Page 43 of A Taste of Paradise

Perhaps a means of turning one of their recent hiccups into a gift horse. And, even better, a surefire way of helping Molly finally get her hands on that key.

‘I can’t believe they offered to gift our stay,’ Greg enthused, stepping out of the bathroom and rubbing his hair with a towel. He’d overheard.

‘I know, isn’t it crazy? As if we’d even dream of—’

‘And you refused?’ His face was dark, Naomi noticed.

‘What? Of course I wouldn’t accept a free two-week stay because of something silly? The hotel trade is still getting back on its feet after the last few years, Greg; the last thing they need is—’

‘Oh, for crying out loud, Naomi, you can be really stupid sometimes.’

‘Excuse me?’ She frowned but then noticed his expression soften as, still bare-chested, he came to sit beside her on the bed and rested a hand on her leg.

‘They’re not offering us a free stay because of a stupid water leak, babe, they’re offering it because they’ve obviously figured out who you are.’

She wrinkled her nose. ‘You mean the social media stuff? Don’t be silly, why would a hotel like this care about that?’

‘You truly have no idea, do you? Like I told you before, all marketing is pretty much influencer-led these days. Businesses are falling over themselves to be featured. We’re sitting on a goddamn goldmine here, Naomi, and you don’t even realise it.’

‘Greg, I have no intention of using social media to angle for freebies. I’m a grown woman and can well afford to pay for stuff myself.’

‘Yeah, but you’re not paying for it, are you?’ he pointed out archly.

She coloured a little. ‘Well, not this, no, but I presume you meant it when you offered to bring Mum and Dad and the others. It was a birthday treat, you said.’

‘It was, but this place costs a pretty penny all the same. Who would say no to a free stay at a luxury resort – especially when it’s offered on a platter like that? Not to mention this place is notorious for it, actually; it’s one of the reasons I …’ Then he stopped short.

She looked at him, warily. ‘One of the reasons you what, Greg?’

But Naomi could already guess what he was about to say. He hadn’t chosen this hotel because of its rustic charm or because he felt it would be somewhere she or her family might like. Greg had picked The Palms because it had a track record of gifting free stays to influencers?

This was a growing trend with him lately. All this free stuff that kept appearing at their door, and the only thing Naomi had to do in return was feature it on her social media channel.

Teeth-whitening gel making outlandish claims she couldn’t verify … fake tan she wouldn’t in a million years dream of using … cheap jewellery that fell apart at the drop of a hat, fast fashion too … lately she was starting to feel like a one-woman version of those late-night shopping channels.

It all felt so … grubby and greedy. Probably the true reason she’d felt so embarrassed about Will and his daughter looking her up online – she knew it would surely come across like she was some kind of freeloader.

But to think that Greg had specifically chosen this resort – had maybe even arranged the entire trip to St Lucia – not as a way for them all to relax and reconnect, but in the hope of coasting their way to yet another freebie because of Naomi’s so-called ‘influence’ was … disgusting.

But, she supposed, it certainly explained why he’d spent so much time encouraging her to take endless photos and videos of the hotel, when all she wanted to do was switch off the phone and relax. Or potentially why there was no sign of that proposal she was so certain was coming. Was he anticipating some sort of freebie for that too? Naomi shuddered at the notion.

‘Think about it, babe,’ he said now. ‘We get to travel the world, stay in all the best places – and all we have to do in return is take a few pictures and showcase how great a place is. Granted this one is a bit of a dump, sure, but you have an eye for this stuff, and you know how to make it look amazing on camera.’

‘I don’t have to make this place look amazing. It is amazing! The staff are lovely and so obliging, like that manager Erin now. It feels so unspoilt, charming and …’

‘It’s a dump, Naomi. And compared to everything else around here, I doubt it’ll stay the course for too much longer. So we might as well make the most of it while we can.’ He shook his head. ‘I still can’t believe you turned down the offer of a free stay, though … I’ll talk to the manager myself, make sure we get it.’

Naomi stared at the man she was so sure she wanted to marry, wondering how on earth he believed that something like this, something so calculating and grabby … was reasonable.

Because surely Greg knew as well as anyone that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Chapter 30

‘It’s just so weird …’ Lily said to Dee, having just gotten off the phone with the dance company following Erin’s discovery about the cancellation. ‘Martha said they had an email from someone at the resort saying that we wouldn’t be using them for this year’s event. That makes no sense. They’ve been doing the sunset party for as long as I’ve been here. Why would anyone cancel?’

‘So did you iron it out with her and rebook?’ her friend asked, unperturbed, as she bit into a pain au chocolat.

‘She said she couldn’t – they’re going to Breezy Shores instead,’ Lily told her, crestfallen.