Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
‘ O là , Felipe,’ called a guy from a slightly raised table at the back of the bar. The table was almost full and Felipe guided Rebecca over in that direction, his hand resting on the naked skin in the small of her back.
‘That is one hell of a dress,’ he murmured, his fingers finding and caressing the indent of her spine.
She shivered and grinned at him, still delighted by the visible dip of his Adam’s apple and the way his eyes had widened when she’d slipped off her jacket at the door of the restaurant.
‘ Olá , Alonso.’ Felipe raised a hand in welcome and everyone else turned to greet him.
‘Hey, guys, this is Rebecca.’
Most of the group were men which never fazed Rebecca as she was used to being surrounded by them.
‘Hey Rebecca, what are you doing with this idiot?’ asked a man in a backward baseball cap with a cheerful grin and a strong Italian-American accent. ‘He’s a loser. Come sit here.’
‘Down, Giorgio,’ said Felipe with a laugh, turning to Rebecca with a roll of his eyes. ‘He’s Italian; he can’t help himself.’
Rebecca grinned back at Giorgio, well used to this sort of testosterone-fuelled banter, and took one of the empty seats that Felipe pulled out for her. ‘Hi, nice to meet you.’
On the opposite side of the table, a girl with long blonde hair and a smattering of freckles dotted across her nose shook her head. ‘They’re all idiots,’ she said. ‘Hi, I’m Kimberley. Sister to one of these fools. Him.’ She pointed to a blonde male version of herself. ‘Walker.’
Rebecca immediately felt kinship with her. ‘Hi.’
‘As they’re not grown up enough to introduce themselves, I’ll do it. Giorgio you’ve met– and can now instantly forget. Like I said, Walker, my twin– I got all the best genes. Alonso, he’s Portuguese and from the Douro, so thighs like steel hawsers. You should see him on the mountains.’
‘You love me on the mountains, baby,’ teased Alonso blowing her a kiss.
‘Hmm,’ said Kimberley, although the quick softening of her face suggested to Rebecca that she probably did. ‘Pierre– he’s really called Alain, but because he’s French he’s always been Pierre.’
‘Bonsoir, Rebecca.’ The Frenchman gave Rebecca a chirpy salute. ‘Bienvenue.’
‘And finally, Ad?o, the only genuine native as he lives here in Lisbon.’
‘Welcome, Rebecca,’ said a young man with short, dark hair and serious eyes.
There was a lot of back slapping and manhugs as Felipe was greeted. In total there were six other people around the table, five men and Kimberley, and from what Rebecca could gather they were an international bunch. She hazarded a guess that the blond twins were American.
‘Red or white wine?’ asked Kimberley, pointing to the bottles on the table, ‘Or are you in training as well?’ Sheassessed Rebecca’s frame.
‘Not in training for anything at the moment,’ said Rebecca. ‘I’d love a glass of white.’
‘Coming up. I’m on the wagon.’
‘What are you training for?’ asked Rebecca, as much from politeness as curiosity. Kimberley seemed to assume she was one of them and as she glanced round the table, she realised all the men had the same lean, muscular, athletic build.
‘The Giro,’ said Kimberley.
Startled, Rebecca did a double-take. ‘What? As in the Giro D’Italia?’
‘The women’s, obviously, but yes.’
‘Wow,’ said Rebecca, impressed and a little bit awe-struck. That was a serious race, over five hundred miles across the length and breadth of Italy. ‘How do you all know each other?’
‘We were all at Marian University together. On cycling scholarships.’
‘In the States?’ she asked, remembering that Felipe had said he’d gone there.
‘Yes, and even though some of us are still competing, we do a pretty good job of staying in touch. Alonso and Giorgio both live in Lisbon, which is handy for the rest of Europe. I’m staying with Alonso, so Walker and Pierre hired an apartment and tagged along.
Unless we bump into one another on the circuit, we don’t see each other that often– and of course, I’m on the women’s circuit, unless I’m supporting Walker or Alonso. ’
‘So you’re all professional cyclists.’ Rebecca’s eyes widened. She’d always been fascinated by the big cycling races, especially the Tour de France.
‘Yeah,’ agreed Kimberley. ‘Except Felipe, of course.’ She lowered her voice. ‘Which is a damn shame because he was good. He could have gone all the way.’
Rebecca’s heart bumped uncomfortably in her chest at the confidence, although she nodded as if she had always known that Felipe was once a cyclist. What had happened?
Had he had an injury? She felt as if she’d encroached on something she shouldn’t have.
He’d never mentioned it. In her mind there were two reasons for that: one, it didn’t matter, or two, it mattered a lot.
She gave him a discreetly appraising look. It was obvious now. He had the same lean build as the others. Did he still cycle?
