Rose's Vintage (34 page)

Before they left the beach later that morning, Rose messaged her brother a photo of Bondi, packed, as Philippe had predicted, with hundreds of swimmers and sunbathers, some of whom had even brought their Christmas trees down to the beach with them, and plenty of them on the way to their third or fourth beer of the morning, judging by the number of empties overflowing from the garbage cans. She gave her mum a call, but the line had an echo and they kept talking over each other.

‘We're all very jealous of you being at the beach,' Elaine said. ‘You must be having a brilliant time. Have a swim for me.'

Rose didn't have the energy to go into everything that had happened in the last couple of months, and in any case, her mum only ever wanted to hear good news. She gathered that Henry was on this way down later that day: Christmas Eve their time. She gulped as she hung up, suddenly feeling a long way from everything and everyone she'd grown up with.

But Philippe and Frostie didn't give her the chance to be sad for long. After a few hours down at the beach, they returned to the flat to shower off the salt and sand and then they got ready to head over to the North Bondi apartment of one of Philippe's mates. On her wanderings the day before, Rose had found a pale pink sheer cotton sundress, and now she slipped it on, slid her feet into a pair of sandals and twisted her still-wet hair into a knot at the nape of her neck, fastening it with the butterfly clip.

Her thoughts flew to Mark and what he might be doing this Christmas morning. Presumably playing happy families among a sea of presents.
Oh, presents!
She suddenly remembered the gift Mark had given her before he left. Burrowing into her pack, her fingers closed over the small square box and she pulled it out. Her hands shook slightly as she unwrapped it.

Inside was a tiny silver bunch of grapes on a fine chain. ‘Oh,' Rose gasped as she held it up to the light.

It's perfect.

She turned to the mirror to put it on. When she saw the grapes shining against her brown skin, her heart contracted.

She felt like crying.

Frostie's mates, Kate and Em, had laid on a seafood feast, and Rose happily peeled herself a prawn, dipping it in a thick, garlicky mayonnaise before popping it whole into her mouth. The boys had brought a slab of beer with them and Rose's contribution was several bottles of Kalkari wine that Mark had also insisted she take with her on holiday. The girls poured themselves generous glasses and took them out onto the balcony, which overlooked the beach.
Wow
, thought Rose,
this is certainly a different way to celebrate.

After gorging on the prawns, salad and wine, Rose didn't think she could eat any more, but Em marched onto the balcony carrying a flaming pudding. Rose had to laugh. It was a boiling hot day but they were going to eat Christmas pudding?

‘Oh, there's custard too, or brandy butter if you'd prefer,' said Em, catching the expression of mirth on Rose's face.

Rose leant back in her chair. ‘Oh my God, I think my stomach's going to burst,' she said. ‘That was amazing, thanks so much.'

‘Philippe mentioned that you're a pretty talented baker,' said Kate. ‘Did he tell you he's planning to open the cafe in the evenings, for dinner?'

Rose nodded. ‘Yes he did. It's a wonderful idea. He'll make an amazing job of it, I know.'

‘I'm going to be working with him,' said Kate. ‘But there's always a place for a good pastry chef, if you're interested.'

‘
Oui
, Rose, I was going to mention it, but I thought you were all set up out there in the valley,' Philippe added. ‘We'd love to have you if I could persuade you to come back to Bondi.'

Rose was touched. And tempted. ‘Gosh, thanks Philippe, but at the moment I've got two little kids depending on me, not to mention Ferment, our cellar door cafe.'
Not to mention a huge crush on my boss
, the voice in her head added. ‘But it's nice to be asked, and, who knows what the future will bring. I might need to take you up on it one day; I'm not sure that my job at Kalkari will last forever.'
Particularly if Isabella continues to be such a complete witch
, she thought darkly.

‘I don't think I'm going to need to eat for a week!' said Kate, stretching and patting her still-flat, tanned stomach.

‘Time for a nap, I reckon,' said Em. ‘
Oui, ma cherie
,' agreed Philippe and they headed off to her bedroom.

Rose, Frostie and the others cleared away the remains of lunch and then took their glasses back out to the balcony, where the western sun was slowly setting. She looked out at the view, one hand on her silver necklace, tracing the shape of the grapes.

She looked across at Frostie, at his happy, open smile as he looked out at the ocean. Nope. It was hopeless. Her heart didn't beat faster when she looked at him. Her heart belonged irrevocably to Mark.

CHAPTER 35

R
ose drove back to Kalkari a few days after New Year unsure of what might await her. She'd been away for just over a week, but, as much as she'd enjoyed the beach, she'd missed the Shingle Valley. She'd missed the early morning light as the sun rose over the hills, the huge skies and sudden crashing thunderstorms that sounded as though the whole world was caving in. She'd also missed the cheeky faces of Leo and Luisa. She wondered again what they'd got up to on Christmas Day, and whether they'd liked the presents she'd left for them. And she had missed Mark, far too much. She knew she had no right to miss him; Isabella was back and it was clear that the only role for her at Kalkari was as the au pair and manager of Ferment. She was just going to have to get over her feelings for her boss. Either that, or cut her losses and leave.

