The old woman gestured for them to follow her, leading them between the stone structures to one in particular. She opened the wooden door to show them the heap of corncobs inside. Daniel raised his eyebrows at the sight.
When the woman had carefully secured the door shut again, Laura laid a hand on the woman's arm. "Obrigada," she told her.
Daniel added his thanks. "Obrigado," he said confidently. Of necessity, he'd picked up half a dozen niceties. It was all well and good holding business meetings in English, but the least he could do was manage the odd please, thank you, hello, and goodbye in the native tongue.
Clearly delighted with his effort, the old lady beamed and shuffled off again.
He watched her go. "Doesn't she boil in all that heavy black garb?" he wondered aloud.
Laura shrugged. "Old traditions die hard." She glanced at her watch. "It would have been nice to walk around Soajo, but we don't have time. Do you mind setting off back now?"
He nodded his head. "That was the agreement." They headed back to the car. "You knew all that already, didn't you? About the espi-whatsits?"
"Of course. But the old lady wanted to tell us about them. She's proud of her heritage. Why spoil it for her?"
Daniel smiled to himself. Laura wasn't as spiky and officious as he'd once taken her to be. She had a real way with people, an empathy and a genuine interest in them. Her students were lucky.
Chapter Seventeen
They got back to the Quinta with minutes to spare before Laura had to open up reception, thanks to some exciting driving by Daniel that did little for her nerves. With no time to go to her room, she went straight to the office to get ready for the evening session.
He followed her in. "Sorry about that."
Laura shook her head. "Don't be. It was me who suggested the detour."
"And I'm glad you did. I might have got around to reading about those things, but I probably wouldn't have made the effort to see them. Thank you."
Laura inclined her head. "You're welcome. Where are we going tomorrow?"
"Coastal road up to Caminha."
"Oooh, I love Caminha!" Laura clapped her hands with pleasure.
Daniel raised an eyebrow. "Well, we've only one hotel to see, so I'm hoping it'll be a more leisurely day. Bring your swimming gear. We might get to spend a little time on the beach."
He headed for the door. "I hope you don't mind me not asking you to dinner. I'm just going to eat a snack in my room. I have paperwork, phone calls."
"Of course. Besides, I probably ought to eat up at the house. I'm not sure Maria will let me get away with disappearing during the day and the evening."
Daniel nodded and left, leaving Laura slightly puzzled. He could be so unexpected sometimes. The efficient, charming businessman she'd seen today—that was expected. But he'd been quiet at lunch, leaving her to do most of the chatting to the hotel manager, and then he'd been so grateful that she'd taken him to see the espigueiros. He'd already confessed he was a little jaded with travelling. Perhaps he was simply happy to be with someone who might show him something a little different and take the pressure off having to be sociable with everyone he met.
Laura didn't mind. She'd enjoyed her day and she'd enjoyed his company. Since their friendship pact yesterday, she'd done her utmost to see him as just that. Her body hadn't always been in agreement, but at least she felt more relaxed around him now she wasn't constantly expecting him to make a move or worrying how she might respond if he did.
Another day of the same tomorrow was fine by her.
****
Dinner with Maria and Teresa wasn't quite as smooth-running, however. Cheered by the news that Mr. Hurst had been discharged from hospital and was recuperating well in his room, Laura waltzed up to the house in an easy frame of mind—too easy. Maria was in bloodhound mode, and her daughter was an excellent apprentice.
"Teresa saw you leaving with Mr. Stone this morning," Maria said as they ate. "Did you go anywhere nice?"
Caught in the headlights with no pre-planned strategy in mind, Laura played for time by taking a large bite of her steak smothered in red wine sauce. She still felt it best not to tell Maria about Daniel's business in Portugal, even though she now knew he was interested in sending his clients here. Since Maria didn't deal with the finances, she thought Paulo would want to see if it was viable before getting the family's hopes up that all their problems were solved. He wouldn't thank her for interfering.
