It was Martina who spoke this time. ‘It was no great secret that Valentina was in love with Benjamin’s great-grandfather. They tried to hide it, but it was impossible. Even if they thought that no one knew, everyone did.’
‘They had a romance?’ Rose asked, as she started to realise what Martina was telling her. ‘You don’t think that we’re…’ Rose took a breath, looking at Benjamin and hoping that she was wrong. Her stomach felt as if it was doing somersaults. ‘You don’t think we’re all related, do you?’
Alvaro shook his head. ‘They were in love, but Valentina didn’t marry Felipe, and as far as we’re aware they never had a child. He was an honourable man, and we don’t believe they would have had a child outside of marriage.’
‘Then why leave clues that pointed to him, for her daughter to find?’
Alvaro sighed. ‘I don’t know. Perhaps she wished that he was the father?’
‘Or perhaps,’ Benjamin’s mother said, ‘she simply left the two things that were dearest to her at the time, because she didn’t know what else to leave?’
Later that evening, as Benjamin walked her out to the car, his hands in his jeans pockets, Rose stopped beneath the fairy lights his parents had strung up around the pergola and turned to him. Despite being unsure about dinner, she was glad she’d decided to come.
‘Thank you for a lovely evening,’ she said, sliding her fingers into her pockets for something to do. It also made her less tempted to reach for Benjamin, especially when someone could be watching them from inside.
‘I hope you’ll forgive my family for taking a while to warm up.’
‘There’s nothing to forgive. I actually think it’s nice they’re protective of you, and of my great-grandmother. It sounds as if they truly cared for her, and I’ve left knowing more than I did before about her past.’ It had also been a lovely evening after the bumpy start. ‘I had a really nice evening. I’m pleased I came.’
‘They did care for her, as did I,’ Benjamin said. ‘And nothing makes me happier than knowing you enjoyed your night with us.’
‘I just…’ She breathed out. ‘Were you going to tell me about your great-grandfather?’
‘That he and Valentina were in love when they were children?’
Rose pushed her shoulders up to her ears, her hands sliding even farther into her pockets. ‘Were they children, though? Would she have left clues pointing to him if it was just a girlhood crush? We’re talking about a woman who was old enough to give birth and place her daughter for adoption, so she was hardly a child then.’
Benjamin took a step forward, and before she knew it he’d reached out and brushed some loose hair back from her face. There was something about him that just kept drawing her in, and it wasn’t lost on her that Valentina had clearly felt the same way about his great-grandfather.
‘All I know is that they had a romance that wasn’t meant to be, and that my great-grandmother always believed that her husband was in love with Valentina, even though, as far as I know, they never saw each other. There was no scandal, just two people who once meant something to each other.’
Rose suddenly forgot all about her family mystery as Benjamin moved even closer, his body so close that if she changed the angle she was standing at, they’d be touching.
‘I wish I had more answers for you, Rose, but that’s all I know.’
‘You promise you’re not holding anything else back? That there are no family secrets you’re keeping?’
He dipped his head a little lower. ‘I promise.’
Rose didn’t know if it was the wine they’d been drinking or the balmy night air tinged with the smell of flowers, but she found herself slipping her arms around Benjamin’s neck. She wasn’t sure if he kissed her or if she kissed him, but in the moment, it didn’t matter who started it, because neither of them was making any effort to stop.
Benjamin’s lips were soft against hers, as if they had all the time in the world for long, lazy kisses that might never end. His fingers skimmed her back and hers brushed the nape of his neck, and they stayed like that for so long that she almost forgot she was supposed to be leaving.
‘I feel like a teenager sneaking a kiss on the front porch,’ she whispered, when their kiss finally ended and they gently pressed their foreheads together.
‘Let’s just hope my family aren’t watching from behind the blinds like they did when I was fifteen,’ he whispered back.
They both laughed, and Rose eventually pulled away. ‘Will I see you tomorrow?’
‘You will,’ he replied. ‘I’ll be there bright and early to work the horses, and perhaps after I could stop by for lunch?’
Rose took a step backward. ‘I’m sure I can figure out lunch, even with my limited skills.’ Or more likely she could ask Clara, who was scheduled to come to tidy the house the following day.
She waited a moment, not ready for the night to end but knowing that they couldn’t stretch it out any longer.
‘Well, I guess it’s goodnight then,’ she said.
‘Rose,’ he said, just as she was about to turn away.
