was late. It was 2:40, and her tour guide was now on the clock.

She was tapping her toe like a ticking clock ten minutes later when Ren and Lina pushed through the front door to the lobby.

“ Hola , Simone,” Lina said, her smile more welcoming than earlier. “I hope you got some rest.”

“I did, but i’d really like a bottle of water, and I can’t get any service in this hotel. It’s like no one works here.”

“It’s siesta time. No one works from one to three in the afternoon.”

Ren had said the words clearly enough, but they made so little sense she might as well have spoken Spanish.

“Siesta? Surely that’s not a serious thing.”

“I know it’s probably a little jarring, but we do things differently in Southern Spain.”

“I don’t care where we are. You can’t shut a business down for two hours in the middle of the day. You can’t run a company like that.”

“And yet this city has thrived exactly like that for centuries. You’ll find billion-dollar homes less than three miles from here, and Michelin-starred restaurants, and upscale boutiques to rival New York or Milan. They’re all doing just fine. Spain sets her own tempo. It’s best to go with it.”

“It’s best to do what you’re paid to do. I’m being paid to work, and my guide will be expected to do the same. I hope that won’t be a problem.”

Ren sighed. “You can negotiate your terms with Loreto when she gets here.”

“I thought i’d be contracting her services through you.”

“No,” Lina said quickly. “We don’t do individual tours. Loreto’s completely free to accept or deny any terms she sees fit. We’re merely offering an introduction.”

“Why?” Simone eyed her suspiciously.

“Why what?”

“Why offer an introduction? Why give up your room early? Why provide one of your guides to a stranger if you aren’t going to accept payment?”

Ren shrugged. “Spanish hospitality.”

Simone didn’t buy that. No one did something for nothing, and she was about to say so when the door from the patio opened and the boy from the pool came strolling in, only upright and facing forward. Without the sunglasses, he was most definitely a she, and a very good looking she at that.

Her baggy shorts now hung off of the feminine curve of her hips, showing a tantalizing glimpse of tanned midriff, and her plain white T-shirt barely concealed her pert breasts. The style was grungier than Simone usually went for, but despite her disheveled appearance, the woman exuded a confidence anyone would find appealing. Most alluring, though, were her eyes. Deep brown irises swirled so dark, then almost melted into her pupils.

“Good afternoon, Loreto.” Ren rose to meet the newcomer. “This is Simone. Simone, meet your guide, Loreto Molina.”

“My guide?” Simone was caught off guard, a feeling she detested. This woman may be a fine candidate for eye candy, but she didn’t appear to have an ounce of professionalism. Shouldn’t tour guides look like, well, she didn’t know, closer to zoo docents or the retirees who sat on stools in art galleries, rather than some sort of sexy skateboard model or a latina boi band front man?

“ Hola, Señorita.” Loreto extended her hand, and Simone accepted it, sneaking a peek at her watch in the process. It was two minutes until three, so technically she wasn’t late.

“I don’t speak Spanish.”

“That’s not a problem. I’m a native English speaker,” Loreto replied with little more than a wisp of an accent, proving she couldn’t be discredited on the basis of a language barrier.

“How long have you been a guide?” Simone asked, as they took a seat.

“This is my third season working for Lina and Ren. Before that, I spent a few years traveling through the country on my own.”

“We can vouch for the fact that Loreto is one of our most knowledgeable guides. She consistently gets very high satisfaction ratings from our clients.”

Loreto’s grin flashed something more smug, and Lina gave an almost-imperceptible shake of her head. The move may have gone unnoticed by someone who didn’t watch for tells, but Simone wasn’t one of them.

“If she’s one of your best guides, why are you willing to part with her?”

All three of the women exchanged another quick look before Ren stepped in diplomatically once more. “She just finished with a group from England this morning. She’s got the next week off, and we thought she might be a good fit for you.”

“but if you want to shop around, feel free,” Loreto added quickly. “It’s only peak travel time, school holidays, and film festival week on short notice.”

Simone’s jaw tightened at the challenge in Loreto’s voice, but again, she only chose battles she expected to win, and she didn’t have enough information on viable alternatives to dismiss this woman’s points. She’d had plenty of practice swallowing her resistance over the years, but it still tasted bitter as she tried to hedge her bets. “I’m on a tight time frame. I’m willing to give you a trial on your employer’s recommendation.”

Loreto nodded, as if she were neither impressed nor offended by the tepid offer.

“We can come to terms on a price per day, but I reserve the right to terminate the agreement with payment made only for services rendered. does that make sense?”

Loreto shrugged. “I don’t work, I don’t get paid. I piss you off, I don’t get paid. You find a better offer, I don’t get paid.”

Simone fought the urge to defend herself against an accusation of unfairness that hadn’t actually been spoken. The harsh summary of terms wasn’t exactly false, so much as blunt.

Lina shook her head. “That’s very one-sided. There should be some sort of neutral metric put in place for the possibility—”

“Nah.” Loreto cut her off. “I’m good. She wants me gone, I’ll go.”

“Reto,” Lina said, dropping her voice. “Make sure it goes both ways.”

Simone smiled slightly as she realized what Lina was suggesting. “She’s right. Some people find my standards too high. If that turns out to be true of you, you also have the right to terminate the agreement at the end of any day without financial obligation.”

Loreto seemed to ponder the offer, lowering her chin and closing her eyes so that her full, dark lashes rested on smooth skin for a second, then opening them, she said, “No commitment. I like that.”

Simone pursed her lips as the feeling the comment should have inspired in her butted up against the ones it actually did. “So, we have a deal?”

Loreto nodded once more, this time resolutely. “deal.”

They sat staring at each for a long, heavy moment before Ren broke the silence by pushing back from the table. “All right then, we’ll leave you two to hash out the details.”

Lina didn’t jump up so quickly, instead looking from one to the other. Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to inspect each of them, but whatever thoughts spun in her head were silenced before they reached her lips as Ren laid a hand on her shoulder.

“All right,” Lina said and rose. “you’re right.”

Simone shook her head slowly, not understanding who or what the comment referred to.

“It’s not you,” Loreto whispered conspiratorially. “They just do that sometimes.”

“Do what?”

“Have conversations no one else can hear.”

“We do,” Ren said, without a hint of chagrin, “and now we’ve decided to leave you to your own devices.”

Simone found the choice of words a bit odd, but everything about this country had been odd so far. She thanked them both and tried not to examine the minute twist of wistfulness in her stomach as she watched them walk away hand in hand.

###

And there you have it! Your introduction to Loreto and Simone. What do you think? Want to see what happens next? Want to see where they go? If they kill each other? When they jump each other’s bones? Why not go get your copy of Spanish Surrender today and find out?