“We really tried to avoid it. We tried. He was my boss. We worked at an important law firm with very serious people. Things like this were forbidden. But it was a high pressure environment and we worked long hours together. There were a lot of conversations. A lot of meals. And eventually we became very good friends. One weekend he came with me to visit my hometown in Galicia. It’s a small fisherman village. My entire family lives there. And that’s where my sister laid a trap. She knew the situation. I didn’t even tell her, but she sensed it. She pulled Javier aside and told him: ‘Take a step, man. Barbara is waiting on this.’ That night we were walking back from dinner. It was foggy and rainy. We stopped in the middle of the street, and he kissed me. I said: ‘Oh God, Barbara. You have a problem.’ I was twenty-six. I was supposed to be jumping from daisy to daisy. It wasn’t time to fall in love. Especially not with my boss. We spent the night together, and the following morning we went to a family meal in the countryside. Everyone was there: my aunts, uncles, everyone. Thirty-five people at a long stone table. And the moment we walked in— all of them started clapping.”