‘No one is acquiring anything. Rebecca is going back to England.’ He knew she was referring to her younger sisters, who seemed to have taken a shine to Rebecca– although how could he blame them?
‘Only because you’re letting her.’
‘It’s not a question of letting her. She’s her own person. I have to respect that and she’s in love with Will.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘Rebecca doesn’t want someone like me. She wants someone like Will. Steady, dependable and reliable.’
Ana snorted. ‘And you’re none of those things.’
He shrugged.
‘Only because you let people think that. Deliberately. Except Rebecca knows you. She’s seen how you look after us all, how hard you work to pretend that you’re not running everything and taking on all the responsibility. And you shouldn’t have to take it all on.’
He eyed her and she lifted her chin, her smile full of chagrin. ‘We talked, me and yourmãe.’ She nudged his leg under the table. ‘We owe you an apology.’
‘For what?’ he asked, feeling weary.
‘Because we’ve leaned too hard for too long on you. All of us, me and the girls, Inês and Sara, we need to step up. The girls could do more and Tia Maria and I are both more than capable of negotiating and dealing with suppliers, buying new butter dishes and planning the menus. You shouldn’t have to oversee everything. It’s a family business and we all benefit. You’ve put everything in place and now that everything is running smoothly, you should be handing over some of your responsibilities. We forget that you gave up your life for this.’
He opened his mouth, but Ana gave him an uncharacteristic steely glare and held up a hand.
‘Hear me out. Yourmãeand I need to step up. And so does Inês. She’s always complaining about what you do, now it’s her turn to make some decisions. I suggest you employ a masseur for the wellness centre and let Inês take on the finance work. She did bookkeeping at college.’ Ana threw him a mischievous smile. ‘Call her Financial Director and she’ll bite your hand off. You know she offered Rebecca the job of Retreat Organiser.’
‘She turned it down,’ said Felipe wearily.
There was no hope now. Rather than admit it to Ana, he deflected, which had always been his best tool.
‘Sounds like I should be calling you Managing Director.’
‘No, thank you. You can keep that title but you can offload a lot of the burden. We’re not children anymore and nor are we lost in grief. It’s time for us to give you back your freedom. You sacrificed so much for us– especially the cycling. You’ve done enough.’
Felipe took in a long breath, feeling some of the tension in his muscles easing.
‘Thanks, Ana. I realise it was all starting to get to me.’
‘And now you have no excuse not to go after Rebecca.’
‘I never had an excuse.’
‘Of course you did. You told yourself you had enough on your plate– you didn’t need another responsibility. Except Rebecca isn’t a responsibility. She’s her own person. Not like the other girls you’ve been out with. She’ll never be dependent on you. You’re not being fair to her.’
‘How so?’
‘You’re not giving her a choice. She wants that job, but how can she make the right decision if she doesn’t know that you could be part of the package too? She’d never forgive you for treating her like she’s not brave enough to make an informed choice.’
Felipe smiled at that. No, she wouldn’t. She was the most independent and self-contained woman he’d ever met.
‘So what are you going to do?’ asked Ana.
‘What I should have done the minute that idiot Will turned up. I’m going to fight for her. Tell her that I want her to stay… forever.’
‘You might want to tell Cristina that. I’m worried she’ll stage an intervention.’
‘She’ll be the first to know, once I’ve spoken to Rebecca.’
Chapter Thirty-Three
