‘I think I could.’
‘But what about us?
He grabbed her hand and forced his fingers through hers. ‘Rebecca. I know I made a mistake before. And I’m sorry.’
‘It’s nothing to do with that. I want to stay here. For me. Because it’s what I want,’ she replied. And just like that, she knew she could. With or without Felipe.
‘But… what about me?’
This was it. She needed to be honest with him.
‘I’m sorry, Will, I can’t move in with you.’
He caught her arm, gaping at her. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I’m not going to move in with you. I’m not the right person for you.’
‘But I need you.’
‘I’m sorry, Will.’
Chapter Thirty-One
Rebecca felt baggy-eyed and grumpy and had to force herself out of bed. Not going to sleep before three o’clock in the morning did that to you. If only she could switch her brain off. It had been like an eternal merry-go-round all night as her thoughts kept rising and falling, but she knew she’d made the right decision for herself, and that was the most important thing. The only person that could make her happy was herself, and she was going to do everything she could to achieve that outcome.
Poor Will had been a little shell-shocked about her decision and it had taken her a while to persuade him that she really wasn’t going to go home with him, now or ever. Once the message had registered, he hadn’t wasted much time in booking a flight home. He was leaving this morning.
Despite her weariness, she walked into the kitchen, determined to start the day as she meant to go on. Cristina spotted her and began singing very loudly to a song blasting from the Bluetooth speaker on the side. ToRebecca’s surprise, there was a kerfuffle as Ana lunged at the speaker trying to grab it. Cristina snatched it up over her head, singing defiantly, whileAna struggled to reach it. Meanwhile, Katerina was furtively pushing a phone out of sight behind a row of bottles on the counter.
‘Nao!’ cried Ana.
‘Sim!’ yelled Cristina in her face, as did Katerina, who, having hidden the phone, was now tugging Ana’s arm away.
Cristina caught sight of Rebecca and started singing again. Ana slapped a hand over her mouth. Katerina took over singing very badly, ‘Without you I am blind and lost.’ Ana whirled around and Cristina joined in, ‘So blind and lost.’
Rebecca stood and stared at them, and then the room went silent when Ana successfully reached the speaker and switched it off.
Suddenly, Ana and the girls were screaming at each other in rapid Portuguese, which, despite all her practice, she couldn’t keep up with.
‘Hey! Hey! What’s going on?’ she bellowed, horrified to see the sisters fighting, grateful that dealing with two rowdy brothers had given her the lungs for such a job.
It was almost comical the way the three of them clamped their mouths shut, the family resemblance making their expressions of wary defiance identical.
‘Nothing,’ said Ana, shooting a warning glare at her sisters.
Cristina and Katerina both looked mutinous but didn’t say anything.
‘You two need to go and get ready. The bus will be here in twenty minutes,’ said Ana, tight-lipped.
They shot her unhappy glares, linked arms and marched out with their heads held high.
Rebecca wanted to laugh except Ana looked upset.
‘What was all that about?’ asked Rebecca. ‘You okay?’
Ana nodded. ‘Just a difference of opinion. How are you this morning?’
It seemed the comment was a cue for her to let loose an enormous yawn. ‘Didn’t sleep well.’
