“That’s right,” Frania said as she stood and helped Lidia hand everyone a cup of the rum drink. Stephanie was the only one who passed, turning a little green at the smell.
“That’s why you’re my girl, Lids. Vamos, let’s take these to the boys.”
“Am I the only one that’s worried about those two together?” Vera asked, watching them shu e though the hot sun to where Jayson and the husbands had picked up a couple of attractive friends.
“What crime do you think they’re most likely to commit?” Martica asked as she sipped her drink.
“Bank robbery,” Alex guessed as she sat in Frania’s newly empty chair. “Definitely some kind of heist.”
“I vote pyramid scheme,” Stephanie joked without the hint of amusement on her face. She hoped that meant that despite taking jabs, she liked Frania.
As the sun set, the massive bonfires on the beach started.
When the fireworks commenced on the sand, over the water, and in the sky, the guys got out of the ocean and joined them near one of the huge fires.
“You know,” Jayson said as he leaned his back against Charlotte’s legs and looked up at the colorful explosions leaving the beach covered with an ever-thickening haze of smoke that burned when Charlotte inhaled. “I don’t really understand what any of this has to do with John the Baptist.”
He took a sip of his sparkling cava wine before resting it on his bare abdomen again.
“That’s because it’s really a pagan ritual us Catholics hijacked,” Alex explained over the roar of the constantly booming and crackling fireworks. “It’s a midsummer festival to celebrate the shortest night of the year.”
“And a great excuse to get together with friends and have a good time!” a stranger yelled before hooting as he passed.
“But what’s all the fire about?” Charlotte asked, less embarrassed to reveal her curiosity after Jayson had taken the first hit.
“Something about giving power to the sun,” Lidia responded from her place on a strange man’s lap. “The bonfires and fireworks strengthen it.”
Near them, a group of people set up wireless speakers and started playing music.
“Oh, hell yeah,” Frania said as she jumped to her feet.
“Come on, Jay. Let’s bring some Miami flavor to Barcelona!”
People around them cheered and joined the sudden rush of bodies dancing around the bonfire.
The cousins were right behind them, rushing to snag spots near the fire too. Alex took the opportunity to slide onto Charlotte’s lap when even Stephanie was coaxed to her feet. Charlotte didn’t miss that Jayson included her immediately.
They’d be kind of perfect together. A really nice balance , Charlotte realized as she watched a smile blossom on Stephanie’s lips when Jayson took her hand and spun her around as soon as Frania left him for a cute guy with a mullet.
“Are you having a good time?” Alex asked, her dark eyes reflecting the lights flashing all around them.
Charlotte looped her arms around Alex’s bare waist. It was so warm, they’d all stayed in their bathing suits long after the sun was gone. “I might be having the best time of my life.”
Alex’s throaty chuckle made Charlotte’s heart soar.
“That’s the magic of Sant Joan. It’s intoxicating.” She rattled the ice in her empty cup. “That and all the booze Lidia keeps plying us with.”
Charlotte squeezed her closer. “Well, kudos to her then because I don’t ever want to leave.” There really was something otherworldly about the smoke-filled beach
packed with thousands of people all coming together to have a good time.
“I guess we’ll just have to keep coming back then,” Alex said as she leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together. “You know. . . if we were ever to get married . . .”
Alex kissed her cheek. “You could become a Spanish citizen.”
Charlotte’s heart pounded in her ear
s. “Is that a proposal?”