“Sure did.”
“Rose, please,” Katie interrupted. “Don’t get him started - we’ll be here for hours if he lists all the ingenious things he’s done since he took over.”
Katie was joking – making fun of her brother the way she always did – but, despite the fact it was nothing more than banter, Rose noticed Thomas’ grin falter.
“I’d like to hear about it,” she said. “Do you have pictures of what it used to be like?”
“Right!” Katie grabbed Rose’s arm, laughing. “That’s enough. The ranch is wonderful and Tommy is very, very clever but he can tell you about it later. Right now, we need clothes and food, in that order.”
Rose allowed Katie to start dragging her back towards the cabin. She expected Thomas to follow them but he remained by the pool, kicking off his boots, rolling up his jeans and dangling his feet into the deep end of the pool.
As they walked away, Rose looked back at him. His broad shoulders were silhouetted by the early evening sun and, for some reason she just couldn’t quite fathom, she felt disappointed to be walking away from him.
4
They spent the evening eating and chatting on the terrace. Thomas flitted by every now and then but, largely, was busy preparing for the arrival of a German tour group the following day.
As the sun began to set and strings of fairy lights lit up the wooden railings and the canopy above them, he finally sat down opposite them and breathed a long, tired sigh.
“Busy day?” Katie, for once, was being sincere.
Thomas made a pffft sound and shook his head. “We’re a bit short staffed. Waiting for some new volunteers to arrive.”
“Volunteers?” Rose was finally beginning to feel more relaxed and, although the way Thomas looked at her was making her stomach feel twitchy and twirly, she had decided to push it aside, completely ignore it, and try to behave like a normal human being who was capable of making conversation.
Thomas reached out and grabbed a handful of olives from the bowl in the middle of the table. “Mmm. We take on fifteen volunteers every summer to help out with the peak season. They get free riding lessons, food, accommodation, something to put on their C.V.”
“And you get summer staff with very little actual expense,” Katie finished, sounding impressed.
“Yep.” Thomas tossed an olive into the air and caught it between his teeth, then handed one to Katie.
“I never beat you at this,” she muttered, taking her turn and failing miserably – the olive ending up perilously close to landing on an adjoining table. “Here, Rose, you try...”
Rose’s immediate instinct was to refuse. But then she took a deep breath, grabbed a small black olive, and utterly shocked herself by catching it first time between her slightly gappy front teeth.
Thomas let out a whoop, patted her firmly between the shoulder blades and grinned at his sister. “Ha! You need to up your game Katie.”
“Beginner’s luck,” Katie laughed, trying a further four times before giving up in a pretend-huff and going in search of coffee.
Still laughing, Rose leaned back in her chair and sighed. Then she glanced at Thomas and said, “Thank you for letting us stay here, Thomas. It’s an amazing place.”
Thomas’ legs were stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed. He raised his arms and laced his fingers together behind his head, his elbows jutting out sideways. “It’s great to have you here.” He looked at her and his mouth turned up at the corner, crinkling into a smile. “I kind of wish Katie had brought you sooner.”
“It took a bit of persuading I’m afraid,” Rose replied, ignoring his not-so-subtle attempt at flirting.
“Ah, yes. You’re not a fan of horses, are you?”
Rose shuffled in her seat. Just the mention of them made her feel anxious. “Not so much.”
“How come?” Thomas moved his chair so it was angled towards her and draped one arm over the back of his chair, opening his chest to her in a way that a body language expert might say indicated openness and vulnerability but which Rose was pretty sure was designed to show off his muscles.
She shrugged and tucked her hair behind her ear. “It’s silly.”
“I’m sure it’s not.”
“I...” Rose shook her head. The rationale behind her distrust of horses was so innocuous, so small, so insignificant that it would sound absolutely ridiculous if she said it out loud. Especially to Thomas.
Thankfully, she was saved by Katie, who returned holding a tray of coffees.