A half-truth would have to do. "Yes, we had lunch in Ponte de Lima, then we drove to Soajo to see the espigueiros."
"I thought you said you weren't going out with him again," Teresa piped up.
Laura gave her a long-suffering glare. "I'm not sure that's quite what I said. And I'm not going out with him. We went out for the day. There's a subtle difference." Which was lost on Teresa, judging by the dreamy expression on her face.
"Did you have a nice time?" Maria probed.
"Very nice." Might as well confess now and get it over with. "We may go up to Caminha tomorrow."
Maria's eyes opened wide in surprise. "Two days in a row?"
"Is there a Portuguese law against that?" Laura asked, a little acidly.
"Now, Laura, no need to be like that." Maria patted her hand. "It's lovely to see you getting out and about with a nice young man instead of being stuck here with us all holiday."
Laura opened her mouth to refute the direction Maria's thoughts were taking, then closed it again. It wasn't worth the energy. The woman was a hopeless romantic.
Maria began to clear away the plates. With her back to Laura, she said casually, "Teresa said Mr. Stone was in a suit. She's seen him dressed up a few times. That's a little odd, isn't it? For someone on holiday?"
Caught in her own lie, Laura's heart sank. Maria would be hurt if she found out she'd withheld information for so long. She would know eventually, of course, but only if it all worked out, in which case Laura would soon be forgiven.
"I believe he's here on business," she said cautiously. "He had a meeting on the way to Ponte de Lima."
"Oh? What sort of . . ."
"By the way, I spoke to Rachel on the phone a few days ago," Laura interrupted in desperation. "She didn't sound at all well."
Maria's eyes lit up. "Did she tell you?"
When Laura nodded, Maria gave a sigh of relief. "Thank goodness for that! We couldn't say anything until she told you herself. I can't tell you how happy we all are . . ."
Successfully distracted, Maria chattered on, allowing Laura to sigh with relief and enjoy her coffee.
****
On the drive north the next day, Daniel was amused by Laura's childlike anticipation.
"What's so special about Caminha?" he asked.
Laura shrugged. "I don't know. I have a soft spot for it, I suppose. I love most of the places around here, but I think I like Caminha best. There's a beautiful square for drinking coffee and watching the world go by, then there's the beach . . ." She glanced at the clock on the dashboard. "Having said that, I don't suppose we'll have much time for watching the world go by today, will we?"
Daniel's mouth twitched at the small pout on her face and the resigned tone in her voice. It tugged at his heart a little.
He winked. "We'll make time." Slightly bewildered by his sudden desire to please her, he put his foot down to get her to her precious coffee that bit sooner.
When they'd parked, she led him into the main square, settled herself happily at a café like a mother bird in its nest, and competently ordered.
"How long have we got?" she asked.
"Longer than we would have if I hadn't broken the speed limit," he answered wryly. "Relax. We have half an hour. Enjoy."
She seemed to take him quite literally. Her shoulders dropped, she half closed her eyes against the sun, and watched people bustling about the square as though it was the best movie in the world.
Daniel tried to follow suit. He could see why she liked it here. A square with cafés, tr
ees, a large stone fountain, whitewashed buildings with stone trim and red tile roofs . . . he could sit here for hours, given half the chance.
Their time up, he reluctantly nudged Laura out of her trance and they drove out of town to his meeting. This time he politely declined the hotel owner's offer of lunch in the hotel bar. Daniel wanted Laura to himself for as much of the day as he could manage—he'd deliberately engineered things that way. When he used the excuse that they had another hotel to visit, Laura raised her eyebrows at the lie but knew better than to say anything.
"Why didn't you take him up on lunch?" she asked as he drove back into town. "I would have thought you might want to sample what the hotel offers."
Daniel shrugged. "I wanted to see a little more of the town." And a little more of you. Laura's comment twanged at his conscience, though. He should be making decisions based on the purpose of his trip, not on his desire to spend more time with her.
