Santa Fe Billionaire

Chapter 17

Ava

I wish it was already two o'clock. I really need to speak to Zoe. My stomach hasn't stopped fluttering since he was so close to me. My pulse began racing and I felt my mouth getting drier by the milli-second. I could smell his citrus fragrance and wanted to pull him into me. I am alarmed at how I can have the mind of a hussy when I've literally only been ditched by Mark a few short weeks ago. 

If I were over him then why does my heart still ache? Am I hurting because part of me feels like a failure for not being able to preserve a relationship? Or is it hurting because I truly loved him more than life itself? Or is it because he has hooked up with Charlotte already? No. That just makes me angry with Mark. Even though I want to hate him, I can't. How do you suddenly hate someone after having practically grown up with them and having lived with them? I poured my heart and soul into my relationship, I tried. I really tried. Yes I know I travelled a lot but Mark would always be by my side. What I wasn't expecting was for him to take the first corporate job that came his way. We had discussed taking time out after college to travel for a year. It never happened, then I found myself curtailing my trips to be closer to home. Perhaps I gave up too much of myself trying to be the partner he decided he wanted. It's a shame, I think that he decided this after we had been together for five years. 

I vow I will never give my heart to someone else again. Well I suppose that is a bit unrealistic. What I actually mean is, they are going to have to work damn hard to have my heart. From now on I am keeping it fully locked away. It has to be right next time. I am twenty-three and I am my own woman. Focusing on my career is the most important thing to me right now. I won't allow someone else to curtail my dreams, to hold me back nor to dictate how I should or shouldn't be. I will live my life for myself and follow my dreams. 

This is precisely why I am now having doubts about even bothering to have dinner with him tonight. Why do I even want to go out with another man right now? I mean seriously. The thought of chilling out in my room with a good book and pouring over my photos for my next vlog send thrills of pleasure through my body. Whereas going out for dinner with a strange man leaves me very wary. Yet I couldn't resist him with his charming smile, gorgeous tiger eyes and his forearms were to die for as the veins showed. I have a thing for sexy forearms and he definitely has those. I wonder what they'd feel like wrapping themselves around me and pulling me into him. Stop Ava. STOP. 

The problem is I can't just stand him up, he will be expecting me at the entrance of the hotel at seven thirty. It would be too embarrassing to do this, especially since he is obviously staying at the same hotel and I run the risk of bumping into him frequently. Awkward springs to mind. There is nothing for it. I will simply have to go but honestly I don't see the point. My heart and my mind are not open to some Spanish romance whilst I am here. Besides if something was too happen and my locked away heart did misbehave, I live in Chicago and he lives somewhere here in Spain judging from his slight accent. I fleetingly consider swapping hotels. 

I shake my head as I step out of the hotel into the bright Spanish sunshine. The sun hits my skin, the warmth of it radiating up my arms and across my face. I tilt my head up and soak it in. Later I may go back to the pool and do some lengths this time. Yesterday I was too heated up having him by my side and trying not to look at him. It took all my energy not to swoon over him and drool. 

This morning I plan to visit the old monastery with its luscious forest backdrop. Already knowing that the images will come out stunning. Then I plan to mooch along the streets of the old town with its rambling houses all of pretty colours and flowers and pretty pots adorning the balconies. I absolutely love Spain it has to be my all time favourite place to visit. 

Wandering through the cobbled tight streets with houses either side, I am mesmerized by the array of colours. No two properties looks the same. There are green houses, blue houses, pink, yellow and violet houses. Shutters are mostly closed, I understand that. They help to keep the heat off the property. A few people are mingling around mostly older people. I come to a cobbled square. There are cafés  surrounding it and an array of different tables and chairs taking up the space with umbrellas, planters with gorgeous vivid plants at every corner. I start to take pictures, it is just so European. So beautiful. I inhale and feel at peace. 

It is still early about ten thirty or so, to be honest I haven't checked my mobile for the time and I never wear a watch. People are already sitting at the tables, smoking drinking coffee and chatting animatedly away. I take more pictures of older men and women, young couples kissing and some birds as they peck each other to eat the crumbs fed to them by the patrons. 

"Would you like to sit?" A young girl asks me, wearing her long her in two braids either side of her head. Her white top flatters her olive skin. Her smile is enigmatic. 

"Yes, thank you." I say and follow her to a free table sheltered by a large, red umbrella advertising a famous beer. "I'll have a coffee." My mouth says even though I know I ought to try having some tea instead. I have lost count the amount of coffees I have already had this morning. But when in Spain. I notice some people have their coffees alongside a small shot of something looking like whiskey, others have a glass of wine or a beer. I hear much chatter and laughter. It fills my heart. I feel so happy and content right now. Especially since I am not giving myself angst about dinner tonight or thinking about Mark.

For once I am losing myself and absorbing myself totally in the moment. I lean my head back slightly allowing the glorious rays of sun to grace my skin and feel a content smile spread across my lips. This feels sooooo good. The coffee arrives with a side cake and a couple of biscuits. The young girl nods and smiles again. Are all the people in this country beautiful? It appears so. Their natural glamour and easy ways captivate me. How wonderful it must feel to have the sun on your face almost daily, to be so carefree and relaxed. I could live here. I truly could. Only I would miss my parents and I'd die without my bestie Zoe. But............... it is like a piece of heaven.