Page 44 of A Taste of Paradise

‘A-ha. So Breezy Shores must be the ones trying to sabotage us,’ Dee announced, dramatically.

‘I can’t see it, Dee.’

The two resorts, while business competitors, also enjoyed a healthy long-time association being the only two original non-chain hotels remaining on this particular stretch of coast. More often than not, they shared resources and sometimes even suppliers, management of both premises often cooperating to ensure cost efficiency so that they could continue to compete against some of the bigger internationally owned and operated offerings. So to think that the other hotel could suddenly be trying to undermine their business didn’t sit right with Lily, even taken with the recent realisation that someone certainly was.

According to Erin, there were simply way too many things going awry lately, far more than could be expected, even for a newbie.

‘Ah, maybe the cancellation is for the best in any case,’ Dee said, shrugging. ‘This whole pretend-locals dancing for the tourists thing is a bit outdated anyway, not to mention a bit insulting. Let them dance for themselves.’

At this, Lily sat up a little. ‘You know, you could be onto something there,’ she said as an idea began to form in her mind and she jotted some notes down. ‘But if somebody truly is trying to sabotage our party, then they picked the wrong target to mess with.’

Dee laughed. ‘That’s my girl. So have you said anything to Erin yet about … you know?’ she added, referring to Lily’s decision to quit the events manager post.

‘I didn’t want to, not when she’s dealing with so much already.’

‘And she found nothing in your guy’s room? No key?’

‘He’s not “my guy”.’ Lily made a face, but her insides flooded with warmth at the mention of Shay. ‘She said that nothing stood out to Eugenie’s daughter as such, except maybe an art print of the Pitons. Maybe the key could be hidden behind that or something?’

Lily had since made some inquiries with her own mother about her dad’s previous involvement in keeping the hotel afloat over the years, but as expected, Barbara knew little about Richard’s day-to-day activities at Barclays. For one crazy moment, Lily wondered if the people who were so hell-bent on securing the hotel might also have had some hand in her dad’s unexpected passing, but then realised that perhaps, even for someone of her imagination, that truly was a step too far.

But she still couldn’t escape the worry that perhaps Shay might have something to do with it, especially when Erin, upon checking how long he’d intended on staying, mentioned something about the absence of a wedding tux in his room.

It probably meant nothing though; perhaps Sarah or another member of the bridal party had been responsible for carrying that stuff?

But still, the notion stayed with her and Lily decided she needed to keep her guard up, figuring that her earlier offer to maybe have Shay help with the preparations for the party was a bad move. Allowing him access to potentially useful hotel information was a risk she couldn’t afford to take.

The real question was, could Lily do the same when it came to Shay accessing her heart?

Chapter 31

‘These people are driving me crazy,’ Erin huffed when faced with yet another demand from the Beaumonts. The honeymooning couple truly was turning into her worst nightmare. First, it was a different desk chair to accommodate Maria’s sensitive back when she was typing. Then it was constant pod refills for the coffee maker to keep their minds alert while they reviewed ‘important documents’ for an upcoming meeting.

Meeting? On honeymoon?

Plus the constant complaints about the Wi-Fi, which still wasn’t up to their standard.

Erin couldn’t understand it. They were supposed to be spending their time enjoying one another, not reformatting documents and preparing presentations while floating on a cloud of caffeine-induced insomnia.

If only moving them to another room was enough to solve the problem. As it had been with Shay Brady, she mused with some satisfaction.

Following her brainwave when visiting Naomi Sparks’ room, Erin had since decided that the recent water leak was the perfect ruse to move the jilted groom out of Eugenie Cooke’s preferred room.

‘I’m so, so sorry for the inconvenience, Mr Brady,’ she’d soothed, having personally notified the guy and even assisted the luggage porter with moving his stuff to a completely different wing that very morning. Though Erin already knew it wouldn’t be that inconvenient since Brady had barely unpacked anyway. ‘Unfortunately, the unexpected, but necessary, plumbing maintenance I talked about is happening in the room directly above yours and I wouldn’t want to risk any leaks or spillages down here.’

While the Irishman seemed a little put out at having to move rooms yet again, he was generally good-natured about it all. And when Erin left him safely ensconced in his new beachside bungalow, she was doubly proud of herself for not only freeing up the room, but also turning what had first appeared to be a negative into a major positive.

She’d let housekeeping take care of cleaning it for now, but in the meantime had put a reserved block on Eugenie’s room so that she could arrange for Molly to comb through it at her leisure when the time was right.

And with luck, finally, secure the key.

But, for the moment at least, she and Molly both had a busy day coming up.

‘Makellah?’

‘Yes?’ the receptionist replied, as she entered Erin’s office. She was young but incredibly efficient and in the short time they’d worked together she’d already learned Erin’s pattern.

‘Can you get Nadine on the line, or actually no – maybe the catamaran operator directly?’