Page 6 of A Taste of Paradise

‘Sorry to bother you,’ a voice piped up from behind, causing her to jump a little.

‘Oh, I’m so sorry, pardon me,’ Erin said, recovering quickly, annoyed at herself for having her back turned at the desk. It was the worst first impression. She smiled broadly. ‘Welcome to The Palms. Checking in?’

The guy was dressed in an expensive-looking cream linen suit and a blue and white pinstripe shirt. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn’t figure out what.

His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses, and his black hair gelled back. He was over six feet by her estimation, and nicely toned judging by the way the jacket sleeves hugged his biceps, but it was his face that kept her fixated, the strong jawline in particular. Had she seen this guy before? One of the high-rollers from back home, perhaps …

Erin may well have continued trying to decipher the mystery, if not for his enquiring glance as he handed over his ID, causing her to realise that she was staring.

‘Excuse me, I’m so sorry,’ she mumbled, looking down at her makeshift arrivals sheet to locate the reservation. ‘I was miles away.’

‘That’s OK, Erin. I’m in no hurry.’

It was the use of her name that made her quickly look back up, and as the sunglasses were removed and his electric blue eyes revealed, it came to her.

‘Oh my gosh, Mack?’ she gasped, as the penny well and truly dropped. The guy she’d met up on Petit Piton the other day – the one who had bested her to the peak – was none other than Daniel MacKenzie.

Newly arrived CEO of Discover Earth, and the very man Erin’s bosses needed her to win over on this stay.

Chapter 6

Lily drove from the small apartment she shared with Dee on the outskirts of Castries, music blaring within the confines of her little yellow Mini Cooper – a gift to herself for her thirtieth birthday. The tiny roadster hugged the corners as she darted between cars on the highway, heading back to the hotel.

When she arrived, she waited at the aptly named Sunset Bar for the Irish wedding couple to appear. She was watching the fireball of golden light, perfectly framed behind a pair of curved coconut palms, sink into the horizon, and sipping from a tall ice-filled glass of water when she heard a familiar voice from nearby.

‘Lily?’

The lilting accent seemed even stronger in person, but there was no mistaking the voice.

‘Shay!’ she greeted, somewhat more enthusiastically than decorum necessitated, as she jumped up. ‘We meet at last,’ she added brightly, extending her hand.

‘Great to finally see you in person.’ Though his reply was considerably more lacklustre than hers and Lily quickly noted his ashen face and more serious demeanour.

‘Everything OK?’ she questioned, terrified that something had been missed, a problem with their hotel reservation or some crucial piece of information about the wedding she’d neglected to inform them about. Then, realising Shay was alone, she wondered if someone in their party was unwell after the journey or, as sometimes happened, become overwhelmed by the island humidity. She looked past him. ‘Where’s Sarah?’

His gaze faltered and she watched the slight bob of his throat as he swallowed. ‘She isn’t coming,’ he said, his words heavy.

‘What?’ His response made no sense. ‘Did she miss the flight or something?’

‘No.’ She watched stunned as the groom-to-be slumped down on the chair alongside her. ‘She broke up with me, Lily. The wedding’s off.’

‘Poor guy,’ Dee commented the following morning over breakfast before they left for work. ‘I can’t believe she’d actually dump him like that, and right before they were about to fly?’ She poured herself a fresh cup. ‘I’d be devastated. I imagine he is devastated.’

‘He is,’ Lily confirmed. ‘He was at the airport waiting to check in when she called and told him it was over.’ She held out her favourite palm-printed ‘Island Life’ mug – a gift from her dad – for Dee to fill. ‘Can you imagine? Standing there in the crowd, all excited about your Caribbean wedding and then getting a call from your fiancée telling you not only that it’s not going to happen, but your entire relationship is over. And all your dreams are at an end.’

‘So what was he hoping to achieve – by coming here anyway, I mean?’ Dee inquired, as she and Lily sat across from each other, both sipping their coffee. ‘I mean their money’s blown – obviously. He isn’t going to get anything back from the external suppliers at this point. We can try … but you know how it is … plus we’ve already gone to so much expense in-house.’

Lily pulled at a piece of the cheese and onion croissant she was eating.

‘I already explained all that … well, as much as I could without adding to his woes,’ she told her friend with a sigh. ‘He intends to go ahead with the stay as planned, so that the cost doesn’t all go to waste, at least. But obviously cancelled family and friends; what few they had coming along. Said he definitely couldn’t face seeing anyone else.’

‘Brave.’ Dee sipped her coffee. ‘Even so, I don’t think I could face still travelling here after all that.’

Lily nodded, thinking again of all the effort Shay (and indeed she) had made on his fiancée’s behalf. Poor thing, though.

‘He was supposed to be here with the love of his life to start the rest of their lives together. But instead, he’s all on his own in a foreign land,’ she said, shaking her head. ‘Not exactly the best circumstances for a vacation, is it? I feel so bad for him.’

‘Yep, but what can you do … ’ Dee agreed absently as she skimmed the headlines of the newspaper. ‘Best laid plans and all that. You of all people should know that.’