Chapter 23

23

S he landed in London the following morning after one last afternoon date with her hometown the previous day where she'd gone to her three favorite bookstores—La Central del Raval, Finestres, FNAC—to browse for books and do some Catalan- and Spanish-written novel shopping. She was always reading and writing in English, and she'd long feared she'd lose her mother tongues.

Sol was meeting Fionna that afternoon in London, where the editor was based, and flying to Los Angeles the day after.

She could have met Fionna virtually and traveled from Barcelona, but there were more flight options to Los Angeles from London and—perhaps more importantly—the majority of her closet and work attire was also in the British city. And Sol wanted to carefully select whatever she'd wear for the interview to feel completely prepared and at ease.

She was on the Gatwick Express train heading to Victoria Station from the airport, and affecting all the cool composure of the seasoned solo traveler, when she got a text from Luke.

Luke Contadino (a.k.a. TDS): Ciao bella. Thinking of you. London looks especially gray today.

Sol looked out the window on the train—recalling the girl out of her favorite Paula Hawkins novel—and felt an instant pang of homesickness. Her adoptive home city was looking gloomy indeed.

Luke Contadino (a.k.a. TDS): I bet you're sunbathing on a street terrace and having an aperitiu with some interesting, sexy and remarkably dressed people.

That message grabbed her attention. How did he know about the habit of having a drink and some tapas before lunch called aperitiu? Also, what was it with Luke that Sol couldn't keep her distance even if all her common sense told her to keep her heart—and her mind—away from him?

She knew she should just ignore him and he'd take the hint. Yet, she didn't.

Sol Novo: As exciting as all that sounds, sadly, no. There's not a trace of sun and everyone around me looks out of a Marks & Spencer catalog or is in strictly black punk attire.

Luke Contadino (a.k.a. TDS): Are you back in London?

Sol Novo: On my way there from Gatwick.

Luke Contadino (a.k.a. TDS): What! Are you really back in London??

Sol Novo: I had a last-minute freelance work assignment and here I am

Luke Contadino (a.k.a. TDS): Do you want to meet?

Sol read the whole message exchange a couple of times without knowing what to reply to that last question. She didn't know what she wanted, really.

She was too old to deny to herself that she was somewhat charmed— infatuated was probably the most fitting word—with Luke. But she hadn't forgotten their latest in-person interaction, and she still believed that he wasn't interested in her in the same way she was interested in him. Even if he sometimes confused her, indicating the contrary.

She had stopped depriving herself of what she most craved a long time ago though, and she wasn't going to start doing it again now.

Sol Novo: I'm going to LA for a couple of days. Let's meet when I'm back.

Luke Contadino (a.k.a. TDS): Any chance of meeting before? There's something I need to explain.

Whenever Sol tried not to prevent herself from enjoying Luke's company but, at the same time, put some distance between the two of them to regain some sanity and have a clear mind, he'd managed to curtail that attempt.

But his logic was perfectly reasonable. What about meeting before she left? Plus, she was curious to learn whatever he needed to explain. Perhaps he wanted to talk about how he had fled her apartment in Barcelona.

Sol Novo: Tomorrow it's impossible but I guess I could do tonight.

Luke Contadino (a.k.a. TDS): Can't. I'm working tonight :(

Of course, he couldn't. What high-functioning grown-up with a satisfying career and an even more satisfying personal life could meet on such short notice? Certainly not Sol, if she had been thinking straight before typing.

She still needed to unpack and then repack for the new trip. She had to prepare for her interview with Fionna and then prepare for her actual interview with a director and producer whose filmography she had mostly not seen or mainly just forgotten or ignored—or all of it. Plus, since she was going to be in London, she had decided to attend a press screening that evening for a new action-adventure rom-com starring Emma Thompson that she had been anticipating for months.

And to think she had almost considered rushing everything and making time for a guy she barely knew. And on a day when she needed to run a thousand little errands before her flight. What had she been thinking? Who was this carefree, improvising Sol?