“Oh. Actually, I wasn’t planning on going to the hotel right away.” Emily dug in her purse and pulled out the paper with Gavin’s address. Not wanting to let another minute pass without seeing him, she slid across the bench and showed it to Javier. “I’d like to stop here first if I can, please?”
Nodding, Javier pulled away from the curb and smiled, his warm brown eyes twinkling in the reflection. “Absolutely, Se?orita Cooper. Wherever you like. I have you to your destination very soon.”
“Thank you, Javier.”
Emily sat back and tried to process every emotion working through her mind. The innate need for Gavin hit her again, intensified beyond anything she’d ever felt. Anxiety coiled in ribbons around her body. She shifted restlessly, each breath a struggle as she watched tour buses, mopeds, and Fifa, the Mexican police, fly by. Though the ride into the heart of Playa del Carmen took less than twenty minutes, the wait felt like forever. With edgy nervousness pumping though her veins, Emily found it hard to concentrate as the limousine turned onto a desolate, narrow road lined with a few mansions.
When the vehicle rolled to a stop in front of Gavin’s home, she drew in a deep breath and swallowed down every instinct telling her Gavin wasn’t taking her back. Emily opened the door before Javier had a chance to exit the limo. She stepped out and took in the mammoth structure. Classic Mexican terracotta shingles crowned the white-stucco jewel sitting on a hill overlooking the pristine Caribbean waters. Brushing her windblown auburn hair away from her face, Emily found her mind frozen, yet her body ignored its plea to not move. Her body, nauseous with anxiety, felt Gavin’s pull, that deep, familiar pull she’d felt from the first time she saw him. Before she knew it, she was slowly walking up to his home. Javier called out from behind her, but she held up a hand, signaling him to wait.
Standing before the dark mahogany and beveled, etched glass door towering over her tiny frame, Emily fought back tears, lifted a trembling hand, and rang the doorbell. Her heart sped, its thumping rushing through her ears, as a blurred figure made its way over to answer. Body taut with fear, a fear she’d brought on herself by doing this to her and Gavin, Emily closed her eyes and tried to grasp some minuscule hope that she wasn’t about to face the disaster her head was telling her was coming. Before the door swung open, flashes of Gavin’s blue eyes crept into Emily’s thoughts, however when it opened, those weren’t the eyes staring back at her.
Raven-colored hair twisted into a tight bun and wearing a maid’s uniform, the lanky woman smiled. “Puedo ayudarle?”
“Umm, yes. Is Gavin here?” Emily asked, tying to quell the shakiness in her voice.
“No. El Sr. Blake no está aquí. Se fue a beber a Akumal.”
Emily shook her head. “I’m sorry. I only speak English.”
“No entiendo lo que esta diciendo. El Se?or Blake no está aquí.”
Emily turned around and waved at Javier where he was waiting in the driveway with her luggage.
“Si, Se?orita Cooper,” he said, climbing the steps to the covered porch. “I bring your bags in for you. Good?”
“No, thank you for that, Javier. I don’t need my belongings brought in. I think Mr. Blake’s not home, and this woman’s trying to explain to me where he is. Can you translate for me, please?”
“Ahh, of course.” Smiling, Javier swung his attention to the woman. “Juanita, buenas tardes.”
The woman nodded. “Buenas tardes.”
“Colton me envió al aeropuerto a recoger a esta joven y traerla de vuelta a ver Gavin. Está en casa?”
Emily waited as patiently as possible while they spoke. When they were done, the woman nodded before closing the door.
Javier looked at Emily. “Se?or Blake’s at a bar in Akumal. It’s not too far of a drive. Maybe twenty minutes. Come. I take you there now.”