Alejandro’s Pov

Eating is done, and the basket is discarded to the side, leaving enough space for Mariana and I to share in each other’s warmth.

We’re lying beside each other, finger interlocked, our gazes faced towards the sky. We revel in the silence, feel the depth of our connection without actually speaking.

And it surprises me how Mariana is so receptive to this newness, to this softness.

The intensity of her beauty, the authority in her words, and even her gracefulness will ...