They strolled once more towards the main square, where Daniel assumed Laura would choose to eat, so he was startled when she pulled him down a side street.
"Don't you want to eat in your favourite square?"
Laura shook her head. "The square's tempting, but the food in the place I'm taking you to is more tempting."
"Not as tempting as you," Daniel muttered under his breath as he followed her into a small restaurant.
The décor was basic, but the smell was glorious. They were ushered to a table and handed menus, but Laura shook her head at the waiter and ordered without even reading it.
"You do like caldeirada, don't you?" she asked him, suddenly worried, as the waiter left.
"I might, if I knew what it was."
Laura laughed. "Fish stew. It's fabulous here. But I could call him back if you prefer something else?"
Daniel shook his head. "I trust you."
And he did, he realised. He trusted her to buoy his spirits, to know when to hang back and when to dip into his meetings, to take him to the right places and—judging by the aroma—the right restaurants.
His trust was repaid when their stew arrived. She was right, it was fabulous: fish, shellfish, squid, with potatoes and onions and garlic, all in a wine and tomato sauce.
"Good?" she asked him.
"Mmm. Good."
"You just have to know where to go."
Daniel looked at her curiously. "Haven't you ever considered living and working out here? You obviously love it. I'm sure with your language skills, you'd find a good job. And you already have friends here."
Laura smiled wistfully. "I have daydreamed about it in an idle sort of a way, but not seriously considered it. I have my family and friends back home, and I enjoy my job most of the time." She took a sip of her drink. "It's nice to come in the summer, and I do wish I could be out here for longer, but it would be too much of a risk to think I could make a go of it permanently. I don't think I would dare lose job security for a whim."
"I can understand that. And I suppose the grass isn't always greener. I used to think I was the luckiest bloke in the world, travelling for my work. I still do sometimes." Especially when I'm with you. "But the novelty can wear off."
Laura eyed him with consideration. "I don't think it's the work or the travelling that's the problem," she told him boldly. "I think it's just too much of a good thing. You're too busy and too tired. It's hard to enjoy anything in those circumstances."
"I guess." Daniel shrugged. "Not much I can do about it, though."
She considered him for a moment. "Do you mind if I ask you a direct question?"
His mouth twitched. "You can ask. I might not tell."
"Why are you allowing your brother's commitments to dictate so much? Lots of men have families and run businesses and maybe travel a little. Couldn't you share it out more?"
Daniel stared at her for a long moment. He'd held back from her before, but for the life of him he could no longer think why.
"Ben's eldest, Jake, is four," he explained. "Becky was already pregnant with their second when they found out he's autistic. It's quite severe. They don't know yet if Oliver will have similar problems. He has some developmental issues, but it's not as obvious." He sighed. "We all love those boys to the end of the earth and back, but Jake is such hard work, and of course Ollie plays up when things are going wrong or his brother gets all the attention. Becky had to give up her job and she's fantastic with them, but it's a long day for her. She relies on Ben to come home after work and give her a break while she gathers her wits. She refers to him as her personal cavalry."
"Daniel, I had no idea," Laura said, pure empathy in her voice and eyes.
"It's fine," he said. "The boys are happy, Becky is brilliant, and Ben does a great job doing what he's doing. And the upside of running our own business is that we can be flexible. If he needs to go with Becky and the kids to medical appointments, therapy, he can go. But I can't expect him to jet around all over the place."
"Of course not. I can see that now." Laura was thoughtful. "And if Natalie's as good as you say, and Ben gets along with her, I can see why she's indispensable."
Daniel rolled his eyes. "Yes, well, she's been skating on thin ice recently."
"I suppose if Ben's kids hadn't had medical needs, as they grew older you could have stepped back a little and Ben could have stepped back up to the plate," she wondered aloud. "That's a big responsibility for you to bear."
"I didn't think of it as a responsibility until recently." Daniel shrugged. "Maybe adding Portugal to our list was too ambitious at this point. But our clients want unusual and they want exclusive. We could lose repeat business if they exhaust our options and we can't offer anything new."
