Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 74882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74882 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
No, this is his fault.
I pull out my phone and am not surprised to find I have no service. It simply adds to the mountain of terrible things. I toss it back in my bag with a growl of frustration.
Abandoning Estefania and my luggage, I storm over to CZ. When he sees me rushing him, he stands up and lifts a challenging brow. The moment I reach him, I shove him with both hands. Of course he’s solid under that pilot’s uniform and doesn’t budge an inch.
“You’ve done this on purpose,” I accuse, my voice rising several octaves. “You think you can play these games with me?”
He smirks. “What games would those be?”
“These!” I cry out, throwing my hands up in the air. “Landing us in the middle of nowhere because of a freaking non-existent hurricane because you’re on some stupid power trip!”
“It was the captain’s call to land, not mine.”
“Where the hell is he?” I growl, not taking my eyes off CZ.
“Waiting for Alejandro.”
“Who’s Alejandro?”
“He owns this airstrip.”
“Good,” I fire back at him. “I’m going to talk to him too. I’ll catch the next flight out of here. Away from you.”
CZ laughs, rich and deep. I hate the sound. “There are no other flights, abejita. You’re stuck here with me.” He reaches down to pet the dog. “Right, Toro? She’s a little bee with no wings.”
Toro barks and smiles at me. Wait. Is that dog actually smiling at me? His tongue hangs out of his mouth and he stares at me with big brown eyes.
Ew.
I don’t do animals.
“Take me to Alejandro,” I demand, pulling my stare from the ugly dog to the annoying idiot in front of me.
“Alejandro will come to us,” he says cryptically.
Awoooga! Awoooga!
The sound of an obnoxious horn cuts through the air, stealing my attention. A green bus bounces toward us along the airstrip. I’m in hell. Only answer for all this. The bus comes to a halt near us and a man bounces out of the bus.
“Camilo,” Alejandro booms, holding his arms out. “La estrella.”
“Alejandro,” CZ or Camilo says, grinning.
They hug and then start chatting in rapid fire Spanish. I cross my arms over my chest and frown at them. Alejandro starts ushering people into the green bus. When I overhear the word “hotel,” I breathe a sigh of relief. At least there, I can gather my bearings and call Daddy.
My head is throbbing from my fall, but I ignore it as I make my way back over to Estefania, who stands watch over my things like an Amazonian princess. God, she’s so pretty it hurts to look at her.
“You like the pilot, no?”
I follow her gaze over to Camilo. “No,” I grit out. “Big no. Hell no.”
She laughs. “But he is so handsome.”
“Not even close,” I grumble.
Lies. He’s hot, but he knows it, which makes it all the more annoying. Plus, he’s a dick. Probably knows that too.
“Vengan, amigos,” Alejandro calls out to us, waving us to the bus.
Estefania waggles her brows at me, as though we’re sharing a secret about our mutual crush over some boy. Gross. No. She can have him.
I grab my luggage and hurry over to the bus. Alejandro opens a side compartment and helps us load our things inside. When my things are safely stowed away, I climb onto the bus that reeks of body odor. Yuck. My nostrils flare in disgust as I take a seat right behind the driver’s seat. As much as I don’t want to smell him, I need to be able to ask him pertinent questions. Estefania boards next and her nose crinkles up. She eyes the seat beside me but then shakes her head, opting for the back seat instead. My eyes drift out the window and I watch as Camilo trots over to the hangar and lifts the garage bay. Captain Klein must be the one taxiing the plane, because it slowly makes its way over to the open bay. Once it’s inside, they both exit and close the garage door.
Ugh.
Doris and Dale make their way onto the bus and sit behind me. Then, Damian and Kyle get on next. They choose a seat near Estefania. Alejandro trots up the stairs and hefts himself into the driver’s seat. Captain Klein boards and has a seat across the aisle from Doris and Dale.
“We could leave him,” I offer under my breath.
Captain Klein snorts out a laugh.
Toro bounds onto the bus and barks at me before throwing himself down in the seat across the aisle from me, panting hard.
“Welcome to Tahueca,” Camilo says as he steps onto the bus, greeting everyone. “You’re in the loveliest town of Oaxaca in Mexico. You’re in for a real treat. Soon, you will be guests of the best hotel in town.”
“Only hotel,” Captain Klein says with a chuckle.
“Still the best, Carson,” Camilo argues with the captain.