The House that Florence Left (Portuguese Paradise #4)

Chapter 15

I hear there was some drama with Hugo yesterday morning. I hope that hasn’t impacted on you?

Bella read Jorge’s text message and decided to ignore the question, wondering how he knew about Hugo, then realised that everyone seemed to know everything about everyone anyway, so shrugged it off.

She pulled the tape from the cardboard box, reassuring herself he didn’t mean her conversation with Hugo. Her stomach churned uncomfortably so she took control, not wanting to talk about Hugo and his ex at all. She looked at the phone.

I’m popping into town this evening. I hear there is a food festival near the town walls. Care to join me? Jorge

Reasoning she could talk to him about Lenny and Martim to see if he knew why they were so keen on buying the land around Flo’s house, she decided she would probably accept his invitation, and pulled out the tiles which were enclosed in bubble wrap.

Putting them on the table, Bella ran her hands over the smooth cream background, slowly tracing the outline of the blue patterns, which were exactly the same as the old, shattered tiles. She clapped her hands happily. Once this was done it could be ticked off her to-do list.

She collected from the outbuilding the adhesive she had bought to fit the tiles onto the walls, admiring the space, now almost clear thanks to the help Hugo had given her.

‘Hello?’ Hugo was shouting from the gate at the end of the track.

Bella felt her heart flip nervously.

‘I come in peace. To apologise.’

‘Come in!’ yelled Bella, taking a breath to remind herself not to look directly into his chocolate-brown eyes.

He walked up the track, holding a bottle of champagne and a bunch of sunflowers in front of him as if they were a shield. ‘I’m so very, very sorry,’ he said. ‘I’m very embarrassed, and I should have come round yesterday, but I don’t drink often and after managing a day at work on that hangover I just crawled home. Mateus wasn’t at all happy with me. He started braying at 6 a.m. this morning as punishment.’

Bella tried to speak, but his unshaven face looked sexy and vulnerable and handsome and she wanted to run her hands through his untidy, tousled hair and stroke his face gently, tracing the outlines with the tips of her fingers. She couldn’t seem to get any words out.

One of the storks strode to the edge of the roof and took flight. Bella watched its long legs stretch out behind it like a ballerina and regained the power of speech.

‘Thank you for the apology.’ She searched for something else to say. Nothing came.

‘Haven’t got the buzzer on the front gate sorted out yet then?’ He handed her the flowers.

‘It’s on my long list of things to do,’ Bella said flatly. ‘I’ve got the number of an electrician from Ignacio, so it’ll be done soon.’

‘And another thing to apologise for.’ He looked sheepish. ‘The words just came out of my mouth.’ Hugo noticed the tiles. ‘Ah, they have arrived. They look exactly the same as the others.’ He looked up and grinned. ‘But not broken.’

Bella managed to drag her gaze to the house. ‘I’m about to put them up actually.’

‘Can I do it for you? I’m keen to make amends as much as possible.’

Bella shook her head. ‘Thank you, but I think I should do this. Aunt Flo would have after all. And even I can stick something onto something.’

‘Of course. I shall pass you the tiles? Then you will have both hands free for the task.’ He put the champagne and flowers on the patio table and followed Bella to the wall.

She attached the adhesive, then Hugo handed her the first tile and she stuck it on the wall, covering up the grey gap it had left, then repeated it with the others.

She stepped back. ‘Oh!’ The wall looked complete again. She felt a satisfying warmth as she surveyed her work. Taking another step backwards, she almost knocked into Hugo.

‘Beautiful,’ he said, as she turned around.

‘Sorry. Wasn’t looking where I was going.’

Their eyes locked again, his breath so close she could feel it on her neck. ‘I... um...’

‘You have some of the adhesive on your face.’ He touched her cheek and brushed it gently.

Bella moved closer to him, hypnotised.

Something fell to the ground next to them. They both looked up. A stork looked down.

‘That very large twig is supposed to go into the nest, Harry or Sally.’ Bella picked it up. Whatever was pulling her towards him had gone. And a part of her was relieved. Too complicated , she thought. But another part was quietly whispering about missed opportunities.

