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“Does she like you?”

“I think so,” she said.

“She came to the hotel to find you.”

“She’s kind. Doesn’t mean anything.”

“I saw how she looked at you. She likes you.” Nana patted Gabi on the knee. “I know you’ve been hurt before, cariño. It can be hard to trust your heart to someone else’s hands, but if you don’t, then there will always be a shadow where there should be a brilliant light. To love and feel loved in return is to have lived.”

Nana had blossomed since they’d arrived, like she’d been reborn in her natural home. “Juan was the one, wasn’t he?” she said. “Not Grandpa.”

Nana had intimated as much at the river, but Gabi hadn’t appreciated the depth of Nana’s feelings for Juan until she began to realise her own for Aisha. It must have broken Nana’s heart parting from him.

“It was always Juan.” She looked at Gabi and smiled. “It always will be. I kept his place in my heart a secret for so many years, but I never forgot how it felt to be loved by him. Now, I can set things right. I can talk about him. He was handsome and brave, gentle, and kind. I miss him terribly.”

The bus pulled up next to the entrance to the Alhambra palace, and Gabi spotted Aisha in jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt with the sleeves rolled halfway up, baring her tanned forearms and revealing a multi-coloured string bracelet around her wrist. Pure joy radiated from Aisha’s smile, and Gabi felt a huge dose of relief that the connection between them was still there, and the light in her heart that Nana talked about appeared brighter. Her stomach fizzed like sherbet, and she almost tripped as she struggled to coordinate her feet in the simple act of walking. It might be madness to think she was in love with Aisha because they barely knew each other, but the way her heart ached over her concern for Aisha and the warm fuzzy feeling going on inside her was too good to ignore. It was telling her something serious was happening.

Aisha smiled at Nana. “Hello,” she said.

Nana hugged her and kissed her on each cheek. “Call me Estrella.”

Gabi’s heart hammered at the thought of kissing Aisha’s cheeks and when Aisha turned to her and said, “Hello,” she thought she might pass out from the furnace that had ignited inside her. Aisha stepped closer, held Gabi’s shoulders, and kissed her cheeks. The moment was over in a flash, leaving Gabi weak and holding her breath. Gabi stared at Aisha unblinking, her cheeks tingling from the touch, and inhaled the vanilla perfume that lingered around her head. “Hi,” she said.

Aisha narrowed her eyes and half-smiled, then she turned her attention to Nana. “How about we start with the Court of Lions?”

“I wonder if it’s as formidable as I remember,” Nana said and set off.

It will be beautiful, Gabi thought, because everything looked beautiful in that moment. Even the poorly executed renovation work looked bright and exciting.

“Have you been here many times before?” Aisha asked Nana.

“A few, with Juan. We panned for gold and silver in the river with a dream of making our fortune and running away together.”

“That’s so romantic.” Aisha smiled.

“I thought so.” She touched the locket around her neck. “Who knows, maybe he made his fortune at some point.”

“That’s a pretty locket,” Aisha said.

Gabi had never seen this piece in Nana’s extensive collection, and she’d been through her jewellery boxes many times as a kid.

“Juan gave it to me.”

“He must have loved you,” Aisha said and glanced at Gabi and smiled.

“We loved each other, a long time ago.”

“You are lucky,” Aisha said.

“I was.”

“Here it is, Fountain of the Lions,” Aisha said, leading them into the courtyard.

Gabi stared up at the domed light in the roof in front of them, at the golden honeycombed surrounds, the symmetrically patterned tiles, and filigree-patterned walls. The lions around the fountain were worn, and it was clear where repairs had worked and where they hadn’t. To her eye, it wasn’t anything special, but it was magnificent because of Aisha. Aisha was breathtakingly gorgeous, and Gabi wished she could be alone with her. She wanted to kiss her and hold her and talk.

“The lions are a symbol of power, strength, and sovereignty,” Nana said.

“Yes,” Aisha said.