‘There’s no pressure. You can come home when you’re ready. I wouldn’t blame you for wanting a bit more sunshine, although I’d rather you came back with me as soon as you can. I’m not sure I’d want to live here all the time. They eat so late and there are always hordes of kids about.’
He smiled, full of confidence, so sure of himself and her.
She couldn’t get out a single word.
‘They can find another maid, can’t they?’ He gave her a teasing smile. ‘I mean, I know you’re brilliant. And they don’t have to run Pilates classes, do they? So they won’t miss you.’
They won’t miss you.She shivered, feeling unaccountably cold. Cristina, Ana, Katerina, Maria, Felipe– would they miss her? She’d miss them. Every one of them. She’d miss this place.
And what about Felipe’s suggestion that she organise the retreats? The most perfect job ever. To live here, teachingPilates, working with cyclists. It ticked every box she’d ever dreamed of.
Will was still talking about changing curtains, redecorating the kitchen. She tuned in as he said earnestly, ‘So that it feels like your home.’
How did she tell him that Quinto do Mar felt like home?
She nodded, still thinking of the Rebelo family. Would she vanish from their memories by the next tourist season? Would she become just someone passing through that hadn’t meant much? The thought hurt because they all meant something to her, especially Felipe.
‘So, when do you think you might come back? Like I say, no pressure, but I need to fly home next week. It would be wonderful if you could come with me.’
‘I don’t know.’
Her brain seemed to have gone into reverse, then the gears shifted and common sense asserted itself.
‘No, Will.’ She smiled at him. ‘I have to give them notice here and I don’t have a job to go back to. My job at the brewery is covered until the end of October.’
‘That’s okay. I’ve been thinking. You could be my PA. I’dpay you, of course. But it makes perfect sense. You understand my work; you know my house. And you know how rubbish I am with admin, especially on the publishing and writing side. And you could run the house.’
‘Sorry… what?’ she asked, frowning. ‘You want me to be your housekeeper?’
Will laughed. ‘Don’t be silly. I’m offering you a proper job. Look after me. Although you’ve always done that.’ He reached over and took her hands in his. ‘I’ve never told you how much I appreciate you and everything you’ve done for me. I’m not sure I would have got through the last few years without you.’ He gavethe winsome, sincere grin that lit up the whole of his boyish face. The face she’d been in love with all this time.
‘It all sounds very serious,’ she said.
‘It is serious and a lot more than just a job. I mean, I’m entrusting you with quite a large part of my life. I couldn’t do that with just anyone. I love you, Rebecca.’ He lifted her hand and reverently kissed the back of it, his blue eyes tender. The gesture was lovely and romantic, so why then did she have a flashback to dinner in Lisbon, the evening vibrant with colour and Felipe kissing each knuckle of her hand? Real life wasn’t like that.
And why was she even thinking of Felipe, when Will was offering everything she wanted? He was a good man who loved her, who was respectful and kind. Why was she even hesitating?
‘Will you move in with me?’
She was being silly. Will was a good man. She lifted her head and looked into his hopeful blue eyes. More than a good man.
‘Yes. I’ll move in with you.’
‘Really?’ he asked with shining eyes.
‘Really.’
He waved over at Antonio.
The next second Antonio appeared with a bottle of champagne in an ice bucket and two flutes.
Will reached across the table and took her hand. ‘We are going to be so happy.’
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Felipe prowled up and down in the shade of one of the pergolas near the restaurant, snapping twigs off the nearby camelia shrub, breaking them in two and throwing them on the ground with the quick, anxious movements of an ex-smoker trying to replace his habit.
This was stupid. He had every right to stroll through the restaurant. After all, he owned the place.
