Page 32 of A Taste of Paradise

A waitress greeted them not long after they took their seats and handed them each a menu.

‘You’d love their buffet, but it’s only available on certain days,’ she told Shay as they perused their restaurant’s offering deciding what to choose.

‘Pickled Sea Cat?’ Shay commented wide-eyed in a tone divided by bewilderment and amusement.

She hid a laugh at his quizzical expression. ‘What we islanders call octopus,’ she commented. ‘It’s great, but not for everyone.’

‘I think I’m one of the “not for everyone” group then.’ He chuckled, shaking his head. ‘How do you even begin to think about pickling an octopus? And what’s Bul Jol?’ he asked, as he continued to inspect the menu choices.

‘Stir-fried salted fish with peppers and tomato,’ she explained. ‘They serve it with a bake, pretty much a large fried roll.’

‘Sounds good. Think I’ll try that and the curry. What are you having?’

‘Maybe the soup if it’s something I like, or else spring rolls and the shrimp risotto.’

‘Lily.’ Shay said her name so gently then, it was almost as if he was afraid it would break if he spoke it too loudly.

She looked up, taken aback. ‘What?’

‘I’m so sorry about the other day, for prying I mean,’ he continued, and she sighed. She didn’t want to talk about sad stuff again, especially when they were having such an enjoyable time.

‘It’s OK. Don’t think anything of it.’

‘It’s just … I know I made you uncomfortable. I brought up something unpleasant and then pressed when I shouldn’t have. It’s a terrible fault of mine, actually; I tend to want to find out everything about the things I’m interested in and sometimes I go too far.’

Lily froze. Did he really say what he was interested in? No, he surely meant what he was curious about. Shay must have realised he’d misspoken too, because a moment later he was raising his menu to hide his face.

She didn’t respond. Instead, she preoccupied herself with watching the waves. But Shay’s words were bothering her. She kept hearing her mother’s warning from before. She didn’t want him to get the wrong idea; she was having a lot of fun spending time with him lately and it was strange, but having spent the last few days getting to know Shay in person, Lily found him to be every bit the man she’d spoken to for all those months online.

Better even.

So what she was doing right now was not a good idea, despite her best intentions, supposedly for Erin’s sake. Lily knew she was indulging her own needs, and not only with food, though the smell of it was intoxicating as it wafted up from her plate.

Shay was preoccupied with devouring his curry, but Lily found herself more and more preoccupied with him. He was handsome, no one could deny that. He had a rugged attractiveness that drew your attention more than the average man. It wasn’t that anything about him was particularly striking, more the way everything about him came together. He moved with a confidence and ease that made you feel as if he knew what he wanted but didn’t feel pressured to be what he should be.

He was sure of himself. Even his unkempt haircut told you he was a guy who was comfortable in his own skin and didn’t need to conform. He was strong too; the shirt he wore hugged his biceps, but not so much as to cling. He clearly worked out but didn’t need to flaunt the strength he’d developed. Shay Brady seemed to be all things understated, yet that understated manner made him even more compelling.

The waitress came to refill their water then and Lily caught the other woman giving him a second glance as he smiled at her.

Obviously, I’m not the only one.

What are you thinking? Lily remonstrated with herself then. The only one what?

She wasn’t interested in Shay. The guy had literally just had his heart broken on the eve of his wedding. He’d not long come out of a long-term relationship, so Lily shouldn’t even attempt to measure him up as a prospect. Dee was right: she truly was a sucker for a guy in need. This much was evident by the thoughts that had now entered her head. And Lily knew she would need to keep a tight lid on that errant heart of hers before she caused herself more harm than good.

‘You’re very quiet today.’ Shay’s words sliced through her thoughts.

‘Just thinking,’ she said absently, as she pulled the band from her hair and wrapped it around her wrist, then combed through her curls a little with her fingers before pulling it back into a ponytail. When she finished she noticed Shay was staring at her.

‘What?’ she asked, fidgeting a little.

‘Nothing. I was right, though,’ he commented, gesturing with knife and fork in hand before returning them to his plate. ‘Your hair does look great down,’ he continued, punctuating his words by stuffing his mouth with another forkful of food.

Lily blushed, but the feeling of discomfort wouldn’t leave her. Was what she’d insisted was merely a good deed for a friend, and a favour for her new colleague the truth?

Was it about being there for Shay in his hour of need? Or was there something else there, something she hadn’t considered before? No. There wasn’t, she decided. She was merely being a good person, and he’d simply made a passing comment. Only words. Nothing more, she tried to convince herself. She needed to stop thinking.

‘When you’re done, I thought we could head over to the botanical gardens next,’ she babbled, sipping her glass of fruit punch. ‘It’s not far from here.’