A/N: I hope you are having a great day/night, and enjoy this next chapter! Thank you for all your support - I can't say it enough!
A gust of wind swept down the runway, and Camila had to brush stray locks of hair from her face, as she turned around at the door of the aeroplane, and looked back towards Manhattan. It was now only visible as a cluster of skyscrapers in the distance.
"Ma'am?" the air hostess beside her asked gently.
"Sorry," Camila shook herself from her daydream, and stepped inside the plane.
She walked down into the first class area, and with her ticket in hand, she quickly found her seat. It was beside the window, and after putting her hand luggage into the overhead locker, she sat down and fastened the seat belt. Before long, the safety announcements had been made, and the plane was slowly heading towards the start of the runway.
As the engines fired up, they roared off down the seemingly endless strip of tarmac, and began to lift up into the air. Camila felt the familiar swoop in her stomach as they left the ground behind them, and soared into the sky. This was the part of flying that she could never grow tired of. As the plane tilted, and began to circle round, she lost herself in the view below her, until it was swallowed by clouds.
"Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking. Our flight today, from New York to Miami, will take approximately two and a half hours..."
Camila put her headphones in, not bothering to listen to the rest of the speech. She was tired, and once the plane had settled and overcome the initial turbulence, the sensation of being in the air was soothing.
Across the aisle from her, was an empty seat. For a second, she could imagine Ruben grinning over at her from it; pulling faces from behind the in-flight magazine, and miming along to the pilot's announcement. When she blinked though, the illusion was shattered. He was, of course, still in New York, and getting further from her with every passing second.
When she had reached Ruben's office, bursting with excitement about the invitation to stay at the Lodge, he had been almost completely disinterested. At the start, he had managed to feign some sort of vague intrigue, but that had worn thin quickly. He just did not share the same level of eagerness as she did, and she knew that this was because he was still in the honeymoon phase in New York. He was enjoying himself there far too much to even see the point of considering a holiday.
Seeing her disappointment, he had quickly assured her that could go by herself. He could manage a couple of weeks without her, and she could go and have some fun in her home state! At that point, his telephone had rung, and he was called away to a meeting. Kissing her hurriedly, and thanking her for the lunch, he had left, leaving her stood alone in his office.
She had returned home, deflated and upset. This, however, had eventually morphed into determination. She had called Clara back and assured her that she would accept the invitation, but that only she would be coming down. Her husband would be staying behind. Plane tickets were booked, and bags packed in readiness, and now, here she was.
Being such a short flight, the plane nose soon dipped down, and they began to descend into the warm Florida climates. Glittering seas, and fluttering palm leaves greeted Camila's eyes, and a sense of relief wrapped around her like a blanket. She was home.
Their landing was smooth, and Camila felt a grin tug at her lips as she stepped out of the aeroplane, and the humid heat engulfed her. She had not been away for long, but she had missed this desperately.
She made it through airport security quickly, and walked through the wide, air conditioned halls to baggage reclaim. Once she had her suitcases, she went out to into the arrivals area, and saw both her parents beaming and waving at her.
"Hey, mija," her father pulled her into an embrace.
"Hello," Camila hugged him back, overcome with the reassurance feeling of her father's arms around her.
"How was your flight, darling?" Sinu asked, giving her a quick hug too.
"It was fine," Camila nodded, "As expected,"
"Shame Ruben can't make it," her mother observed.
"He's got a lot on his plate," said Camila shrugged, "It's just not time he could take out,"
"Well, if it means we've got our little girl to ourselves, then no complaints," Alejandro gave her shoulder a squeeze, and then picked up her luggage, and led the way out to the car parked outside.
"Where's Sofi?" Camila wondered aloud, as she got into the backseat, and they began to drive.
"She's still at school," Sinu explained, "The holidays don't start for a while, so she'll only be able to make it for the last few days. Your aunt is looking after her for the time being,"
"So, I'm going to be the only young one then?"
"Watch it, you," Alejandro chuckled, faking a stern expression as he looked at her through the rear view mirror, "We're all young at heart!"
"You know what I mean!" Camila protested.
"Well, Clara got a call this morning, and it sounds like you might not be the only 'youngster'," Sinu interjected.
"Really?" Camila's expression creased in confusion, "Who?"
"Chris!" Sinu said cheerfully, "You two always got along okay, didn't you?"
Camila thought back to her memories of the Jauregui's son. He was good-humoured, and friendly, and she liked him. Although on their family holidays, she had spent most of her time with Lauren, she had always found him easy to talk to, and good company.
