‘I live a little farther away,’ he said, ‘but this is still home.’
‘You grew up here?’ she asked, as she stepped forward.
Benjamin stood back so she could pass, closing the door behind him. ‘I did. My parents still live here, and my grandparents before that. It’s one of those places that I can’t see us ever parting with.’
The smell of something delicious wafted out from the kitchen, and Rose’s stomach rumbled. ‘Something smells amazing.’
‘Everything my mother cooks is amazing, it’s what brings me home so often. Do you like to cook?’
Rose grimaced. ‘I’m an expert at heating things up,’ she said. ‘My best friend is a fantastic cook, and so was my mother, but for some reason I never quite figured it out.’
Benjamin’s smile faded. ‘Was?’
Rose took a deep breath and cleared her throat as tears pricked her eyes. She hadn’t meant to tell him like that, but the words had just slipped out, and now she either had to fumble her way out of what she’d said or lie. And she didn’t want to lie to Benjamin. ‘My mum passed away just before I came here, which has made finding out about our family and travelling here to Argentina so much harder.’
‘When you said the other day that you’d had a tough year?—’
‘You must be Rose,’ came a deep, warm voice, before she and Benjamin could finish their conversation.
Benjamin gave her a sad look that made her wish she hadn’t told him about her mother at that exact moment, but sheturned from him and smiled when a man, with skin even more golden than Benjamin’s and a thick head of silver-streaked hair, appeared.
‘I am indeed. And you must be Benjamin’s father.’
‘Please, call me Alvaro,’ he said, taking her hand and then leaning in to kiss her cheek. His palm was warm and his cheek was soft with a close-cropped beard. ‘It’s a pleasure to have you here, Rose.’
‘I’m so grateful to be here for dinner. I was just telling your son that I’m not very accomplished in the kitchen, so a home-cooked meal is most welcome. It smells delicious.’
He gave her a conspiratorial smile and a wink. ‘You’ll find the women in this family take a little longer to accept someone new, but they tend to show their love through their cooking.’
‘Alvaro! Stop cloistering the girl,’ came a much louder female voice. ‘Rose, thank you for joining us tonight. I’m Martina.’
When Rose caught sight of Benjamin’s mother, walking through to them as she took off her apron, she knew that she was going to be the one she had to win over. She guessed that she was in her mid-sixties, her dark hair pulled up into a soft bun at the nape of her neck, wearing a navy and white dress. She was beautiful, and Rose could only guess at how stunning she must have been when she was younger.
‘Thank you so much for having me. I hope it’s not too much trouble.’
‘Trouble?’ she laughed. ‘Trouble are the two men you’ve just passed in the hallway. You will be no trouble at all, I’m sure of it.’
Rose glanced back over her shoulder at Benjamin, who was following with his father, and although their conversation sounded light, the way he looked at Rose told her that he was worried about her. She only wished she’d held her tongue and told him in private about her mother.
‘Rose, I believe you’ve already met my daughter, Maya.’
She nodded, braving a smile. ‘I have, we met at the polo. It’s lovely to see you again.’
Maya’s smile could have been warmer, but Rose was left feeling grateful that she’d given her a smile at all. Perhaps tonight wasn’t going to be as awkward as she’d thought.
‘Do you drink wine?’ Benjamin’s mother asked.
‘I do.’
‘Alvaro! Wine!’
Rose swapped amused looks with Benjamin as his father jumped to attention and took a bottle of wine from the table.
‘This is a Pinot Noir produced here in Argentina,’ Alvaro said, as he poured his daughter a glass first. ‘It was actually one of your great-grandmother’s favourites, which is why we always kept a bottle on hand.’
Rose lifted it to her lips and paused to inhale before taking a sip. ‘It’s lovely,’ she said. ‘I can see why it was a favourite.’
Benjamin’s mother had her back turned to them as she prepared food, but Rose loved the way their house was designed, with a big wooden table in the kitchen so that they were all able to chat together while she cooked.
