‘It’s okay. He doesn’t know I exist.’
‘He must be blind.’
Her mouth quirked up at one corner. ‘I bet you say that to all the girls, Felipe Rebelo.’
He grinned at her. ‘Only the pretty ones.’
Chapter Five
Rebecca had time for a quick shower and hair wash before descending the wooden staircase to the big whitewashed kitchen. Delicious smells wafted from the pans on the oven, and Cristina, the youngest cousin, was laying the table with pretty painted pottery.
‘Ah, Rebecca,’ said Maria. ‘How was your first day? What do you think of Quinto do Mar?’
‘It’s beautiful,’ she replied with genuine enthusiasm. ‘The grounds are lovely, and the facilities are a treat. I’m really looking forward to teaching my first class tomorrow.’
‘Excellent, and I hear Felipe took you to our beautiful Falésia beach. You know it is the best beach in the whole of Europe.’
‘So I’ve been told,’ said Rebecca with a laugh. ‘But having seen it now, I’m inclined to agree.’
‘Felipe took you to the beach,’ said Katerina in a sing-song voice as she sauntered into the kitchen, fastening a clip in her long brown hair.
‘He did,’ said Rebecca, amused by the playful tone in the girl’s voice.
‘Do you think he’s handsome?’ asked Cristina, taking a keen interest in Rebecca’s answer.
Rebecca laughed and glanced over at Maria. ‘With his mother standing there and about to feed me, I’d be foolish not to agree, I think.’
Maria laughed. ‘But I am biased. He is my boy. A very good boy, but it is beyond time that he settled and found a nice girl.’
The two cousins exchanged smirks. This was obviously a regular observation.
‘Is there anything I can do to help?’ asked Rebecca, feeling a bit of a spare part, although it was obvious the kitchen was Maria’s domain and a very well-oiled machine.
‘No, it is all prepared. Ah, here is Felipe. Sit down,querida. Felipe, get Rebecca a glass of wine.’
Felipe crossed the floor to give his mother a kiss on the cheek. ‘Evening,Mãe.’ He turned to Rebecca. ‘Red or white? We have a very good red from the Douro valley or a Vinho Verde, which, if you like a fresh, light wine, is perfect.’
‘Sorry, I don’t know anything about Portuguese wine but the white sounds good to me.’
‘By the end of the summer, you will know plenty,’ said Felipe, taking a bottle of white wine from the fridge and pouring her a generous glass. ‘Mãe, wine?’
‘Sim, querido,’ she replied and he filled her glass.
‘What are we having for dinner?’ he asked.
‘Food,’ said Cristina, laying napkins at each place setting.
‘You’re so lame,’ said Katerina with a withering sneer.
Rebecca bit back a smile. It reminded her of being a teenager back at home, although her brothers had tended to gang up on her. ‘Your English is very good,’ she interjected before Cristina could respond.
‘We go to the international school,’ said Katerina with an indolent shrug. ‘Pai, our father, always wanted us to speak goodEnglish. He said we would always get good jobs in the hospitality business. And now we have to slave for our cousin.’
Felipe snorted and took a leisurely sip of his wine.
‘Yes,’ Cristina joined in. ‘We have to clean the hotel rooms and help in the kitchen.’
‘You brats have to earn your keep somehow,’ said Felipe with an indifferent shrug. ‘And one of you will need to train Rebecca as she is taking over some of the shifts, since Paula left.’
