Page 47 of A Taste of Paradise

‘Do your skills work as well for yourself, I wonder?’ he asked, and she had to find the breath that had mysteriously left her lungs when he spoke. The low lilt of his voice and the look in his eyes almost made her forget how to speak.

‘Why do you ask?’ she questioned, turning on her heel to follow the rest of the group into the market. She could hear his rapid footfall behind her.

‘You didn’t answer my question,’ Mack continued to press, falling in step beside her.

‘Are you trying to find out if I’m seeing someone?’ she dared to ask, but wasn’t bold enough to look him in the eye.

‘I guess I am,’ he replied, snapping a photo of a nearby vendor selling handcrafted wooden masks. ‘Are you going to answer?’

Erin debated. Wasn’t this conversation now blurring the lines of professionalism? Wasn’t she supposed to be getting him on side on behalf of the resort?

She herself wasn’t part of the package after all.

‘Short answer? No.’ She probably shouldn’t have followed up, but her mouth overrode her mind. ‘You?’

‘Nope,’ Mack replied casually as he took another photo. This time it was of a little girl playing with her doll as she perched beside a woman selling various natural oils. His answer had been simple and direct, but the look in his eyes that accompanied it was anything but. What she thought she saw there made her stomach knot.

Was Mack interested in more than the resort?

Stop it. Focus.

Erin reminded herself of her responsibility, but that didn’t explain why she was letting him take her hand. She hadn’t even realised when Mack’s fingers had curled around hers, but she did notice how good it felt as he began to lead her into the market as if he wanted to shield her from the bustling crowds.

That was silly, of course. Why would he care about her?

The market was a cacophony of sounds issuing from the seemingly never-ending ocean of stalls. There were so many that she didn’t know where to begin, but thankfully Mack seemed to have ideas of his own. She followed after him as he weaved among the schools of people who were going about their business or shopping.

Every so often, he stopped to look at one item or another, releasing her hand for a moment before taking it again. She missed the feel of his fingers each time he did so, which only made her more confused.

‘Here,’ he commented as they stopped in front of the stall selling an assortment of handcrafted jewellery. He plucked a colourful rubber band and a sturdier one woven in a thread from their resting places. Each had ‘St Lucia’ inscribed on them, one in the thread and the other etched into the rubber face.

‘Which one?’ he asked, holding them up.

‘That one,’ she replied, pointing to the funky woven option with the island name written in bands of red, black, and yellow against a gradient of green thread.

‘I thought as much,’ Mack smirked before turning to the vendor. ‘How much?’

‘Three dollars—’ the woman replied, but Erin interrupted.

‘Mack, if I want it, I’ll buy it myself,’ she stated and immediately unclasped her bag to search for her purse. There was plenty enough to confuse their current situation without him buying her gifts. Her words were in vain, however, as by the time she’d plucked the bills out, he had already purchased the bracelet and was handing it to her.

‘Take it.’

‘I could have bought it myself,’ she continued to protest and again she was ignored.

‘It’s nothing. Just a trinket. Let’s move on to the next stall, shall we?’ he suggested and again her fingers were enclosed by his as he led her down a narrow aisle.

‘Do you know where you’re going?’ she asked as he weaved through the traders.

‘Nope,’ he replied nonchalantly and kept walking.

‘I thought I was supposed to be giving you a tour.’

‘Knowing where you’re going doesn’t matter. It’s the journey that counts,’ he stated and looked over his shoulder at her. ‘Besides it isn’t like we could get lost in here. The bus is right outside.’

I’m lost enough as it is.

This man had been bewitching her since she first laid eyes on him, and Erin seemed powerless to stop it. She knew she should; that only a fool would feel anything for Mack given the circumstances, but again, right from the start, all she seemed to do was make a fool of herself.