Free Meet Me in Barcelona by Mary Carter Page B

Where you can feel no pain
You can read your book
Without a single look....
    Marsh Everett would hate it. So what. Grace opened her book. It wasn’t as beat-up as her original copy, but it was old. She flipped through the first few pages, curious if anyone had signed his or her name. She used to always sign her books. THIS BOOK BELONGS TO: GRACE ANN SAWYER. She always had to write out her full name because her initials spelled GAS. Her parents definitely didn’t think that one through. Sure enough, she caught handwriting as she flipped through. Instead of a name, there was simply a quote:
    THERE, BUT FOR GRACE, GO I
    Grace immediately righted herself from her sprawled position on the bench, as if sitting at attention would clarify the mystery. The message was written in capital letters in black ink. What was this? Grace knew what quote was being paraphrased. There, but for the grace of God, go I. This had to be some kind of joke. Was it from whoever had paid for their trip? Were they going to leave Grace and Jake little clues until they figured out who the mysterious couple was? Grace wanted to drop the book, but she couldn’t seem to let it go. She looked around the square. Breathe. Sit up. Think of everyone who might know this was her favorite book.
    Her parents, of course. But they certainly had nothing to do with this trip. It would be sweet as hell if they were renewing their vows, but it just wasn’t possible. Not with her mother’s condition. Jody had probably forgotten a dozen times where Grace was, let alone who she was.
    Then there was Dan. He didn’t know this was Grace’s favorite book, but he could at least tell them something about the person who had called him. Grace wondered if Jake had tried calling Dan again, or if he’d called back. Darn the time change. Grace wanted to call him right now, but she was pretty sure it was like three a.m. in Tennessee.
    Who else knew about this book? Had she mentioned it in any interviews or on her Facebook page? She had. She’d mentioned it on her Facebook page. It was on her “About” page. You had to go looking for it, but it was there.
    So much for relaxing. Grace would drive herself crazy going through this alone. She needed to get Jake’s take on it. The shopkeeper waved at her as she passed by.
    â€œHola,” he said. “Good morning.”
    â€œHola.” She waved back, really wishing she could go in and buy an espresso. Next time. That was the great thing about life. Every day was a do-over. She hurried back to the apartment, half looking behind her every few steps. She was being ridiculous. Whoever was surprising them had thought this through. They would all laugh at the fact that it was spooking her a little. There, But For Grace, Go I. . . .
    Wait. Was it someone who had a crush on Jake? Oh, God. But they were getting married, right? So maybe this was kind of tongue in cheek— I never would have fallen in love with my husband if you hadn’t been with Jake—
    Jake was going to have to come clean. He probably knew exactly how many women had crushes on him. There were probably a lot. Was this one a psycho? Or just trying to be funny? Well, it wasn’t funny. Free trip or no, it was just plain dense to freak someone out like this. At least they left the book on the desk downstairs and not at her doorstep. Still, Grace found herself hurrying past the desk and up the stairs, ready to scream if anyone was following her. She fumbled with the key. God, she was shaking. Jake would calm her down. She closed the door a little harder than she meant to. It slammed shut. She was still trembling when she locked it.
    â€œGrace?” Jake emerged from the bedroom in his boxers. She loved how his hair stuck straight up in the mornings. Grace held the book up. Jake just looked at it and waited. It didn’t register with him. But now of all times was not the time to get her feelings hurt over the fact