‘Not until later. I thought we could spend some time together. I think we might need to talk.’
It would be churlish to say she had things to do, when she didn’t, but for some reason she didn’t want to have the conversation after the night before. She’d embarrassed herself and she had no wish to rehash the event.
With an inward sigh, she smiled at him, knowing they had to have a conversation. ‘Do you want to go down to the beach?’ she suggested.
‘Perfect. Do you want to drop your… things?’ He gave her shopping bags a slight frown and she remembered he didn’t approve of excessive consumer spending.
‘Sure. Give me a minute and I’ll meet you back here.’
Five minutes later, wearing one of the new sundresses that Katerina and Ana had talked her into, she met Will at the top of the path.
‘You were quick,’ said Will, apparently not even noticing the new pink dress with its cute flippy skirt that made her feel feminine.
‘Didn’t want to keep you waiting,’ she quipped with a quick smile.
‘No problem. I checked my emails while I was waiting. My editor is really pleased with the chapter I sent through this week.’
‘Oh, that’s great,’ said Rebecca, enjoying the feel of the soft fabric flowing around her knees and wondering if Will might notice now.
‘Yes. I’m pleased. I’m going to hit my deadline in the next two days, so we’re good for dinner on Tuesday.’
‘Phew!’ said Rebecca, in an attempt to tease Will and lighten up the mood.
‘Yes.’ They lapsed into silence as they walked down the wide-planked wooden steps to the beach. Today, the sea raced into the beach in a quick succession of small white foaming waves, the brilliant blue of the sky reflected in the water as sunlight ripped on the surface.
When they reached the sand, Rebecca kicked off her shoes and buried her toes in the sand. Will didn’t wait but carried on walking, head down, staring at his feet. She caught up with him, conscious that there was a lot unsaid between them and clearly it was down to her to broach the subject.
‘I’m sorry… I made a bit of a fool of myself last night,’ she said, wincing, hoping he’d look at her and smile.
He didn’t. She saw him shrug his shoulders. ‘We all do it,’ he said.
‘I wasn’t that drunk, just a bit silly,’ said Rebecca a little aggrieved.
‘Maybe not,’ said Will and shrugged again. His cheeks reddened. ‘I’m… Well, I’m… I like to make the first move. It’s just… Well, you know. I’m old-fashioned that way. Alicia always… waited for me.’ He moved as stiffly as his words and Rebecca could see that the conversation was making him very uncomfortable. A far cry from the laughter and silliness with Felipe.
She laid a gentle hand on his arm. ‘I’m not Alicia, Will.’ She wasn’t going to apologise for that.
‘I know you’re not. I guess this is a big step for me. Sorry… I…’
She took his hand and squeezed it, touched by the miserable expression on his face. ‘Hey, this is a big thing for both of us.’ As soon as she said the words, she could hear Felipe’s voice in her head, teasing her about the potential double entendre of a ‘big thing’.
‘It is,’ said Will, gravely. ‘But… it’s you I want to be with, Rebecca. Just give me some time.’
‘Of course,’ she said squeezing his fingers, trying to dislodge the disloyal thoughtHow much time do you need? ‘We said we’d take it slow, let’s do that. We’ll know when the time is right.’
‘Thanks, Rebecca, you’re the best,’ he said, dropping a chaste kiss on her forehead, making her feel like a maiden aunt.
Chapter Twenty-Four
After a quiet Sunday, Rebecca was grateful for the start of the week on Monday and the usual busy breakfast at the Rebelo table before they all went their separate ways.
‘Who won at swimming this morning?’ asked Cristina as Rebecca sat down opposite Felipe, both still with damp hair.
‘I did, of course,’ said Rebecca.
‘Only because you cheated.’
‘I did not cheat. You weren’t paying attention. I said on three.’
