Page 45 of A Taste of Paradise
The wheels of her mind were turning quickly now, and the more they did, the more her various plans were starting to come together.
‘Oh, and ask our IT technician to call me too. I need his help,’ she requested, her brain working overtime.
‘Sure thing,’ Makellah answered, turning to go out front. Then she looked back, curious. ‘What are you planning?’
Erin pressed the tips of her fingers together as her elbows rested on her desk.
‘I think it’s high time those Beaumonts got out of their cave. Just see that you get everything I asked for?’ Then she got to her feet. ‘I’m going to be out for most of the day, so I’ll need you to man the fort until I get back.’
‘I thought as much,’ Makellah replied with a grin. ‘You aren’t exactly dressed for the office.’
Erin smiled. She’d recently changed into a pink halter top with a bead-encrusted band around the middle of her ribcage, and light-blue jean shorts.
‘I might not be in the office today, but trust me, it’s still important hotel business.’
‘There you are,’ Erin enthused when a few minutes later she spied Molly coming toward her in the lobby.
‘Are you sure this is OK?’ the other woman asked, completely forgetting her manners as her insecurities resurfaced. She looked down at the flowing black and white maxi skirt and wispy white spaghetti strap top she was wearing.
It was something Erin had helped her pick out from the resort’s in-house boutique the evening before.
It had taken some prodding to get Molly to relinquish her dark and heavy clothing for something that suited the climate, but in the end, she seemed pleased about the decision, though she was still a bit nervous about the change.
Plus the outfit did justice to her slender figure. No one would have guessed that such a lovely form was hidden beneath all those layers of clothing, but Molly needed a bit more convincing.
‘You look fantastic. Just relax, today is about having fun,’ Erin replied with a comforting hand on her arm. ‘You’d bake if you’d tried to spend a day out in the stuff you brought. You aren’t wintering in Alaska, you know,’ she joked.
But Molly still looked nervous.
‘Remember, I promised I’d help you and your mom. Let this be the first step in trying something new, OK?’
The other woman brightened and she nodded assuredly at her. ‘OK. One day at a time.’
‘That’s the spirit,’ Erin affirmed, giving her another reassuring glance before her gaze drifted elsewhere. ‘Now, where are the others?’ she mumbled to herself as she surveyed a crowd gathering outside the hotel entrance.
‘The others?’ Molly asked curiously.
‘Other guests joining us this afternoon. I haven’t seen them yet.’ She continued to scan the crowd until, finally, she spotted a familiar face. ‘There’s one,’ she mumbled, heading towards him and leaving Molly to follow her.
‘Trevor, so glad you could make it,’ Erin sang and then glanced over her shoulder at Molly, whose cheeks were flushed as she gave a surprised glance in their direction. ‘I believe you already know Miss Cooke?’
‘Yes,’ he replied delightedly, not giving away any inkling of his and Erin’s previous conversation. ‘Hello, Molly. Long time.’
‘Trevor … what are you doing here?’ Molly gasped, her cheeks flushing. ‘It’s been a long time and … honestly, I didn’t expect to know anyone on the island.’
Erin smiled. More progress.
‘Since you two already know each other, would you mind sitting together on the journey?’ she asked innocently, indicating the awaiting bus. ‘I need to attend to a solo guest.’
‘Sure,’ Molly said, smiling shyly back at her old school friend.
‘That would be lovely.’ Trevor stepped closer and the two old friends started their conversation. ‘We’ve got a lot of catching up to do.’
Even with Molly still sending her nervous glances, Erin was delighted to see that at least she hadn’t attempted to retreat inside her shell.
There was hope yet. All she needed was a little push in the right direction.
‘If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were playing matchmaker,’ a low voice whispered in her ear then, and Erin jumped in surprise.