‘I think—’ Hugo was now standing under the tree, looking at the wall ‘—you have definitely made it better. That part of the wall, anyway.’

Bella edged slowly backwards, keeping the wall in sight as she did, examining the tiles and how they looked, until she was under the tree next to him. ‘Yes,’ she beamed. ‘I have, haven’t I?’

He picked up the sunflowers and champagne again. ‘You can tick it off the spreadsheet now, can’t you, and celebrate with these.’

Bella took them. ‘Would you like a glass of champagne? I can fast-track it by putting it in the freezer?’

Hugo winced and shook his head. ‘No alcohol for me today. And don’t put sparkling wines in freezers. They may explode.’

‘Ah, that’d be a waste. A cup of tea then?’

‘I have to go. I have boring administration to do at home. And—’ he beamed excitedly ‘—I have a meeting to prepare for about the charity. I have so many plans all of a sudden. I can spend less time at the café, get someone to help me with planting and tending the land and... I just need to secure some investment.’

‘That’s wonderful news.’ Bella pointed at the house. ‘My next task is to get someone to power-wash the outside walls. Another simple thing I can tick off the list.’

They looked at each other again, this time a little awkwardly.

‘So, I had better go.’

‘Thank you for the presents as well as the apology.’

Hugo leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, then walked back along the track like a man with somewhere very important to go.

He stopped and glanced back. ‘Your aunt told me about what happened to your family. She said your parents are lovely. You don’t need to shield them from everything. You should value yourself.’

Bella froze again, her thoughts stuck.

‘Oh...’ he added. ‘Those builders Lenny and Martim have been to see me again. After my land. Said you were considering selling yours to them. I told them you weren’t... you haven’t changed your mind, have you?’

‘No!’ Bella shook her head. ‘You’re not wanting to build an access road on my land, are you? I know you said no, but—’

‘No!’ Hugo looked surprised. ‘No! That would... no!’ He turned again and walked down the track.

The atmosphere had changed so suddenly, Bella didn’t know what to do, so she hurried after him.

He turned back and they stared at each other in silence. Bella’s mind was racing but she couldn’t seem to make the words into a comprehensible sentence.

‘No. Enjoy the rest of your day,’ she managed to say. Then it was Bella’s turn to walk away, and as she did, she saw the new tiles where they belonged on the wall of the house and felt a surge of pride. And out of nowhere, the pride was suddenly mixed with anger.

‘No one’s going to knock you down,’ she muttered. ‘Not now I’ve done that and cleared the outbuilding.’

* * *

Jorge was sitting on a bench in Pra?a Infante Dom Henrique, the sky over the bay beyond glowing a dusky pink as the sun set. He was scrolling through his phone, his forehead creased with concentration and had taken his tie off, holding it scrunched in one hand. Behind him children jumped on two giant trampolines and food trucks crowded the pathway while roadies set up equipment on a stage set in front of them.

‘ Olá , hello.’ Bella sat down next to him. ‘I’m not late, am I?’

‘Not at all. I finished work a few minutes early.’ He smiled at her. ‘You have caught the sun, Bella. Living here suits you.’

‘I’m not living here, technically, to be honest.’

‘Perhaps you will decide to stay?’

‘No. My work and my family are in the UK, and my flat, so lovely though this is, I’m still just passing through.’

He stood. ‘Shall we?’ They walked towards the food trucks. ‘Do you have any particular food in mind?’

Meat and fish sizzled on barbecues, the smell of spices and smoke drifting from the trucks hanging deliciously in the air. Bella’s mouth began to water. ‘There’s so much to choose from. I have no idea.’ She laughed. ‘Any recommendations?’

‘My friend has a taco truck over here.’ He waved at a young man with cropped hair.

The man waved back and held up some food. ‘Do you want to try some?’

‘It smells very nice.’ Bella nodded. ‘Yes, please.’

They watched as he plated up the food. ‘I’ve got something to ask you about Lenny and Martim.’ Bella glanced at Jorge’s face to gauge his reaction.

