The Rain in Spain

By Amy Jo Cousins

One night in Sevilla could save—or sink—their marriage.

On a rainy night in Sevilla, travel writer Magda and scientist Javi are cranky with the heat—and each other. Being unable to keep their hands off each other isn’t the same as building a life together and cracks are starting to appear in their still fresh marriage.

As they stroll the cobblestone streets of one of Spain’s most romantic cities, Magda tries to show her husband just what it is she loves about the job that keeps her on the road so much. She has until the sun rises to convince him—and even more importantly, herself—that what they have is worth fighting for.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Amy Jo Cousins
• Release date: Jan 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311298874

Amy Jo Cousins

A.J. Cousins knows one thing for sure: the people who read and write romance novels are the smartest, funniest, kindest, and most optimistic souls on the planet and finding a place in this community has been like coming home. She lives in Chicago, where she writes contemporary romance, tweets more than she ought, and sometimes runs way too far. She loves her boy and the Cubs, who taught her that being awesome doesn't necessarily have anything to do with winning. Please visit her online!

Book preview

The Rain in Spain

The Rain in Spain

Amy Jo Cousins

Contents

About this Book

Dedication

Author’s Note upon Rerelease

Dear Reader

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Thank you!

A Excerpt from Callie, Unwrapped

Want More Books by Amy Jo?

About the Author

Acknowledgments

Copyright

One night in Sevilla could save—or sink—their marriage.

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On a rainy night in Sevilla, travel writer Magda and scientist Javi are cranky with the heat—and each other. Being unable to keep their hands off each other isn’t the same as building a life together and cracks are starting to appear in their still fresh marriage.

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As they stroll the cobblestone streets of one of Spain’s most romantic cities, Magda tries to show her husband just what it is she loves about the job that keeps her on the road so much. She has until the sun rises to convince him—and even more importantly, herself—that what they have is worth fighting for.

For Jon, and one magical, adventurous night in Sevilla.

Author’s Note Upon Rerelease

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I wrote this story for the Summer Rain charity anthology published by Pink Kayak Press in 2014. One hundred percent of our royalties were donated to RAINN and, along with the Winter Rain anthology, we raised a lot of money for that terrific organization. I’m releasing The Rain in Spain as a free story in 2016, with the hope that we will continue to generate donations for RAINN. If you enjoy this story, please consider making a $1 donation to RAINN in lieu of payment for it! You can donate here: https://donate.rainn.org/

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All of my stories are about imperfect people finding love (even the erotic ones that are mostly about the sex), and if you like this one, I hope you’ll check out my other series on my website

. Or subscribe to my newsletter

to hear about new releases, sales, early looks at new cover art and bonus reads for subscribers only.

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~AJ

Dear Reader,

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Sevilla, Spain, is a magical place. When I visited fifteen years ago, I wandered the city with, and occasionally without, an ex-boyfriend. Ours had been a civil breakup in the weeks leading up to the trip, and it seemed a shame for either one of us to miss out on Spain, so we traveled together anyway. The sun and heat were merciless that spring, and it did not rain while we were there. Tensions between the two of us ran high from time to time—a natural consequence, I guess, of a vacation with someone who is leaving your life. Our most enjoyable evening was a night where we let ourselves wander with no agenda, meeting up with Sevillans or other visitors and criss-crossing the city until dawn. I have stolen several of the locales we visited for Magda and Javi’s story, although you can safely hope that their evening ends much differently than mine did!

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As a friend and relative of many men and women who could have used the support of an amazing group like RAINN in their lives, I am honored to have written this story for the Summer Rain charity anthology in support of the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network. May everyone whose lives have been affected by violence and abuse find their own happy ending.

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Amy Jo Cousins

Chapter One

The pigeons circled La Giralda again, flickering with every orbit like animations on the corner of a page in a flip book, bright when catching the setting sun, dark when backlit. Sipping a tinto de verrano at a tiny table in the rooftop bar on top of her hotel, Magda faced the tower at a matching height. The cathedral’s bells tolled the hour, vibrating in her bones from across the square.

Only forty-eight hours in Sevilla and already today she’d needed space. Time alone without Javi breathing down the back of her neck about train schedules or hours of operation at the next tourist trap. Traveling together was meant to shore up their relationship, and she could tell that he was trying, but she feared this one-year anniversary trip—what Javi called their belated honeymoon—wouldn’t be able to fix what was wrong. Certainly a day alone touring gardens of the Alcázar hadn’t made her feel any better.

The heat was immense, pressing down on her, a weight on her perpetually damp skin. Storm clouds had threatened all day but no rain fell. The fluttery sundress and wide-brimmed sunhat had done their best, making her feel like a movie star from the thirties, but nothing could save this day from being a miserable, sweaty mess.

She deposited the hat on the seat of the matching chair across from her, and the sweat trapped in a line across her forehead cooled her skin in an evaporating stripe.

Not that she was complaining about the Alcázar. The photos and notes she’d taken would form the basis of a glossy spread in a travel magazine, a post to drive traffic on her blog, and would add further depth to her