Her little car rumbled up the drive, scattering the baby-doll sheep into the vines on either side. As she came to a halt at the front door, she saw Mark, standing waiting for her, shading his eyes against the sun. She couldn't help it: her heart leapt at the sight of him.

She unfolded her long legs from the cramped car and stretched them out as she walked towards him. It was stinking hot, and her car's temperamental air-con had refused to work. Her shirt was almost soaked through with sweat.

‘Hey there,' said Rose as she walked up to him. She was wary, feeling the distance that had sprung up between them.

‘Hey yourself,' Mark replied.

‘Where is everyone? I didn't think you'd all be back yet.'

‘The kids are still up the coast with Isabella. Listen, Rose, come here. I need to talk to you; it's important.'

Rose went over to the verandah and he motioned for her to sit next to him.

This is it
, she thought.
He's going to give me the sack, tell me it's best for them all if I leave
.

She steeled herself. She'd been expecting it. ‘Actually, Mark, I think I know what you're going to say.'

He looked surprised. ‘You do?'

‘Listen, I know we started to have some feelings for each other, and you're a great bloke, but Isabella's back now and I know you need the space to mend your marriage. It's time for me to move on. I'm just getting in the way here.'

Mark grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘No, no, my darling Rose, that's not what I've got to say at all.'

‘It isn't?'

‘No, nothing could be further from the truth. Things are over for Isabella and me. They have been for a long time – long before you arrived, even before she went back to Spain.' He sighed before continuing. ‘She fell in love with me as a successful corporate guy: the guy with the big salary and the flash car and dinners in all the right restaurants. Not the penniless vigneron struggling to make ends meet. She got fed up with what she called my “complete obsession” with Kalkari, and the fact that we never went anywhere further than New Bridgeton, that I never did anything except work. She couldn't stand the fact that Kalkari took all our money and then some. The final straw came when we nearly went under last year. The bank put the squeeze on us and it looked like I was going to have to put the place on the market, to give up on my dream. It's only a loan from the Trevelyns that has kept us going this year. Now things are finally turning around, she's back, but it's too late for us, there's nothing there anymore. I think we've both realised that now.'

Rose already knew about the winery's precarious finances, but she was shocked to hear about Isabella's apparent change of heart. She'd thought the woman wanted nothing more than Mark back.

‘But she's been all over you—'

‘I think that was as much for your benefit as mine.'

Rose frowned. ‘I don't understand.'

‘She hates losing anything. Even if it's something she doesn't personally want anymore. But she's not really interested in me now, just the money.'

‘And what about the children?
Her
children?'

‘Well, she's missed them, of course, but I think it was easier for her to leave them behind than take them with her, believe it or not. While she's been back in Spain she's taken over the marketing of her father's winery, and that has meant spending a lot of time travelling – she didn't think it was fair to the kids to take them over there, take them away from their lives here and then hardly be around herself. She's not all bad, you know.'

Rose couldn't believe it. She could never imagine leaving your own children behind, no matter how difficult the situation was.

‘She wants me to get rid of you, and Astrid. She thinks the kids have become too fond of both of you. But there's no way that's going to happen. You've been the only constant thing in their life recently and I can see how much you both adore them and they you, and quite frankly that's a good thing for them, not a bad one. I also couldn't manage without either of you – the wheels would well and truly fall off. We were only just holding it together before you arrived. But,' he looked at her with sadness, ‘if you do want to leave, I completely understand. I know she's made your life hell. I've no idea how much longer she'll be around for. I can't kick her out just yet. We've still got a lot of logistics to sort out.'

Rose sighed. ‘Okay, you've convinced me. I'm not going to go anywhere.' She paused. ‘For now.'

Relief flooded over Mark's face. ‘I'll sort it out, honestly I will. Just give me some time, Rose. Now,' he said, looking her straight in the eye, ‘there's something else I really need to tell you. In fact, I've been wanting to tell you for months.'

‘Oh?'

Mark looked anxiously at her. ‘Rose, one of the reasons there is nothing between Isabella and me anymore is that I'm completely besotted with you. It's ridiculous and I know it's asking for trouble, but I just can't help it. I love coming home to the sound of your laughter as you play with Leo and Luisa, the smell of something delicious on the stove wafting through the house, the way you seem to make everything easier just by being there. You've made this old house a home in a way it never was before.
You
feel like home.'

Rose stubbornly stuck out her chin. ‘You've had a funny way of showing it.'

‘Oh, Rose,' he said. ‘I'm so sorry. I've been trying my best to be fair to everyone. I think I've only ended up hurting you. It's such a bloody mess.'

He looked so distraught. Rose relented. ‘Yep, it sure is,' she said softly.

Mark glanced up and saw the wistful expression on her face, and pulled her into his arms.

Sweaty or not, she never wanted him to never let her go. Ever.

He bent and put his lips to hers. She weakened in his embrace, desire flaring in her, all resolve of keeping her distance dissolving like ice on a hot pavement.

‘Hot, isn't it?' he said with a wink.

Rose blushed. ‘Sorry, the air-con in the car was on the blink.'

‘That's not exactly what I meant,' he said, wrenching himself away, grabbing her hand and pulling her down the driveway. ‘Come with me. I know somewhere we can cool off.'