Chapter 12
London kissed the older man’s weathered cheek, noting the similarities in the way he and Mateu held their shoulders and the caramel color of their eyes. But where Mateu was hearty and strong, his father’s posture was bent by hard labor.
Nicolau Espasa, Mateu’s namesake, straightened as much as his spine would let him, pride beaming from his sun-crinkled face. “It is oasis. Yes? Everything.”
So he hadn’t lied to her about his name, at least. He truly went by Mateu. That part, at least, had been real.
She took in every word, every view, determined to remember such beauty. The romanticism, the loyalty, of such a business tugged at her heart in a way that surprised her. Keeping her distance from Mateu when every moment was making her feel closer to him was a challenge. But she’d
