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Reid turned back to me, her cheeks pink. “Are you okay?”

I just stared at her. “Diga de novo,” I murmured, and her face flushed.

“Not right now,” she said, leading me away from the car and out of the street. “There are more important things to deal with.”

“But-”

“Mia,” she cut in. “Are you okay?”

I was shocked that she’d just spoken Portuguese, but I flexed my numb fingers experimentally. I nodded slowly.

“Good.” She sighed in relief. “Once all of this is dealt with, I’ll call a car to take us back to the hotel.”

“But the meeting.” I remembered, and my stomach dropped to the floor. “I’m so sorry, this was so stupid. I should have been paying attention, and now it’s gonna cost money and we’re gonna miss the meeting, and-”

“Slow down,” Reid said calmly. “Let’s just get back to the hotel first, and then we’ll iron out all the details, okay?”

After emergency services had arrived to check that there were no injuries, after the insurance companies had been called and God knows what else, Reid hauled me into a private car and we drove back to the hotel in silence.

I hated it.

Guilt shredded my insides, tears stinging my eyes because how could I have been so fuckingstupid?

Reid walked us back up to her hotel room and ushered me inside, immediately turning on the silver kettle in the kitchen.

“What are you doing?” I asked, my voice thin with exhaustion.

“Keeping my hands occupied,” she explained, pulling out a metal tin of tea bags and two mugs. “Come sit.”

I obeyed, climbing up onto one of the stools on the other side of the counter. It felt familiar, almost like we were back home at Reid’s house for breakfast. I watched her go through the motions of making really strong, sweet black tea, and she slid my mug over to me.

“Thank you,” I murmured, cupping my hands around the mug for warmth. The heat seeped into my icy fingers and Reid clicked her tongue in disapproval.

“Don’t do that.” She sighed, prying the mug from my cold fingers. She wrapped the mug in a dish cloth and put it back between my waiting palms. “You’ll fuck up your nerves.”

The ghost of a giggle slipped through my cracked lips. “Thank you,” I repeated. It was slower, but the warmth trickled into my palms and fingers and the tension in my shoulders loosened a little. “For everything.”

“Stop talking and drink your tea,” she instructed, her cheeks pink again.

And I remembered - how could I haveforgotten?

“You spoke Portuguese,” I said needlessly. “When did you even learn? And why?”

“I did,” she answered, not looking at me. “I’ve been learning for a little while, and as for why… we were coming to Brazil and I didn’t want to find myself in trouble if I didn’t have my trusty translator with me.”

“I thought I’d hit my head when I heard you,” I admitted, watching how her lips pursed in disapproval. “I’m still a little fuzzy. Did you actually speak Portuguese? Or was it a dream?”

Reid turned unimpressed eyes on me, and with a sigh, she said, “Não foi um sonho, Mia.”

My heart fluttered and I couldn’t stop the giggle from bubbling up my throat. “I love it.” I giggled.

Reid’s cheeks turned redder than I’d ever seen them before, and the warmth in my chest spread to my fingertips.

Chapter 26

Oh. Oh.

REID