Authors: Tessa Dayne
She saw a young man, in his early twenties, holding a sign with her name on it and she headed for him. “I am Señorita Harper.”
He smiled at her, his teeth a brilliant white against his dark skin. “My name is Manuel. Mrs. Hamilton has arranged for me to drive you while you are in Madrid. Let me take your bags,” he said, reaching for her bags.
Paige watched the tall young man as he tossed her bags into the trunk of the car. He was slender, with dark curly hair and classic good looks. If she were ten years younger and not in love with Jonas…
“How long will you be here in Madrid, Señorita Harper?” he asked, opening her car door.
“Please, call me Paige. I am hoping to be here for several days, possibly a week, Manuel. I hope you won’t be put to too much trouble driving me around.”
“No Señorita Paige, it won’t be any trouble. And you must call me Manny. Everyone does. Here’s your hotel. I will help you inside,” he said, parking alongside the curb.
Paige slid from the backseat and followed Manny inside, where he led her to the counter. She checked in and turned to say goodbye to him.
“Here’s my card. My number is on it. If you need me, just call and I will be here to drive you or assist you in any way,” Manny told her, handing her a crisp white card.
“Thank you, Manny,” Paige said, tucking the card in her purse.
“If you would follow me, Señorita, I will show you to your suite,” the bellhop said, picking up her bags and heading to the elevator.
Paige followed him to the third floor, where he gave her the key to her room. “Have a good stay,” he said, setting her bags inside the door.
Paige closed the door and looked around the room. Her gaze settled on the bed. It was a king sized bed, with a mountain of pillows that beckoned her. Flipping the lock on the door, she crossed the room and crawled onto the bed. Within a few moments, she was sound asleep.
~*~
Paige woke, disoriented at first. She looked at the bedside clock and found it was after noon, Madrid time. Which meant it was five A.M. Chicago time. She was tired, but anxious to start her day. And she was hungry.
Sliding from the bed, she went in search for her bags, finding them by the door where she left them. She quickly unpacked her belongings and put them in the available drawers. Gathering her toiletries and some clean clothes, Paige headed into the bathroom, where she turned on the shower.
Stripping out of her wrinkled travel clothes, Paige stepped into the warm stream with a sigh. As the water heated her tired body, she reflected on the reason she was here. Jonas. Thanks to Evelyn, she had the directions to the movie set and she had transportation. Deciding that waiting to see Jonas until tomorrow was silly, she quickly washed her hair and used the loofa over her smooth skin. They had already been separated since New Year’s Eve; she didn’t want another hour to pass with them apart. As she toweled off, she planned her afternoon. A quick bite to eat and then she would head to the movie set.
More than likely, she would have to clear her visit with the director, Augustus Ortiz Salazar. She was not sure how to contact him, but she hoped that Manny might be able to help. Paige called the front desk and ordered a light lunch and then she called the number Manny had left to arrange a ride.
Paige was waiting downstairs in the lobby for Manny less than an hour later. When he pulled up to the curb, she slipped into the backseat and buckled her safety belt.
“I spoke to Augustus. He said Mr. Barnett is on the west side of the set today, shooting scenes.”
“I can’t believe you actually knew Augustus,” Paige said, shaking her head.
“He’s a friend of my cousin’s girlfriend. It’s a long story, but I am glad I could help. We should be there in an hour. Just lean back and enjoy the countryside,” he said. “It’s very beautiful out here.”
Paige leaned her head against the seat and gazed out the window at the passing scenery. Manny was right, she decided. The landscape that was speeding by was indeed, beautiful.
~*~
Paige slid from the car, looking around at all the people milling about the area where Manny had parked the car. She could see some men in armor with swords on their hips and some in monk’s robes. There were women dressed in long gowns and some others wearing regular street clothes, carrying clipboards.
“Wow, this is amazing,” she muttered, taking it all in. She turned her head and watched an older man heading toward her, a smile on his face. The sun glinted off his silver hair and deepened the already dark tan of his skin. As he came closer, she could see the sparkling ice blue of his eyes.
“You must be Paige Harper. I’m Augustus Ortiz Salazar. I am so happy you have come,” he said, taking her hand in his.
“Thank you for allowing me to intrude on your film,” she said, turning her face from side to side as he kissed her cheeks.
“I am hoping that your presence will get my star back on his game. He is a professional and gives us his best every take, but I can see that he is hopelessly distracted. We have already had one accident; I do not want to see another.”
“And he doesn’t know that I am here?” she inquired, hoping that she could still surprise Jonas.
“No, Señorita, he does not know you are here. You should be able to find him just over there,” Augustus told her, pointing beyond the medical tents. “He should be on a break right now.”