It felt like prying to ask Kimberley for more details, so instead she asked a couple of general questions about where the twins came from (Tennessee), how long she’d been with Alonso (eight years) and how she liked Lisbon (her favourite city).
‘It’s my first time,’ said Rebecca, ‘but I love it.’
‘Yeah, it’s a great city. The hills are a great training ground at five in the morning when no one else is about.’
‘I’ll take your word for it,’ said Rebecca with a wry shudder. ‘I’ve done quite a bit of cycling– nothing in your league of course– and I definitely prefer the flat.’
‘So what gives with you and Felipe? He’s never brought anyone with him since—Sorry, that’s so tactless.’
‘Don’t worry. We’re just friends. I’m working in Portugal for the summer at his family’s hotel.’
‘Ah, phew. I’m relieved to hear it. It’s never a good idea to sleep with the boss. I wondered if Estela broke his heart or something. He’s never mentioned anyone.’
‘Oh, he’s not my boss.’ Rebecca was quick to clarify it because it would be a bit ick to sleep with your boss. ‘I work for his sister.’ She couldn’t, however, help but be intrigued by the mention of Estela. Was that why Felipe avoided relationships? He’d been burned once, a bit like her.
‘What’s the hotel like?’ asked Kimberley. ‘I’ve never been. Felipe is always quite cagey. Alonso and I are thinking about coming in the off-season in October for some downtime away from training. Would you recommend it?’
‘I would. It’s in the most idyllic location and has a great spa and fitness centre. You can get a massage. There’s a really good pool. And there’s plenty of walking and I bet good cycling round there, although I haven’t been out. In fact, I must ask if there’s a bike I could borrow.’
‘Ha!’ Kimberley let out a belly laugh. ‘You’ve got to be kidding. Felipe must have at least a dozen bikes– I’m sure he won’t have got rid of them all. Hell, he could probably build you one.’
Rebecca simply nodded, feeling that she was trespassing on Felipe’s life. He’d never volunteered any of this information.
‘So, Rebecca, where do you come from?’ asked Giorgio from across the table. ‘And what are you doing later?’
‘We’re going out to dinner,’ said Felipe, surprising her by laying a possessive hand on her back, his fingers stroking her skin very lightly.
She leaned into him, relishing the light touch which set her nerve endings quivering again.
Sex had never been this much fun or quite so electric.
Felipe certainly knew what he was doing.
‘And she’s far too good for you. What happened to the Brazilian model you were seeing? ’
‘Bianca. She’s long gone. Keep up.’
‘You’re such a tart, Giorgio,’ said Kimberley with a good-natured laugh. ‘No one can keep up. I bet you have trouble remembering whose head is on the pillow next to yours in the morning when you wake up.’
‘Wake up, bella?’ Giorgio shot her a smouldering smile. ‘I keep them up all night, with my endurance and stamina.’
‘Yeah,’ chimed in Walker. ‘He’s not known as King of the Mountain for nothing.’
They all laughed, even Rebecca, who knew that the term referred to the cyclists who won the mountain stages of the big cycling races like the Tour de France, the Giro D’Italia and the Vuelta a Esp?na.
The good-natured teasing and jockeying for position continued. They were all so friendly and warm that Rebecca felt included and she was surprised when Felipe touched her arm, interrupting a conversation between her, Walker and Alfonso.
‘We have a dinner reservation in half an hour, but we can stay and eat here if you like.’
Rebecca was torn for a moment. They were all so nice, but a thought blossomed in her head: it would be even nicer to have Felipe to herself.
‘It’s really up to you,’ she whispered back to him. ‘They’re your friends. It doesn’t sound like you get to spend much time together.’
Felipe grinned. ‘I’ve spent a lot of time with these guys over the years– I roomed with Walker, Alfonso and Giorgio.
I’d far rather spend the rest of the—’ he paused and traced a finger up her back again, making a small circle at the nape of her neck under her hair which she’d left loose for a change ‘—night with you.’
‘Would you?’ she asked, peeping flirtily up at him from under her lashes.
‘Oh definitely,’ he murmured into her ear, his warm breath fanning over her skin, sending a quick clutch of heat through her system.
‘Mmm, that is good,’ said Rebecca, taking the first sip of her gin and tonic. The restaurant, Taberna Moderna, had over eighty gins and selecting just the one had been quite the headache, until she’d finally settled on the bitter orange gin.
‘Would you like to try mine?’ asked Felipe, offering her his drink. He held the glass as she took a sip through the straw. He watched her and she felt a frisson flutter through her at the soft tenderness in his gaze.
He’d opted for a gin from Alentejo, Black Pig. It had a hint of lemon and rosemary and it slipped down nicely.
‘Nice, but this is nicer,’ she said and held out her glass for him to sample.