‘I only know them in a professional capacity.’ He took the taco, his expression friendly and open. ‘But ask away.’

‘They’ve been to see Will and Hugo recently asking them about selling the land. As well as me — well, I asked them — but I’m getting a bit anxious about it.’

‘Shall we sit opposite the fountains?’ Jorge nodded over at a free bench. ‘Call me a child but I do enjoy it when they make them turn pink and blue!’

‘Me too. Small pleasures.’ Bella followed him over and they sat down.

‘So — before I take a bite out of this delicious taco — I would say that Lenny and Martim are just businessmen who are looking for an opportunity. Nothing to be worried about.’

‘What if one of the others says yes?’ An anxious knot twisted in her stomach as soon as the words came out of her mouth.

‘Do you think one of them might?’ He was still looking at the taco.

‘No . . . I don’t know . . . but—’

‘Would that be a bad thing?’

‘Actually, I think it might be.’ Bella took a bite out her food and realised what she’d said. ‘I like it how it is.’

‘Does that mean you aren’t selling your land?’

‘I’ve decided not to in the end. The idea of redeveloping it has made me uncomfortable.’

‘What if you sell the house and then whoever buys it decides to knock it down and redevelop it or sell it to Martim and Lenny?’ He smiled at her. ‘I’m just playing devil’s advocate, Bella. People like us need to have all the information before us, and potential outcomes, before we make any big decision like this.’

‘Yes, we do.’ Bella felt herself relax a little. ‘It’s good you understand. Not everyone realises how important doing things this way is to me. Years of conditioning due to my job.’

She took another bite of the taco as someone began to rap from the stage.

‘I never really thought of the long-term,’ she said. ‘What would happen once I’d sold it on.’

‘And everyone has their own agenda. Will relies on a pension — maybe his house is too expensive for him and selling the land would help him. Hugo, of course — he wants to build that access road—’

‘He told me he wasn’t going to do that,’ Bella said quickly.

‘Has he played his guitar to you yet? Given you a lesson?’ Jorge took the napkin and wiped some mayonnaise from the corner of his mouth. ‘These are absolutely delicious but very messy.’

‘I...’ Bella couldn’t say anything. An image of them sitting so close, as he showed her the chords, so close she could reach out and touch his face trickled into her memory. It had felt like something then. But was it? Was that just something Hugo did?

She managed to gather her thoughts quickly. ‘Are Lenny and Martim working for someone else? They don’t seem like the kind of operation that would be able to develop that much land.’

Jorge paused for a moment. ‘I am not sure,’ he said slowly. ‘I can ask... but if you’re not selling the land, why do you care?’

‘Just because, like you, I need to have all the information to hand in order to understand the world around me.’ Bella finished her taco as Jorge took out his phone.

‘I’ve been asked to meet some friends in a café near the harbour. Would you like to join us?’

Bella felt suddenly weary. She’d got more information than she wanted, and why did she care whether Hugo was known for playing the guitar to impress women — and what was Jorge implying anyway? ‘That’s kind.’ She wiped her hands on the napkin. ‘Maybe another time. I’ve got work to catch up with first thing — the part-time work isn’t really part-time at the moment.’

They both stood up. ‘I hope I’ve been of some help.’ Jorge smiled so widely it lit up his face.

‘Of course, I appreciate it.’ Bella relaxed again.

He touched her arm gently. ‘Maybe we can meet for dinner again soon?’

‘That would be lovely.’ Bella put her rubbish in a nearby bin and Jorge kissed her on both cheeks.

‘ Adeus, até a próxima. Until the next time.’ He turned away, then waved as he walked toward the marina.

Bella looked at the taco truck to check out its name so she could recommend it to her friends at the House on the Hill. The woman with the bob who had been arguing with Hugo was chatting to the owner, laughing, then waved and hurried away, almost running towards Jorge, who had turned the corner onto the avenida. As she did, she was joined by the older man she had seen at the restaurant with Lenny and Martim. The same man who had spoken to her outside her house. The same man, she realised, who was in the photograph gazing into her aunt’s eyes when he was young and apparently in love.

It was Francisco Lopes.