Rose was certain she saw Katie’s eyes narrow as she took in Thomas’ change in position, the way he’d nudged closer to Rose, the way he was leaning beside her. Perhaps she noticed Rose’s flushed cheeks too because she picked up her mug, tilted her head towards the cabins and said, “Why don’t we take these back and light the fire pit?”
“Sure.” Rose stood up.
Thomas did too. But as he reached for his mug, Katie said, “Ah, girl time. Sorry.”
Thomas smiled, nodded, and sat back down. “Sure. See you girls tomorrow.”
As they were walking away, he called after them, “Katie, there’s a trek going out at ten a.m. if you’re interested? And Rose, if you want a gentle induction...”
“We’ll think about it!” Katie shouted back. “Night, Tommy.”
Rose woke early. Ridiculously early.
She had barely slept. Instead, she had tossed and turned and tried to think of how she was going to get out of accepting Thomas’ offer of a ‘gentle induction’ to horse riding without looking like an absolute idiot.
At five a.m, accepting she wasn’t going to figure out an answer, she pulled on a baggy grey sweater and slipped out onto the patio.
They had stayed up until midnight, enjoying the warm glow of the fire pit, talking about work and home and the complete lack of romance in their lives.
Katie had broken up with her long-term boyfriend Greg just a few months ago and was desperate to find someone new. She’d tried online dating, apps, speed dating – the lot. Rose, however, had accepted her fate as the perpetually single member of their friendship group a long time ago; she hated putting herself on display, she couldn’t think of anything worse than a blind date, and she avoided pubs and bars at all costs. So, her only real outlet for meeting people was work.
“And, trust me, the guys I work with are not dating material,” she’d informed Katie, shaking her head as she pictured the pool of single men from her office.
“There must be someone, Rose.”
“Katie, I’m an accountant. You’ve met accountants before, right? They’re hardly suave, sophisticated, charming...”
“And that’s what you’re after is it? Charming?” Katie had raised her eyebrow and peered at Rose over her coffee cup.
Now, remembering the look on Katie’s face, Rose was almost certain that she’d been hinting at something – hinting at the fact that Rose seemed to be turning to jelly around her best friend’s charming older brother.
But maybe Rose was just being paranoid, reading too much into it. Maybe the fact that Thomas’ mere presence seemed to be making her heart skip a beat had unnerved her. It had been such a long time since anyone had made her feel that way but, then again, it had been a long time since anyone had looked at her the way Thomas did.
Rose sighed and tried to drag her mind back to the beauty of the ranch. On the horizon, the sun was just beginning to creep up into the sky, bringing with it a delicate orange hue. She breathed in slowly.
Back when they were in school, Thomas, although older, had been the same as her – geeky, unfashionable, a little bit of a loner. Rose had always felt comfortable around him.
With other friends, she’d dreaded being left alone with their older siblings because she felt so meek and awkward. But at Katie’s house, talking to Thomas as he drifted in and out of the kitchen or the lounge had always been comfortable, easy – nice.
Now, though, Thomas had become one of the cool kids. He was everything tha
t Rose normally avoided, because she knew it was out of her reach and because it made her feel inferior.
She was shy, plain, and scared of pretty much everything. Thomas was the opposite – confidence practically shimmered on his sun-kissed skin. And yet the way he looked at her... well, it was exactly as Katie had described; clearly, somehow, Thomas Goodwin had learned how to make women feel good. He had learned how to make them feel special with just a cheeky smile and an expertly-delivered gaze. He had learned how to effortlessly slip compliments into conversation and how to flirt just enough that it made your heart race but not enough to be too obvious.
Rose shook her head and folded her arms in front of her chest. She knew better than to be flattered by a guy like Thomas Goodwin. And she wasn’t going to allow herself to be sucked into his orbit.
“Good morning.” The voice came from nowhere and jolted Rose out of her interior monologue and back onto the patio of the cabin.
“Thomas?” It was as if her thoughts had summoned him. He had come, seemingly, from nowhere and was holding a small blue flask in each hand.
“I was on the way to the stables.” He gestured to the path beyond the swimming pool, then shook one of the flasks at her. “Coffee?”