Paige looked through the throng of people and smiled. “Thank you…I’m just going to…”
Augustus laughed. “Go…and when you see him, tell him to take the rest of the day off.”
Paige headed through the crowd in the general direction of where he had pointed, hoping that she would find Jonas quickly.
~*~
Jonas wiped his brow with the back of his hand and squinted against the bright sunshine. The day was turning out to be hot and humid. Working in the heat of the afternoon sun had not been their first choice, but the fight scene they were working on was important to the feel of the movie. They had only one more take and they would be done with this scene for the day. Thankfully, he thought.
The assistant director had them get into their places once again and his co-star joined him. Drawing their swords, Jonas and Ignacio went through their dance of parries and thrusts, circling one another, their swords clashing metal against metal. When the director called ‘cut’, Jonas let his sword arm drop to his side.
“Great take!” the director called. “Take an hour and get ready for the next scenes.”
Jonas headed for a chair under a shade tree. He accepted a bottle of water from someone and settled into the chair, closing his eyes. He had worked on this scene for weeks, learning the intricate footwork and swordplay until he could have done this scene in his sleep.
“Jonas?”
Jonas slowly opened his eyes. Surely his ears were playing tricks on him. She couldn’t be here. His gaze settled on her, taking in her slim frame, the tousled brown hair, the sparkling blue eyes.
“Paige? What are you doing here?” he asked, getting to his feet.
“You said when I had things figured out, that I would know where you were going to be.”
“I thought you’d call. I never expected you to fly half way around the world, Paige. I know how scared you are to fly.”
“I found that there is something I am more afraid of than flying,” she said, walking to him.
“Really?” he asked, brushing the back of his fingers across her cheek. “What are you so afraid of, Paige?”
“I’m afraid to live the rest of my life without you. I love you, Jonas Barnett and I would fly to the moon and back to be with you.”
Jonas snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, his face just mere inches from hers. Slowly, he lowered his head to hers. “I love you, Paige,” he whispered harshly, before his lips touched hers.
All around them, applause erupted and catcalls and cheers sounded. Paige pulled away, a hot blush creeping over her cheeks. “Augustus said you were to take the rest of the day off. Maybe we can get out of here?” she suggested.
Silently, Jonas reached for her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. He pulled her through the gathered throng of onlookers, ignoring the whistles and laughter as they ran.
~*~
Epilogue
~*~
Paige lay beside Jonas in her hotel room bed, her head on his shoulder. She could feel his fingertips caressing the nape of her neck, felt his lips on her forehead. She felt safe in his arms, safe and loved.
“I can’t believe you flew all the way to Madrid to be with me,” he whispered.
“I can’t believe you were able to get off for the next week. Augustus is not playing an April Fool’s joke on me, is he?” Paige asked, leaning up on her elbow to look down into his face.
Jonas laughed, his eyes sparkling with mirth. “No, Paige. It’s not a joke. Tomorrow is Sunday and we don’t film anyway. Besides, I think Augustus is heading off a case of severe distractedness on my part. I don’t think I could work, knowing you were here.”
“Hmm…speaking of work…I quit my job.”
Jonas frowned. “I thought you loved your job?”
“I did, I do, but I’m not happy there. I don’t know what I want right now, but it’s not working for Watkins & Milian. Darcy understands and wishes me well.”
“So you will have lots of time on your hands, time to spend here, with me?” Jonas asked, lifting a piece of her hair.
“I have nowhere else to be, unless you don’t want me here.”
Jonas sighed and hugged her close. “Now that’s the silliest thing you have said since I met you. There’s nowhere else I would rather you be than here with me.”
“Good, because I sold the loft,” she said, moving to sit up, pulling the sheet with her to cover her nakedness.
“You sold the loft? What is going on with you?” Jonas said, sitting up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed.
Paige laughed and bounced a little on the mattress. “I am freeing myself from so much baggage. I want a clean slate, a new start.”
“And selling the loft and quitting your job is going to give you a fresh start?”
Paige eyed him and grinned. “Yes. Jonas, I know the last few months have been rough, especially on you. No, hear me out,” she said when he tried to contradict her. “The accident, my memory loss, losing the baby, Darren…I don’t know how you held on through all of it. You could have told me all I wanted to hear, but you waited for me to remember on my own, so that when I heard the truth, I would know for sure that it was just that, the truth.”
“I couldn’t be the one to cause you harm. Telling you what Darren had done, the cheating, fighting with you the night of the accident, I couldn’t let him contradict the truth with his lies and possibly turn you against me.”