Page 1 of A Taste of Paradise

Prologue

I had hoped not to have to write these words but, sweetheart, we both know my time on this earth will soon be at an end. I have fought for a long while, but it’s finally time to accept my fate. I’ve lived such a good, full life, experienced everything I wanted to, even positively touched lives. Most importantly, I loved and was loved in return.

And best of all, I had you.

So I have no regrets, nothing left unsaid, except one very important thing. And that is more of a desire for you. I want you to live, my wonderful girl.

Live every moment more abundantly than you ever have.

You’ve spent almost your entire life trying not to be noticed. Never truly able to recognise the incredible person you are inside. I know your father leaving us so soon devastated you and perhaps because of that you tried to control your world – holding on for dear life to what you knew best. You held on to me. But sadly now, my darling, I have to leave you too and need your promise that, once I’m gone, you will try harder to embrace others. Learn to open your heart and overcome your fears so that you may truly taste life.

I’ve always told you about growing up in my homeland – the fun, sun, and spice that coloured every aspect of life in the Caribbean – where people truly savoured living and didn’t work every second just to pay the bills. I want you to experience that. I want you to see life as you never have before, carefree and confident about the future. Promise me that you will at least try?

So with this in mind, I also need you to be brave and do one last thing for me. The Palms Hotel, which as you know has always been my beloved happy place, is under threat.

Developers have long been after the wonderful location upon which the resort stands, but I and the other original investors have always strenuously resisted. We didn’t want our precious natural sanctuary, or yet another crucial piece of our St Lucian heritage destroyed in the pursuit of money. But I fear that with so many of us fading away, including myself now too, time is running out. And given the recent loss of one of our staunchest supporters on the island, resistance will surely crumble even further.

Lately, I’ve been made aware of yet another plan to secure The Palms once and for all. Seems our opponents have this time engaged someone with the short-term aim of undermining the resort’s reputation and in time, diminishing the business altogether. And if successful, secure majority shareholder control.

To my mind, the upcoming summer sunset party is the perfect target for such chaos. And since I can no longer travel there myself to help, or more importantly, alert our beloved friends and staff at The Palms to stay vigilant for potential interlopers, it’s up to you to do so in my stead.

To this end, I’ve ensured a reservation for you in my usual suite during the week leading up to the party. It’s also where the key to my Barclays safety deposit box is concealed. Naturally since you are reading this, the box and everything in it, plus – and most important of all – my original share certificates for The Palms are now yours.

To be safe, I won’t tell you where the deposit box key is hidden; though once you’ve checked in to the room, I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to figure it out …

Chapter 1

Don’t stop. Keep going. There is no giving up.

Erin Howard’s muscles ached with the strain of exertion and her breath was laboured. Sweat dripped off her in cascades as she grasped the edge of a jagged rock and pulled herself up. Her vest was stuck to her chest, and her khaki shorts were drenched with perspiration along the fold of the hem. Even her socks felt damp in her boots. Tropical humidity was having more of an effect than she’d anticipated.

Her guide, Andy, was ahead, leading the way along surer footing as they continued their ascent up the lush mountain face. He seemed unfazed, though his dark skin also shimmered with sweat, his waist-length braids restrained by a blue handkerchief.

‘You all right back there?’ he called over his shoulder to her.

‘Doing great,’ she replied through gritted teeth. ‘How much further?’

‘Another four hundred and fifty feet till the end of the trail. Still think you can keep up?’

‘Of course,’ Erin countered determinedly.

He turned his attention to the rest of the group. ‘Everyone else OK?’

Unanimous assent resonated from somewhere behind Erin, but she didn’t look back. Her sole focus was on the climb. One more step. One more foot. One more mountain conquered.

She’d been giving herself these mental pep talks since she was a girl, the way her dad always told her. A man who’d risen from the gambling pits in Vegas to casino manager for the Mandalay Bay, a position he’d held for most of Erin’s life, Tony Howard had made his daughter into pretty much a female version of his own image. Someone who got the job done no matter what. There was no such thing as ‘can’t’ or ‘impossible’; there was always a way.

The only time you gave up is when you were dead, and sometimes Erin believed that her father vowed to never let that happen to him either. While harsh and sometimes overbearing, his heart was always in the right place. Testament to that and his determination, Tony had raised her alone after Erin’s mother abandoned them when she was a young girl. Even now at sixty-five, he was still working long days on the casino floor. And while Erin didn’t quite anticipate doing the same, she’d certainly inherited her father’s fierce independent streak and was proud of the self-reliance he’d instilled in her.

‘You falling asleep, or are you giving up already?’ Andy jibed.

Momentarily distracted, Erin pushed on.

‘In your dreams,’ she retorted as she picked up her pace, but on the rock ledge found, much to her surprise, that she was no longer alone. She had been so fixated on Andy that she hadn’t even known anyone else was on her heels.

‘Mind if I join the competition?’ the guy called out and, as he turned, his electric blue eyes upon her, Erin was momentarily stunned while he proceeded to surge ahead.

What the hell? she remonstrated silently, getting a hold of herself. He might be cute but he was gaining ground. So she’d better keep moving.