He shrugged, his eyes dancing with mischief. ‘What can I say? Maybe I have more charm than your brothers.’
‘You’re certainly as full of yourself as they are,’ she retorted.
‘I have to be. I’m surrounded by women– two sisters, three cousins and mymãe.’ He wiped imaginary sweat from his brow. ‘It is a very hard life, you know.’
‘I’m sure.’ Rebecca grinned back. ‘I seem to recall my brothers never lifting a finger at home, whereas I was expected to pitch in and help.’
‘Isn’t that the way it should be?’ he asked, his eyes flashing with humour.
She elbowed him in the ribs. ‘You wouldn’t be a male chauvinist by any chance, would you, Felipe Rebelo?’
‘Possibly,’ he said with a quick, casual grin that belied how tough he’d found it in the early days, looking after and supporting his mother, young cousins and his sisters before they were married. He’d been twenty when his father and uncle had died. More than a third of his life had been focused on the success of the hotel, to ensure that it provided a home and a living for the whole family.
Rebecca rolled her eyes and he frowned briefly. Like most people, she had no idea.
‘I thought you were taking me to the beach for a swim,’ said Rebecca, breaking his reverie.
‘Come on then.’ They walked back along the cliff path to the head of the wide wooden staircase that led down to the sandy beach below. An imp of mischief nudged him and, remembering this morning in the pool, he suddenly yelled, ‘Last one in is a loser!’
Before he’d finished the sentence, he took off, clattering noisily down the steps, a few seconds ahead of her.
‘Cheat,’ squealed Rebecca behind him and, as he’d known she would, she came thundering down the steps hot on his heels, racing after him. He heard her feet thudding on the wooden treads behind him and he increased his speed, his heartpumping, and laughing as he threw a quick glance at her over his shoulder.
She narrowed her eyes at him, determination written all over her face, although she was smiling as well.
He hit the bottom step first but Rebecca jumped the last three and caught up with him, overtaking him while he floundered in the sand in his flip-flops. He wasted precious seconds taking them off and then ran after her, the sand flying up from her feet.
The beach stretched in either direction and there were still a few people dotted about but there was so much space it was never crowded.
Halfway between the stairs and the sea, he dropped his towel and stripped off his T-shirt, sending his sunglasses flying. Luckily, they landed near enough to his towel for him to abandon them. Rebecca, too, had tossed down her towel, but she was still running towards the sea, peeling off her dress while in motion, to reveal a bikini and her long, lithe body that made his senses hum just a little. At the water’s edge, she stopped to yank off her still laced-up trainers and he caught up with her, running past her through the shallows. The icy water splashed up his calves. He turned and grinned at her but she was already following.
They both waded in, splashing through the shallows and trying to outdo each other.
‘Ugh, it’s freezing,’ shrieked Rebecca, although she kept going.
‘I know.’ He laughed.
‘You could have told me,’ she cried, her eyes widening with horror and amusement.
‘Where’s the fun in that?’ He winked at her, laughing at the facial expression she pulled.
In response, she scooped up a handful of water and threw it at him. The shower doused his chest, the sunlight catching in the drops like a rainfall of diamonds. Before he could retaliate, she quickly danced out of his reach, grinning at him, and then hurled herself in.
Seconds later, her head bobbed back up out of the water as she swam fiercely, gasping, ‘Cold. Cold. Cold.’
He threw himself in, embracing the quick, sharp bite of the water as it closed over his head. He welcomed the cleansing wash soothing away all the tensions of the day and he struck out with a few powerful strokes to fight back against the cold.
‘It’s freezing,’ hissed Rebecca when he resurfaced to find her swimming alongside him. ‘And I beat you.’
‘No, you didn’t.’
‘I got my shoulders in first.’
‘Who said anything about shoulders?’ he teased. ‘I got into the water first.’
Rebeca shook her head, the wet end of her ponytail whipping from side to side like a wet dog shaking itself. ‘Uh-nuh. Shoulders. That’s the official definition. It’s in the rules.’ She grinned at him.
‘What rules?’
