Page 53 of A Taste of Paradise

‘Look, if it helps your mother at all, then it helps you too, and after all you’ve done for me, Lily, it’s the least I can do.’

Was that the reason then? Was this all a way to repay her for trying to help him through a difficult situation? It certainly made more sense than the notion that there could be something between them. Maybe she might be feeling something, Lily still wasn’t sure, but it seemed impossible to comprehend that he might be too.

Regardless, it was probably better to keep her thoughts to herself, and as they neared the restaurant, she decided that the less she said about all that, the better.

They got dinner at Lily’s favourite fish spot, Patsy’s. The order line was long as usual, but at least it moved at a decent pace.

Lily opted for grilled potato and vegetables, with marlin and garlic bread, while Shay had tuna and macaroni pie. He’d heard so much about it from her, he had to try the cheesy pasta dish that looked like for all the world like a square of orange waves with a cheese-toasted crust.

As expected, they enjoyed their meal immensely and Shay started chatting to a couple of tourists from Germany seated beside them on the picnic table they’d grabbed.

The DJ was playing some of the year’s new musical selections for the coming Crop-Over Festival, the time of year when the island shores overflowed with tourists and returning nationals, participating in the island’s carnival, Kadooment.

And the reason for The Palms’ upcoming beach party.

‘Want to dance?’ Shay asked over the din. His head had been bobbing along to the music for some time, but Lily didn’t think he would dare to actually dance in front of all of those people. Next thing she knew he was on his feet with a hand outstretched and she had to laugh at this crazy Irishman and his weird moves.

‘I hope you know what you’re doing,’ she said dubiously, then took his hand and followed him into the throng of dancing bodies packed between the lines of stalls.

The beat crept into her bones immediately. Shay was doing his best to keep in time with the fast-paced Caribbean rhythm but he was noticeably off.

Lily couldn’t help but laugh as he tried to ‘wine’ his waist like one of the other dancers. When he started to do some kind of hybrid swing and hip-hop, she was about to stop him before he hurt himself, but then the DJ announced a change.

The upbeat tempo dissipated for a slow local ballad from days gone by.

Lily wasn’t sure how to react, but Shay seemed unfazed. He pulled her to him, holding her close but not too close as to be intrusive, as he began to shuffle his feet in time to the music.

‘You’re better at the slower stuff,’ she teased, as they fell into a comfortable rotation with the other couples around them. Some were twirling their partners and showing off their talents – mostly the older crowd.

Still, Shay was holding his own as they danced to one of her mother’s favourite songs, ‘Beautiful And Unspoilt’. The slower the music played, the more comfortable she became in his arms.

Lily wasn’t sure when she’d moved to rest her head on his chest, but the faint sound of Shay’s heart could be heard in her ears as his arms wrapped more securely around her.

This is a bad idea, she warned herself, but yet it felt too good to move away.

Maybe she could enjoy this feeling while it lasted. Maybe Lily could let herself pretend there could be something more, even if only until Shay left her life and returned home.

Was it so wrong to want to enjoy this lovely man’s attention? A little voice inside her told her it was, but a louder one that soundly strangely like her father told Lily to take a chance.

Just this once, she told herself as she blotted out the warning voice entirely.

Let me have this, just this once.

Chapter 36

‘My daddy says I’ve got to learn to take a breath while I’m speaking because I talk really fast and sometimes people don’t understand me, but you understand me, don’t you, Naomi? I don’t know why other people don’t understand me. Do you think it’s maybe because they think too slowly and I talk too fast? It gets boring having to repeat myself all the time. Wouldn’t you get tired of having to repeat yourself all the time?’ Holly prattled as she sat across from Naomi in The Palms lobby.

Naomi still didn’t know how Greg could describe this place as a dump. To her it was tropical paradise and so restful, compared to the sleek wholly affected modernism of some of the newer chain hotels in the area. The Palms pretty much embodied St Lucia, or at least as she’d always imagined it.

Yes, some of the lobby furniture was a little rustic and the chairs across from her looked as if they were cut straight from the tree, nailed together and covered in varnish. It made her think of a more refined version of something you’d see on Gilligan’s Island. She could see a golf cart parked nearby and a warm breeze floated through, inviting her to come outside, jump on and go play a round. The mature dwarf palm beside her swayed in time to the breeze and gently tickled her arm. Despite yesterday’s disagreement with Greg, these gorgeous surroundings always managed to lift Naomi’s spirits.

Now, she turned her focus back to Holly and smiled. ‘I don’t think you talk too fast and I love talking to you,’ she assured her and watched the little girl’s face light up with delight.

The more time she spent around Holly, the better she felt too, Naomi observed. When just a few minutes ago, they’d all bumped into one another in the lobby again and Will realised he’d forgotten something in his room, Naomi had happily agreed to stay with his daughter until he returned. She was waiting on Sam anyway, so it wasn’t any inconvenience, and, besides, she was happy for the opportunity to spend more time with the cute little girl.

‘So what are you doing today, Naomi?’ Holly questioned, as her legs swung back and forth on the edge of the seat. She was wearing a pretty flamingo-print sundress and her hair was in two pigtails on either side of her head. The thought that her dad had been the one playing hairdresser touched Naomi’s heart a little too.

‘I’m going shopping with my best friend, Sam. She wants to bring home a present for her baby,’ she informed Holly.