‘Don’t be greedy,’ he said, his eyes as green as the lines of grass which bounded the silver river. ‘That’s enough for one day.’
So she dismounted, hot and a little sweaty, and as she did so she thought about what else she was greedy for. Her senses had been stimulated by the ride and now she wanted to make love. She wanted it with an urgency which never failed to take her by surprise, but today it felt more intense than usual. And once the groom had taken the horses and they had returned to the house, Emily reached for the man who had been a part of her life since she was twelve years old.
For the next couple of weeks, it was as if she’d found the life she’d always been secretly looking for. A simple life and a good life. Up early and out on the horses before being quickly swallowed up by the sweeping landscape as they breathed in the fresh, Argentinian air. They ate al fresco and dangled their feet into the cl
ear waters of the river and lit fires and barbecued fish. And whenever the opportunity arose, they explored each other’s bodies—and each time was so intense that it was sometimes difficult for Emily to bite back the words of love she was longing to whisper in his ear.
Give it time, she urged herself, as he slid his rocky thigh between hers. Don’t rush it. Let things settle, and heal, and who’s to say what could grow between us if we nurture it? Maybe Alej wanted the same as her, though it was impossible to know what he was thinking or feeling and she didn’t dare ask him and risk shattering the magic which seemed to have sprung up between them.
Afterwards, she found herself wondering how long that false state of affairs might have continued. How long it would have taken her to discover the horrible truth, if Tomas and Rosa hadn’t decided to visit their only son, Gaspar. At the end of their two-day stay, Emily insisted on cooking them lunch, followed by yerba maté and sweet alfajores biscuits served on the veranda and, shortly before they left, she took Tomas down to the stables to see Joya.
‘He is happy here,’ the elderly groom pronounced, a huge grin splitting his creased face as the ancient bay came up to nuzzle him.
‘Very happy,’ Emily agreed.
‘As are you.’
She wasn’t going to deny it, not even to herself. And maybe the smile on her face told its own story. ‘Yes,’ she said quietly. ‘I am.’
‘Just as I am to see Señor Sabato settled and married at last,’ said Tomas quietly, before giving a rueful shrug. ‘And to think that if he hadn’t decided to come to your stepfather’s house that day, it might never have happened.’
Emily was in such a dreamy state that it took a moment or two for Tomas’s words to sink in and when they did, she couldn’t work out what he was talking about. ‘But you were the one who emailed Alej,’ she said.
‘No, no,’ Tomas negated, with a shake of his head. ‘Señor Sabato contacted me first, to find out what time you would be visiting Joya.’
It didn’t seem to make any sense at all and yet it made perfect sense. Or should that be imperfect sense? Emily wondered bitterly as an icy shiver ran down her spine.
It took every bit of concentration she had to say her farewells to Tomas and Rosa and to wait until she and Alej had returned to the house, before she dared confront him. And wasn’t there a part of her which didn’t want to confront him? Which wanted to carry on exactly as they were, no matter how false a situation it might be? She waited until he had pulled a beer from the fridge—declining the one he offered her.
‘Tomas told me something strange today, just before he left,’ she began slowly.
He flicked the top off the bottle, taking a long swallow before fixing her with his hard, green gaze. ‘Oh?’
She licked her lips. ‘He told me that he didn’t contact you to ask for help with Joya. That you were the one who got in touch first.’
He raised his dark brows. ‘And?’
‘Why did you do that, Alej?’ Her brow furrowed. ‘Why were you the one who instigated the meeting?’
‘Because I wanted to see you again.’
Still she clutched at straws—but then, wasn’t it natural to grab at anything you could, when it felt as if you were drowning? ‘To hire me, you mean? To use my PR skills to salvage your reputation and enhance your political ambition?’ she added, just in case she hadn’t made herself clear.
There was a pause. A long pause which suddenly felt like a shotgun being loaded.
‘But I don’t have any political ambition,’ he said slowly.
Emily gazed at him with a feeling of desperation, as if they were both looking at the same picture on the wall but each seeing something different. As if she could see a boat and he could see a tree. ‘Of course you do,’ she said briskly.
‘I don’t,’ he said simply.
‘But you said—’
‘I told you that to get what I wanted.’
‘To get what you wanted,’ she repeated, like someone learning a new language. She shook her head. ‘You’ve lost me, I’m afraid. I haven’t got a clue what you’re talking about, Alej.’
‘Then maybe I should tell you.’