‘When?’ she found herself asking, despite the thought filling her with horror.
‘How about dinner tomorrow night?’
Rose refused to be nervous, and she also refused to be scared of his sister. ‘Thank you for the invitation, I’d love to come.’ Maya might not have been the friendliest when she’d met her, but Rose was curious to meet the rest of Benjamin’s family. ‘And you’re welcome to host the polo here. I have no intention of changing any traditions.’
Benjamin touched her hand again, and as she looked into his eyes, she wondered for a second whether he was finally going to lean closer and kiss her. But instead, he removed his hand and stood, smiling down at her.
‘Adiós,’ he said. ‘Don’t sit out here too long with your papers.’
She lifted her hand in a wave and sat back in her chair, reaching for her orange juice and drinking what was left of it. The thought of dinner with his family was oddly terrifying, but part of her was curious, too, about what they would be like. Not to mention that she’d always loved having dinner at the homes of friends with large families—the conversation and banter had always made her wish for siblings of her own.
But staying for dinner and then the polo meant that there was no way she could make her rescheduled flight to New York. She’d come to Argentina thinking it was something she had to do on her way to visit Jessica, but she was quickly starting to realise that there was something about Argentina that was making her want to stay, at least for a little bit longer.
Rose sat back and looked around her, at the citrus trees in big terracotta pots, the pool stretching out before her, the blue sky above. Being here was good for the soul, and as much as she knew this wasn’t her real life, she also knew that it would be stupid to leave in a hurry when she had nowhere else to be.
Just stay. Give yourself another week or two. Hell, stay a month. She’d never lived abroad or travelled; she’d jumped straight into her law career without even catching her breath after university, and the past year had drained every last bit of her energy. So long as Jessica didn’t mind her changing her flights, it would be stupid not to stay, wouldn’t it?
‘You’re not coming to New York, are you?’ said Jessica the moment her face came into view. ‘I’ve actually been waiting for you to call, believe it or not.’
Rose shook her head. ‘I can’t believe I’m saying this, but no, I’m not.’ She took a deep breath. ‘I don’t know what’s happened to me, but the more I find out about my ancestors, the more time I spend at this property and discover the past?—’
‘Rose, you don’t have to explain yourself to me,’ Jessica said. ‘Just tell me whether this has anything to do with Benjamin, because I feel like you haven’t told me enough about the tall dark Argentine who’s clearly captured your attention. I have a feeling it’s not all about the past.’
She laughed. Trust Jessica. ‘Honestly, he is a part of it, but he’s not the main reason. I just, I don’t know how to even explain, but I already feel like this place is part of me. I’m just not ready to leave yet, and it’s the strangest thing to say, but I actually feel like I’m finally discovering who I am.’
‘I understand. Trust me,’ she said, lowering her voice to a whisper. ‘If I had the chance to have some gorgeous man sweep me off my feet in a foreign country…’
‘I heard that!’
Ryan’s voice in the background made them both burst into laughter, and Rose was so relieved she’d called to say she wasn’t coming rather than sending a message. She’d tried to compose it and it had been impossible, and she needed to chat with her friend.
‘You’ve done so much for me, Jess, and I don’t know how I’ll ever be able to repay you for all your support. I promise I’ll come and see you before I go back to London, though. I can’t wait to see you and the girls, despite the delay.’ She laughed. ‘And you, Ryan, because we all know you’re still listening.’
Ryan appeared in the frame behind Jessica and gave her a wave, looking guilty as charged.
‘You forget that there are so many things I’m going to need you for, Rose. You make it sound like this is a one-way street with me helping you, but it’s not,’ Jessica said, and when Rose saw tears shining from her friend’s eyes, she welled up, too. ‘When the girls leave for college, the day they get married, when they move out of home…’
‘I’ll be the crazy aunt crying with their mum or consoling you with wine and chocolate,’ Rose said. ‘And I’ll be proud to be there for every milestone. You know I’d never miss any of those things, and if there’s ever a time you need me, I’ll be on a plane to New York before you know it.’
‘Well, now we have all that sorted, get off the phone and go and enjoy your evening,’ Jessica said, smiling through her tears. ‘And know that we love you, and that you’re welcome here any time, whether that’s next week, next month or even next year. You never have to explain yourself to me, and you never have to ask for permission to arrive on our doorstep.’
Rose blew her a kiss as they said goodbye, setting her phone down and lying back on her bed once the screen was black. Initially when she’d arrived at the house, she’d considered moving into one of the other rooms, but there was something soothing about the main bedroom with its enormous four-poster bed and view out over the property that she felt drawn to.
She lay there a moment and stared up at the white canopy above, the edges caught up for now, and visualised lying there in the middle of the summer with the sides down so that she could sleep with the windows thrown wide open. Initially, the quiet had scared her. She’d yearned for the familiarity of her flat in London—the noises of traffic and the city outside her window. But after her second night here, she’d realised that a change had been what she was truly yearning for, without even knowing it. The silence had been a relief, allowing her to sleep deeply and wake rested, almost as if her body had reset being somewhere different without all the noise of her usual life, and even now there was a peacefulness about how she was feeling that she couldn’t quite describe.It’s as if I can finally breathe again. It’s as if I can see clearly after months of blinking through fog.
Eventually Rose sat up and reached for the little wooden box that she’d kept beside her bed ever since she’d arrived. She always returned the piece of silk and the figurine to it whenever she’d had them out, and she took them out again now, lying back down with them clasped in her palm. And not for the first time, she wondered if Valentina had ever lain in this room, or on this bed, holding the horse in her hand as she tried to figure out whatto do. Rose was determined to discover what had happened to her and why she’d come to make the decision to leave her baby at Hope’s House, and she feared that she might never discover the answers to her questions if Benjamin’s family didn’t open up to her. Which meant that she had to find a way to connect with them when she met them all, to get them to trust her and talk to her about the Santiago family.
But if his sister’s reaction at the polo was anything to go by, she might have her work cut out for her, no matter what he said. Rose sighed and decided to look through the clothes she’d brought with her. It was just dinner, and she knew that she didn’t need his family’s approval, but if her hunch was right, then Benjamin’s family might be the key to her discovering everything she needed to know about Valentina.
16
Rose hadn’t realised that Benjamin’s house was within walking distance, although given she was wearing heels, she wouldn’t have elected to go on foot anyway. She’d taken the Range Rover in the garage, which had felt like stealing when she’d stood in front of it with keys in hand, but logically she knew that the car was hers now, and she’d used Google Maps to navigate the two-minute drive. It had been a while since she’d driven, since she always used public transport at home, but she’d found it was like riding a bicycle, and other than one too-hard press on the brakes, she realised how easy it would be to get used to having her own car.
When Rose got out of the vehicle she ran her palms down her jeans, studying the house and realising it was like a small version of the Santiago estate, built in a Spanish style with off-white plaster and a terracotta roof. She wondered if it had been designed by the same architect, or whether it was just the style of the era. The door swung open while she was studying the house, and Benjamin appeared, wearing jeans and a black T-shirt, his feet bare as he leaned into the frame. She’d become so used to seeing him in his riding gear that it came as a surprise to findhim in casual clothing, his hair freshly washed and still damp from the look of it. He was impossible not to admire.
‘I see you found the place easily enough,’ he said.
‘I did,’ she replied, smiling as she met his eyes. ‘You could have told me it was so close though. I wouldn’t have bothered spending so long inputting it into the GPS.’
