He laughed. ‘How old are you?’
‘Fourteen,’ she said. ‘It’s my birthday today, actually.’
Felipe grinned, and she saw a mischievous glint in his eyes. ‘Today?’
She nodded, and when he stopped his horse, hers automatically stopped walking, too.
‘Then I suppose I should say happy birthday,’ he said. ‘Although you’re making me feel old. I’m fifteen, almost sixteen.’
As she was digesting the fact that he was almost two years older than her, she didn’t even guess what was coming when Felipe suddenly stood out of his stirrups and leaned across, brushing a kiss to her lips. It was soft and warm and as toe-tingling as the first time he’d kissed her, until her horse moved and they bumped teeth, and she almost lost her balance and slipped from the saddle.
‘Whoa,’ he said, reaching out an arm to steady her. ‘Are you all right?’
Valentina knew she was blushing as she nodded and righted herself, but she didn’t care. Being with Felipe made her forget about everything else, and the way he was looking at her, she knew that he felt the same way she did.
‘I don’t think your papa likes me,’ she suddenly blurted out, cringing as the words came out of her mouth. She hated how young she sounded, especially with him being older.
But Felipe just smiled. ‘My father likes you plenty, he just doesn’t want me to get too friendly with you. He likes to remind me that your papa is our employer, which means that I should treat you differently.’
Valentina swallowed. She knew what he meant without his having to explain himself, for it was the same reason her mother wouldn’t like her being with Felipe—they were from different worlds, she knew that, but it only made her feel more drawn to him. Because he seemed as curious about her as she was abouthim, and he also seemed unworried about breaking the rules a little.
‘Does it bother you, that he doesn’t approve?’ she asked.
Felipe shook his head. ‘Do you care that your mama wouldn’t approve of your riding?’
They both knew that it was more than just her riding she wouldn’t approve of, but Valentina didn’t point that out.
‘I’m tired of doing what she wants all the time,’ Valentina admitted. ‘So no, I don’t care that this would make her unhappy. It’s worth any punishment if she finds out.’
Felipe grinned as if he was pleased with her answer, before leaning forward and kissing her again, only this time it was slower, and she kept her fingers tightly wrapped around the reins so she didn’t fall. When he finally pulled away, she found herself wishing that he hadn’t, or that they were somewhere she could reach up and run her fingers through his thick, dark hair or trace her fingertips against his face.
‘How long do we have, before you have to be back at the house?’ he asked.
Valentina glanced up at the sky, realising how much time had passed. She needed to get back before her mother rose for the day, because as much as she was prepared to endure her wrath, her finding out would stop Valentina from returning the following morning, and the morning after that. ‘Not long.’
‘Then let’s make the most of it,’ he said, settling back in the saddle and looking effortlessly at home there. ‘What do you say I teach you how to trot? And then tomorrow morning, I’ll take you to my favourite place on the property and you can have your first canter.’
Valentina nodded, doing her best to follow along with his instructions and knowing that she would have agreed to learn how to gallop if it had meant spending longer in the company of Felipe.
10
PRESENT DAY
Rose looked up at Benjamin, struggling over how to explain why she had the horse figurine without opening up and telling him the whole story about Hope’s House. But she could see from the way he was staring back at her that he wasn’t convinced she was supposed to have it.
‘It was actually left for my grandmother,’ she said. ‘In fact, there’s a long story about how I came to have it.’
His expression was hard to read, but she could tell he was surprised. ‘Could you tell me about it this afternoon, while we tour the property?’
She nodded. ‘I will. I promise.’
Benjamin held out his hand and she opened her palm to take it, closing her fingers around the figurine. And as she stood and watched him go, she experienced the strangest sensation that he had a much deeper connection to the property and what she was searching for than she’d realised.
Then Rose’s phone vibrated in her pocket, and she took it out, happy to see that it was Jessica, and even happier that it was a video call. She swiped to answer and held the phone out at arm’s length.
‘Hello from sunny Argentina,’ she said, doing a little circle so her friend could see the stables and grounds behind her.
Rose looked up and saw that Benjamin was standing at the end of the building, watching her, but when she glanced at him, he gave her a tight smile and turned, disappearing behind a door. She pushed him from her mind as she smiled into the screen, grinning harder when she saw that Jessica was at home with the girls.
