Page 12 of The Spanish Daughter (The Lost Daughters #5)

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Rose had never felt so uncomfortable in her life, but she couldn’t fault how patient her teacher was being. If she hadn’t been sure about him before, then she was now—he might have been gruff in the beginning, but she already admired the gentle way he treated his horses, and the kindness he was showing her.

‘Try not to clench your fingers around the reins,’ Benjamin said. ‘Take a deep breath, relax your shoulders, heels down and breathe.’

‘That’s too many things at once!’ she said, half laughing through her fear. ‘You look like you’re sitting in your favourite armchair, and I feel like I’ve just climbed onto a rollercoaster.’

Benjamin’s laugh made her laugh, which temporarily distracted her from the terror she was experiencing.

‘And now I’m going to fall off because you’re making me laugh!’

‘You’re more likely to fall off all bunched up and nervous than you are now that you’re laughing,’ he said. ‘Just trust me. I wouldn’t have put you on a horse that wasn’t safe. You just need to roll your shoulders down and relax.’

She took a deep breath and tried to keep her shoulders down like he’d instructed.

‘Look around you, Rose,’ he said. ‘I know I have an ulterior motive in wanting to make you love it here, as does everyone who loves this place, but it’s one of the most special properties I’ve ever known. Just focus on the view and try to forget about the horse beneath you. It will make riding all the more enjoyable.’

Rose did as he said and looked around, and even though she was still gripping the reins as if her life depended upon it, she found herself breathing more deeply. He was right, it was stunning, and the fields seemed to stretch farther than her eye could see.

‘How do you feel?’ he asked.

She glanced over at him, taking in his one hand on the reins, the other resting on his thigh. He was so at ease, so relaxed, that it made it hard for her not to feel at least a little relaxed, too.

‘You honestly want to know?’

‘I do.’

‘I feel as if the weight of the world is resting on my shoulders.’

Benjamin rode beside her in silence.

‘I was referring to being on horseback, but if you want to go straight to the tough talk, then sure.’

Rose groaned. Of course he’d meant the horse riding.

‘But since you brought it up, this is a very special place, Rose. I honestly can’t imagine that a more beautiful property exists anywhere, and there’s something pretty special about being the first to show it to you.’

‘If I’m honest, I feel completely out of my depth here. I can’t even comprehend that I’m connected to this land, or that this isn’t just some kind of fantasy.’

Benjamin looked at her as if he understood, but she wasn’t sure that he could even if he wanted to. ‘Then just enjoy the fantasy. Explore the property, get to know the place, spend some time with the horses here. I promise that you’ll fall in love.’

She blushed, knowing that he was talking about the property but imagining that it might not be so hard to fall in love with the man showing her around, either. Or at least fall in lust, perhaps.

He gestured for her to keep walking.

‘Let me show you the rest of the estate,’ he said.

She was happy to follow, wishing she was videoing the view so she could look back later and know that it hadn’t been a dream.

‘This is the polo field,’ he said, gesturing to an immaculately maintained stretch of grass that appeared to her much, much bigger than a football pitch. ‘We host some very special games here.’

‘Did Valentina play polo herself?’ Rose asked.

‘Not that I know of. But she was passionate about women playing the sport, which always made me wonder if she wished she had,’ he said. ‘Sometimes she’d talk about her father, and how much he’d influenced her love of the sport, but they were rare times because she wasn’t often nostalgic. She liked riding around the property though, when I was a boy, exercising some of the older horses.’

Rose sat and looked around, wishing she’d been able to travel to Argentina to see the property with Valentina before she’d passed away. It was on the tip of her tongue to tell Benjamin that she’d recently lost her mother, to explain to him how difficult all this was for her to process right now after everything she’d been through, but something stopped her.

‘I want you to fall in love with this place, Rose,’ Benjamin said, leaning back in the saddle as she watched him, his hand resting on the horse’s rump. ‘I know this is going to sound crazy, but I feel like it’s my job to sell this place to you, to convince you of how special it is so that you never want to leave.’

She sighed as her horse stopped walking, taking the time to look around and drink in the scenery around them. It was beautiful, there was no denying that.

‘I’m sure you feel like there’s a lot resting on your shoulders, Rose, and there is. But just let the next few days be about getting to know Argentina and the people here.’

Rose glanced away, used to blinking away tears by now, but somehow still not used to the gut punch of pain when she thought about the past few months and what she’d lost.

‘I’m sorry, did I say the wrong thing?’ he asked, looking concerned as his eyes seemed to study her face.

‘I recently lost someone,’ she said. ‘Someone I loved very much, and every now and again it just hits me. It wasn’t anything to do with what you said.’

Benjamin’s smile was kind. ‘I find that a good gallop makes me forget all about my pain. Perhaps I could tempt you?’

Rose laughed, surprised at how quickly he’d been able to make her smile. ‘How about we try a walk again? I think just plodding along should be enough to keep my mind off things.’

‘Deal. A walk it is.’

They set off again, and Rose found her gaze travelling back to the man beside her instead of the view. He might not have made the most brilliant first impression on her earlier in the day, but he was certainly redeeming himself now, and she couldn’t help but respect how passionately he felt about the land they were riding on.

‘Is it usual not to feel your legs after riding?’ Rose asked as she swung her legs from the stirrups and looked down at the ground. ‘And to have no idea how to get off?’

Benjamin dismounted in a way that looked effortless, leaving his horse to stand there as if it also knew exactly what to do somehow, while he came around to her left side.

‘Your thighs will hate you in the morning, but you’ll get used to it,’ he said, before holding his hands out. ‘Swing your right leg over and I’ll catch you.’

She stared down at him, not quite sure whether she wanted to, and also not sure quite where his hands were going to be catching her.

‘Ahh—’

‘Trust me. I’ve got you.’

Rose did as he instructed, swinging her right leg back just as she’d watched him do, well clear of the horse, and his hands caught her around the hips and carefully guided her down. His palms were firm against her jeans, but the moment her feet were on the ground he let go, and she found herself wishing he hadn’t removed them quite so quickly.

‘Rose, come to the polo with us this weekend,’ Benjamin said, his eyes searching hers as he took a step backward. ‘You’re my patron, after all, even if you didn’t intend to be, and I think you’d love it. I’d love for you to see the game of polo first hand.’

She sighed, about to say no but then imagining what fun it might be. ‘I’m supposed to be flying to New York on Saturday.’

‘What’s in New York?’

‘My best friend.’

‘Can you go to New York another time? I know you’ll enjoy it if you give it a chance.’

Rose hesitated. Jessica would understand; so long as she went there to visit eventually, she doubted that it would matter to her at all, but the thought of extending her stay in Argentina unsettled her. None of it felt real still, almost as if she hadn’t yet woken from a dream, and as nice as Benjamin was, she felt as if she were intruding on his world rather than being part of it.

‘You might find that polo is in your blood, after all, and if you don’t spend time here, you might never know,’ Benjamin said, his eyes seeming to twinkle as he watched her. ‘What do you say? Will you stay, Rose?’

Something ignited inside Rose then, a swirl in her stomach that spiralled through her body as she stood before Benjamin.

‘You truly think I’ll love it?’ she asked.

He grinned, and it was contagious. ‘I don’t think so, Rose, I know you will. Once you’ve spent a week in Argentina?’ he raised his eyebrows as he leaned closer. ‘You’re never going to want to go home.’

Rose swallowed what felt like a hard lump in her throat, having a feeling that he might be absolutely right. Because right now, as she looked out at the sprawling fields around her, she could very much see herself staying in Argentina forever.