Meet Me in Barcelona Read Online Free Page B

Spanish one?” Grace said.
    â€œCan’t think of one.”
    â€œRodrigo Cortés. Buried .”
    â€œExcellent!”
    â€œHitman, kill, buried,” Grace mused. “Maybe we aren’t really the vacationing type.”
    Jake laughed. “Don’t worry. Ours will be the stuff dreams are made out of.” He squeezed her. “I promise,” he said softly.
    Hopefully not the stuff her dreams were made of lately. Somebody was always dying. Not her mother, never once. But other people, ones she hadn’t seen in a long time. A friend from school. A guy from her first after-school job. Even Robbie—the first foster kid her family took in—the one who had shoved her face in a pile of worms and tried to make her kiss them. In her dreams she didn’t see any of them die—thank God—but she’d hear about their deaths from someone else. In every dream she said the same thing. But I just saw them! As if that alone was enough to keep death away.
    But never Carrie Ann. It was curious; Grace expected her subconscious to want to kill her off most of all.
    Jake stopped, took Grace’s hands. “I have a wild idea.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œFor the rest of today, and most of tomorrow.” He stopped for dramatic effect.
    â€œWe should do as much filming and sightseeing as possible,” Grace said.
    â€œNo. Really?”
    â€œAbsolutely. Let’s get cracking. Miró, Picasso, Gaudí, or the beach?” She didn’t want to do any of them. She wanted to go back to the apartment, crawl into bed, and pull the covers over her head. Spending every minute after work with her mother, and obsessing over Marsh Everett and his nasty review, had really taken a toll on her the past few weeks. But this was not the time to relax. Not if they were going to end this trip early.
    â€œOh.”
    â€œWhat. What were you going to say?”
    â€œNothing,” Jake said.
    â€œNo. Tell me.”
    â€œI just did. For the rest of today, and most of tomorrow, I was going to say we should just do nothing.”
    Grace sighed, leaned into his shoulder, and almost started crying again. “I wish,” she said.
    â€œYour mom is going to be there when we get back. We’ll be home before you know it.”
    You don’t know that. But he certainly knew her. And he was probably right. She was just exhausted and worried. Besides, her father was right. Life was too short to turn down free trips. “I love you,” Grace said. She didn’t know what she would do without him, and she never intended to find out. Without his support, she would buckle.
    â€œThat’s a wrap,” he said. He tucked his video camera into its case and gave it a little pat. Grace laughed.
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œAre you going to kiss it good night?” Grace teased.
    â€œNo. I’m going to kiss it good afternoon.”
    Grace swatted him, and Jake pulled her in and kissed her instead. It was comforting at first, and then passionate. She used all her pent-up angst to kiss him back, and he responded by pulling her in tighter. She loved the feel of his back underneath her palms, the pressure of his lips on hers. She loved his smell. She loved his body pressed against hers. She desired him. She was so lucky; she must never forget how blessed she was. To have Jake. And wonderful parents. That was what life was all about. Love. Not letting a single moment slip by unnoticed. Grace and Jake had been dating three years, and she still wanted him all the time. When they finally parted, he grabbed her hand and picked up the pace. “Come on. Let’s pick up some wine and chocolate and go back to bed.” He sounded like a kid on Christmas. She felt like one. And later, that would be the real moment she wished they had captured on film.

CHAPTER 3
    Jake opened the door to their flat and stepped in. Grace took a step forward and felt something underneath her right foot. She