"Chris is great," she responded contentedly, "It will be nice to see him,"
The drive to the Lodge was about an hour, and Camila and her parents spent the time catching up. Camila was used to being a ten minute drive from them, and so not seeing them as regularly was a strange adjustment to have to make. She was pleased to be able to use this time to find out what had been happening while she had been away.
The crisp buildings that lined the Miami coastline began to melt away as they left the urban area. Leaning against the window, Camila watched white sand beaches and palm trees flash by.
"I'm so excited," she exclaimed, "I haven't seen the Lodge in so long,"
"I know," Alejandro hummed, "The old place hasn't changed a bit. The Jauregui's haven't had a lot of time there in recent years, what with the business to run and so on, so it's exactly as it was when you were a kid,"
"Amazing," Camila sighed happily.
"There," he pointed, "You can see it now,"
The Lodge was nestled above a wide, curved bay; sat at the top of the sand dunes that sloped down onto the beach. It was an large, old, timber clad house, painted a pastel blue, with a grey tiled roof, and had big, open windows facing out towards the sea. At the front, wide bay windows opened out onto a deck porch, which overlooked the huge, sandy expanse, bathed in the afternoon light.
"I'd forgotten how impressive it is," murmured Camila.
A side track pulled off from the main road, and swung around to drop down to behind the Lodge. As their car pulled up, the front door was thrown open, and Clara and Mike came out, and Camila went to do another round of greetings and hugs.
"So glad you could make it, sweetie!" Clara told her, as she showed her inside, "I've given you the bedroom with the sea view. It's normally Lauren's room, but seeing as she's not here, I thought that you should have it,"
Following Clara upstairs, Camila stepped into her bedroom. As with much of the house, the decor was slightly nautical themed, and the room was a pale blue, with driftwood-framed pictures on the wall, and crisp white sheets on the bed. At the far end, there was a small balcony area, and the doors were already thrown open, letting fresh sea air waft into the room.
"Will it do?" Clara nudged her.
"It's perfect,"
"I'm glad you think so," the older woman smiled, "We're looking to have dinner a bit later but if you want to join us for drinks down on the porch before then, then be our guest. Or, you're welcome to take a bath and just settle in. Whatever you like - mi casa es su casa,"
The bedroom door was closed, and Camila stared around her in wonder. This morning she had awoken in the bustling heart of New York, and tonight she would be going to sleep in one of the most tranquil places she could envisage.
She decided to follow Clara's suggestion, and ran a bath in the main bathroom. There she soaked in the warm waters, and could relax. As she lay there, the light streaming through the bathroom window turned gradually more orange. When she got out, and dried herself off, evening had fully arrived.
Pulling on a pair of her comfiest jeans, and a vest top, she went down to the porch. Mike poured her a drink, and she sat down at the table. The mild breeze tugged at strands of her wet hair, drying it to leave it tousled, and a little curled.
The adults were mainly talking about work, and despite being in her twenties, Camila felt about as able to engage with them as she had done when she was a teenager. Slightly jealously, she thought of Lauren being able to understand all the business talk, and she wished that Sofi was there to make her feel a little less out of her depth.
"Dinner is going to be done soon," Mike checked the timer on the table, "Shall we go through to the dining room?"
There was general agreement, and the party rose, and carried their drinks through. In a few minutes, Mike and Clara brought in a huge pasta dish, with various other side dishes to accompany it.
"Tuck in!" they cried, and everybody began to help themselves.
With the introduction of food, conversation turned more to compliments of the house, and reminiscing about holidays gone by.
"This is delicious, Clara,"
"The house is absolutely spotless!"
"Such an incredible view,"
"Do you remember that bonfire we had on the beach a few years back?"
"I'm still scarred from the adults versus children baseball tournament,"
Memories were being banded back and forth across the table, and everybody was in exceptionally high spirits. Camila found herself almost unable to stop laughing at some points, as the two fathers began to tell anecdotes, and do impressions of one another. They barely heard the doorbell when it rang.
"Was that the door?" Sinu looked up.
"That will be Chris," Clara clapped her hands together, "You did leave a plate for him on the kitchen side, didn't you Mike?"
"Yes, dear," he patted her shoulder, "But we've got plenty of food here anyway. I know what an appetite that boy has got,"
Clara made to stand up, but Camila gestured for her to sit down.
"I'll get the door," she offered.
Leaving the dining room, she went through the hall, and up to the front door. Finding the key, she unlocked it, and opened it. Another car was parked beside the Jauregui's car, and her parents' car. She could just make out the Audi badge under the low illumination of the outside light.
"Hello?"
A figure stepped forward from the new vehicle, their face becoming visible as they came out of the dark.
"Hi, Camila,"
"Lauren?!"