“You made me coffee?”
“Actually, it was for Chris – he’s leading today’s trek – but I won’t tell him if you don’t.”
Rose smiled, took the flask and tried to ignore the fact that Thomas’ eyes were almost sparkling in the morning sunlight – dark brown but with tiny flecks of amber that she hadn’t noticed before.
“You’re up early,” he said, perching on the low stone wall that enclosed the patio and taking a sip from his flask.
Rose shrugged, as if it was no big deal. As if she hadn’t just been standing there mulling over how and why Thomas Goodwin had become so incredibly attractive.
“You know, Rose, if you don’t want to get involved with the horses, that’s absolutely fine.” He dipped his head to meet her eyes. “I get it. I’m not going to force you.”
Rose cleared her throat and wrapped her hands around the warmth of the flask. “Thanks, Thomas. It’s silly. The whole thing is silly, I know it is. I just can’t...”
“Hey.” Thomas placed his palms firmly on the low flint wall that separated them and stopping her before her words started to trip nervously over one another. “You don’t have to explain. This is your vacation. If all you want to do is relax by the pool–”
“The pool that you built with your own bare hands?”
“Yeah, the pool I built with my super talented bare hands.” Thomas laughed and shook his head at himself. “Then that’s absolutely fine by me.”
“Thank you,” Rose said, meeting his eyes. “Really, Thomas, thank you.”
Thomas glanced back at the cabin, then looked at his watch. “Okay, I should go. Tell Katie I said good morning, and remind her the trek leaves at ten”
“Sure.” Rose tugged at the hem of her sweater. Looking down at her fingernails, she added casually, “Will we see you at breakfast?”
“Afraid not.” He tapped his flask. “Caffeine is my breakfast.” Then he waved and strode off towards the stables.
Rose breathed out heavily and scraped her fingers through her hair. So much for not allowing herself to fall for Thomas’ charms. He’d brought her a flask of coffee and it had turned her to goo. She needed to get a grip. She needed to remember that Thomas was:
a) Katie’s brother and therefore strictly out of bounds.
b) A player, or a cad, or however you wanted to phrase it.
c) Totally out of her league.
She was repeating this list to herself over and over when Katie appeared from inside. Blinking at the sunlight, she looked quizzically at Rose’s coffee.
“Thomas stopped by,” Rose said. “He wanted to remind you about the trek.”
Katie smiled. “Bless him. He’s a pain, but he can be lovely sometimes.” She took the coffee from Rose, clearly thinking Thomas had brought it for her, and leaned back against the wooden exterior of the cabin. “Will you be okay today?”
“When you’re out riding? Of course. I’ve got a book and the sunshine and the swimming pool. What else do I need?”
Katie raised her eyebrows and slurped loudly from the flask. “Well, it’s a shame there’s not some handsome Italian fellow wandering around who shares your aversion to horses. If Thomas could start conjuring that sort of thing up for his guests, then the place really would be in demand.”
Rose shook her head. “How many times do I have to tell you that I like being single?”
“Until I start actually believing you,” Katie replied, grinning.
Rose rolled her eyes. But as she followed Katie back inside, for the first time in a long time, she began to wonder whether she really did mean what she said. Did she like being single? Or had she just gotten used to it?
And what was it about Thomas that had made her suddenly start questioning herself?
5
For the next five days, Rose and Katie settled into the perfect vacation rhythm.
They ate breakfast together up at the ranch house, looking out at the splendour of the Tuscan countryside and watching the horses exercise in the paddocks closest to the cabins. From a distance, Rose almost found them pleasant to look at. But the thought of venturing closer still made her legs turn to jelly.
Then, after breakfast each morning, when Katie headed off on a trek with one of the various tour groups that were staying at the ranch, Rose took a walk.
She walked around the half-landscaped, half-wild gardens that surrounded the main building and the cabins. She wandered beside the vegetable patch, said good morning to the chickens, then looped back through the immaculately designed Italian garden – with big box hedges and a fountain in its middle – to fetch her swimming things. Then she spent the rest of the day by the pool reading, soaking up the summer sun.