"So where does that leave you?"
Wanting you. Wanting a relationship with you. "It leaves me knowing I need to do some serious thinking when I get back. Make some changes. I need to stop feeling sorry for myself and start finding solutions. Maybe we do need to take the chance and employ someone else. Maybe it's time I learned to relinquish control a little."
Laura laughed, and Daniel's heart flipped. "Good luck with that!" She pointed at his dish. "So, have I converted you to caldeirada?"
He polished off the last mouthful with exaggerated relish. "Absolutely."
"How come you only had one meeting? I thought you try to pack more into a day."
"I do, but the other hotel had to cancel. Staff illness." Daniel didn't meet her eye. The meeting had been cancelled all right, but by him, not the hotel. He would have to catch it next time around. For now, all he could think about was spending more time with Laura. "Which is lucky for us, because we get to play hooky. Are you happy to drive to the beach when lunch has settled a little?"
Laura beamed. "Absolutely."
Chapter Eighteen
Laura wasn't quite so blasé by the time they got to the beach. As they dropped their bags and laid towels on the sand, she suddenly felt self-conscious about the bikini she'd put on that morning under her dress.
Daniel had found a Gents to change from his suit into baggy swim shorts and a tee shirt, and as he pulled off the top half, Laura tried hard not to stare at his broad, tanned chest.
He gave her a knowing look. "I've already seen you in your swimsuit down by the pool," he reminded her. "And had it tossed in my face. If you don't take that dress off, I'll drag you into the water with it on!"
His wolfish grin was enough to get Laura moving. Telling herself she was being ridiculous, she pulled off the dress, knelt on her towel so she wasn't a full length pin-up, and pretended not to notice the way Daniel's eyebrows raised in pure appreciation.
"Pass me the sun cream," he ordered. "I'll do your back."
"I can manage," she blustered, the mere thought of Daniel's hands on her causing her temperature to spike.
"Not properly, and you know it. I thought you were always super sensible?"
Beaten, Laura tossed him the bottle and lay on her stomach, fervently hoping Daniel couldn't sense her body's reaction as he smo
othed the cream onto her back, and that he wouldn't try to take advantage of the situation. But he was as decent as he could be under the circumstances . . . and she ignored her disappointment.
"I assume you'd rather do your own legs?" he asked when he'd finished.
Laura gave him a glare. "You assumed right." As she completed the task, Daniel did the same for himself, then waited expectantly, sun cream in hand.
She narrowed her eyes. "You want me to do your back?"
"If you don't mind. Sunburn under a suit isn't much fun."
Laura kept the contact to the minimum she could whilst doing a proper job, but when he finally sat back up, she knew she was blushing—and not from the sun.
Sitting, she hugged her knees and took in the view. Soft sand led to a blue sea, and green hills stood at the far side of the bay, their summits shrouded by a light mist. With a sigh of pleasure, she stretched her legs out in front of her and leaned back on her elbows. Daniel lay back too, then pulled her across so her head was pillowed on his chest.
"Siesta time," he murmured drowsily. Acutely aware of the intimacy, Laura doubted she could possibly sleep, but the warmth of the sun and the effects of lunch soon worked their magic to lure her into a dreamless doze.
****
When she came round, Daniel was still asleep, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm beneath her. He must be so tired, she thought. She'd only spent the odd day with him, and that was mainly out of choice, but she could see how exhausting it must be touring around, holding meetings, negotiating, living out of a suitcase . . . and then back to the office to tie up loose ends before doing it all again. Laura admired his sense of duty to his family, but hoped he could find some sort of solution for them all before he burned himself out.
She closed her eyes against the sun again. Her first impressions of him had been so wrong. She'd thought he was a bad-tempered, ruthless businessman, but he wasn't; he was only tired, and from what she'd seen of the way he worked so far, usually polite and fair.
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