Page 31 of What Happens in Paradise

I knew how it felt to be rejected.

Alejandro reached out and when he put his hand in mine, my stomach somersaulted and my body tingled again.

At this rate, once this walk was over, I’d need to sit under the waterfall for an hour just to cool down.

I knew spending time with Alejandro would be hard, but this was proving more challenging than I thought.

Wish me luck.

Something told me I was going to need it.

11

ALEJANDRO

‘That was actually fun!’ Jasmine said as we waved goodbye to the rest of the group.

She was right. It was a fantastic experience. I loved the challenge of walking up the waterfall, the freshness of the water and the spectacular views of the nature that surrounded us.

But I had enjoyed holding her hand a little too much. I had not done that for so long that I had forgotten how great it felt.

There were many opportunities where I knew Jasmine did not need to hold on to me and I could have let her go. The truth was, I had not wanted to.

I had thought that perhaps the feeling might have been mutual, but I was wrong. She did not even want to hold my hand.

I shook my head as my mind drifted back to our car journey here when I had thought that Jasmine could like me.

Qué tonto. I chastised myself.

Just because a woman says a man is attractive, it does not mean that she is actually interested in dating him. I needed to remember that.

‘Sí, it was very good.’

After we got changed, we went to collect the photograph we had posed for during the climb.

We joined the queue and when they handed over the photograph, my eyes widened.

‘Cute,’ I said.

The photo was more than justcute. We looked great together.

Jasmine’s eyes sparkled and she looked so happy. Just like I did.

‘Aww,’ the American lady who was part of our group leant over to look at our photo. ‘You two make a gorgeous couple. Don’t they, Joe?’ She turned to the man beside her.

‘Sure do! You two lucked out in the gene pool. She’s a doll and even though I’m straight, I have to admit that you’re a fine-looking fella. If you want to hang out and have some fun, we’d be down for that, right Mindy?’

‘Damn straight.’ She licked her lips.

‘We’re not… We’re just co-workers!’ Jasmine’s eyes widened.

‘It’ll be our little secret!’ The guy, Joe, winked.

‘We should go.’ I stepped in.

‘Oh my God! Won’t you listen to that accent!’ The woman fanned her face. ‘As if he wasn’t already hot enough! You’re a very lucky woman!’

‘Nice to meet you.’ I put on a fake smile, then took Jasmine’s hand and led her away from the couple. This time, she did not resist.

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