It was quite possibly the most relaxed Rose had ever been, which surprised her. But she was always thrilled to see Katie appear again mid-afternoon and take up her place on a nearby lounger.
On the sixth day of their holiday, however, Katie didn’t look her usual smiling self when she approached the swimming pool.
“Rose?” She sat down on the lounger beside Rose and leaned forwards onto her knees.
Rose lifted her sunglasses. Her friend’s face was crumpled into an expression that said, I need to talk to you, and it’s not good.
Katie was chewing her lower lip. She breathed in sharply through her nose.
“What is it? Has something happened?” Rose’s heart began to twitch uncomfortably in her chest. She sat up and raised her knees up to her chest.
“I had a call from the practice.” Katie sighed and visibly tried to relax her shoulders. “One of my patients is in trouble.”
“Oh... I’m sorry.” Rose scooted over to Katie’s lounger and put her arm around her.
“Rose.” Katie turned to her and suddenly spoke very quickly, as if she needed to get the words out all at once. “I have to go home. This patient – he’s in a real mess and the therapist covering for me just isn’t getting through. You know I wouldn’t even consider it if it wasn’t serious.”
“Of course.” Rose felt her muscles loosen. She’d miss her relaxing days by the pool, but at least going home would mean no more having to avoid Thomas’ ridiculous smile and that strange gurgling sensation she felt whenever she saw him in the distance. “Have you rearranged our flights? When do you want to leave?”
Katie blinked at her. Then shook her head. “Oh, no, Rose. I wouldn’t even think about making you come back too. It’s doing you so much good to be away from things. I can see how happy and relaxed you are.”
“Honestly, Katie, I don’t mind. And I’m not sure I want to stay here alone. I–”
Katie squeezed Rose’s arm. “Rose, honestly, please stay. It’ll be good for you. Plus...” She glanced over to the ranch house. “Tommy turned aw
ay paying customers to let us stay. He’s usually booked out at this time of year. If we both leave, it will be a bit of a slap in the face for him.”
Rose felt her stomach tighten. She hadn’t really thought about it like that – hadn’t considered the fact that Thomas had gone out of his way to accommodate them and, essentially, gifted them a vacation worth a lot of money.
“Oh, well, if you’re sure it’s okay for me to stay?” She tried to look excited.
“Of course!” Katie wrapped her arms around Rose’s neck and squeezed her tightly. “I’m just so sorry to have to cut our vacation short. I was having such a great time.”
“I was too,” Rose whispered. “I was too.”
Katie’s cab arrived at six p.m. to take her back to Rome airport. Rose waved her off from the terrace then retreated back to their cabin and flopped down onto the bed. She had never been abroad alone before. She’d always holidayed in England – trips to the coast and the Lake District, renting small cottages or staying in B&Bs. And, suddenly, looking at the vacant twin-bed beside hers, she felt very, very lonely.
She was fighting the urge to cry when a tap-tap-tap on the patio doors forced her to sit up.
Slowly, she walked towards them, her bare feet breathing a sigh of relief as they came into contact with the cool brick floor. Somehow, even before she opened it, she knew who she would find on the other side.
“Thomas?”
“Hey, Rose. How you doing?”
Rose swallowed hard and looked down at her frumpy choice of clothing: ill-fitting jeans and a mustard-yellow tunic. “Feel a bit lost, to be honest.” She surprised herself with her honesty.
Thomas smiled at her and glanced back towards the ranch house. “Well, dinner’s up in half an hour. I’ll save you a seat.”
Rose tried to smile but the thought of having to sit with the tanned, slender, long-blonde-haired riding instructors and handsome ranch hands made her feel nauseous. Back in school, they were the kind of kids she would avoid at all costs – the ones guaranteed to make fun of the way she dressed and talked, and how much she enjoyed doing homework. “I might just grab something and eat back here,” she mumbled.
The True Love Travels Series Box Set Page 43
