Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 102355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102355 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Instead of rounding the car, Cristiano stands at my door, crowding me as I settle in. Then he reaches for my seat belt so he can click it into place himself. He leans over me, warm and comforting. I inhale, and before he moves away, he looks at me with those soulful brown eyes rimmed with black lashes.
“I won’t press, nena,” he says solemnly. “But I need to know you’re okay. Do you want me to get Simone or Annika? I could call Caterina?”
This man.
I’m grateful that my strength hasn’t abandoned me now. “No. Thank you. It’s…” I shake my head and look out the windshield so it’s easier to force the words. “Sometimes it’s hard missing my sister. That’s all.”
That’s all. As if minimizing the grief will diminish it altogether. I wish it were that simple.
He nods, then steps back. “Good thing we’re about to cross something off that bucket list in her honor.”
Thirty minutes later, the sun beats down on my back as the salty Mediterranean breeze whips through my hair. Nervous sweat clings to my skin. A single drop rolls down between my shoulder blades as I stand on the jagged limestone cliffs of Sa Punta staring at the sea below.
We’re up so high. A nervous tremor runs up my leg, accented by the pounding excitement in my chest.
I glance over at Cristiano to see he’s smiling as he watches me wrestle with indecision. His hands are on his hips. His posture is all cocky confidence. He’s totally unbothered by what we’re about to do.
“Cliff jumping?!” I groan. “Seriously? Couldn’t we have started smaller?”
“It’s not as high as it looks. I’ve jumped this cliff a million times.”
With a deep breath, I survey the scene in front of me. The water stretches out forever, a mixture of bright blues and greens, its surface rippling under the sun. In the distance, I can just make out the faint outline of Ibiza’s neighboring island, Formentera, blurred against the horizon. I blink and focus on the rhythmic sound of waves crashing against the rocks below.
A wild shout rips me back into the present as a young boy leaps off the cliff to my left, completing a perfect backflip before plunging into the sea. A second later, he breaks the water’s surface with a wild laugh, and then his friends all leap off the cliff to join him.
Cristiano’s still watching me, smiling.
“If a ten-year-old can do it…” I grumble to myself, trying to fight against the caution pulling me back to safety.
Oh god. Winnie, I hate you. Why did you want to go cliff jumping? Why couldn’t you include easier things on your list? Was trying different varieties of sangría not wild enough for you?
At my sides, I flex my hands and then relax them again and again as I edge closer to the side of the cliff, just enough to boldly glance over before immediately retreating.
“This is stupid. I’m going to impale myself on a rock.”
Cristiano chuckles. “No you won’t. You’ll jump in and then swim over to that beach, just like I told you. You can do it.”
“Yes, obviously I can do it. But should I?”
Hasn’t this lesson been drilled into my head since childhood? Generally I try to avoid leaping to my death at all costs.
“Will you regret it if you don’t jump?” Cristiano asks, testing me.
I throw up my hands. “Yes! Obviously.” I need this win today.
“Then jump, Isabel. For Winnie.”
For Winnie.
I take a deep breath, then close my eyes and picture the feeling of weightlessness, the exhilarating rush of wind as I plummet toward the water. I see my sister’s smiling face, the determination in her gaze when she added this task to the bucket list. A thrill courses through me, erasing any lingering doubt. With a final surge of adrenaline, I open my eyes and take a running leap off the edge.
The world tilts, and for a breathtaking moment, I’m completely airborne. The wind roars in my ears and I squeeze my arms against my chest. Then the cool water of the Mediterranean embraces me. Submerged, the world goes silent. I kick back up to the sunlit surface, bobbing in the waves and gasping for air.
Pure joy bursts through me. Laughter tumbles out as I tread water. I look up to see Cristiano standing on the cliff, and once he’s sure I’m watching, he leaps off after me.
My fear for him burns away instantaneously. He flies through the air so smoothly before landing in the water a few yards away. When he reemerges, he whips his hair out of his face and grins, his expression full of adrenaline and relief once he spots me.
Even from this distance, I can see the water on his lashes, the bright sun highlighting his handsome features. He looks like a sea god.