Page 49 of A Taste of Paradise

‘I kind of thought you already knew. A bouquet of herbs with a lovely note.’

At this, Lily’s head jumped up. ‘Really? Who from? And what did it say?’

‘The note said “Something to add a little spice to your day” with a big smiley face at the end, but no name.’ She laughed. ‘It was almost like something your father would do when I was having a bad day. I automatically assumed you’d sent them?’

‘No, it wasn’t me. But I think I have an idea who might’ve …’

Lily didn’t have to think for too long; the fact that the gift included fresh herbs and a silly note, taken with Shay’s recent polite enquires about her mother’s welfare, made it obvious. She couldn’t believe he would do something so nice for her mother though.

Or did he have an ulterior motive?

But no, she was being silly again, Lily decided. It couldn’t possibly be anything more sinister than merely wanting to do something nice. Thanks to her, Shay had spent pretty much all of his time in St Lucia away from the hotel, so he could hardly have arranged for snakes in the pool, lost sheets, or cancelled entertainment.

More importantly, Lily knew deep down in her heart that it couldn’t be him. He was nice, he was lovely.

Wasn’t he?

‘Lily, did you hear me?’

‘Sorry, Mum. What?’

‘I asked who you think could have sent them.’

‘It might have been Shay, the client I’m helping,’ she admitted as she twirled the charging cord around her finger. ‘We talked about Daddy the other day and I told him how much you liked to cook. He must have done something like this to cheer you up.’

‘How can you know for sure?’

‘I don’t, but we were at the plantation and were talking about you to Larry, so I’d imagine Shay might have arranged to forward it through him since he doesn’t know our address.’

‘This is the man you said reminds you a lot of Daddy?’ Barbara said, with humour in her voice. ‘Well, that’s very kind of him, please pass on my thanks. And how is your “helping him” coming along?’

‘It’s coming along … well,’ Lily said, unsure how to feel now that additional doubt about Shay’s motives for spending time with her had begun to creep in. ‘Today was supposed to have been his wedding day, so understandably he’s feeling a little low. I’m taking him out tonight for some fried fish.’

‘Of course. You can’t be a visitor to the island and not do Friday night fish. Sounds like you’re having fun too, honey. Enjoy and call me when you get home, OK?’

‘I will,’ Lily assured. ‘Love you, Mum.’

‘Love you too. And if it was your friend, tell him thanks from me. It was a very kind gesture. He sounds like a real gentleman.’

‘I certainly think so,’ Lily replied quietly, now feeling more confused than ever.

Take chances. Life’s too short to always play it safe.

How many times had her dad uttered those words? And how many times had he assured her, after any mistake, that somehow it was adding to the person she was? Was it a hundred times? A thousand?

Mistakes teach you valuable lessons that add to who you are.

Good things might not come easy, but they’re always worth it.

She was thinking a lot about her dad lately, definitely more so since she’d started spending time with Shay. It wasn’t only because his laugh tickled her into laughter herself, much like her dad’s had.

It was more than that. It was everything that was happening in her life at that moment. It was her mother’s pain, the gaping hole in her future once she gave up the job at The Palms, and her disappointment over so many unfulfilled promises and dashed hopes.

It was about the way she went to the ends of the earth to make others happy.

But what about her? Didn’t she deserve a happy-ever-after too? And was she really thinking that Shay could be a chance at that?

Maybe, like Barbara said, things hadn’t worked out with him and Sarah for a reason. Lily wasn’t silly, she knew stuff like that didn’t happen every day, but it did happen.