Page 77 of A Taste of Paradise

‘What does it matter?’ she replied, through building tears. ‘He’s leaving tomorrow and nothing I feel, nothing I can say, can change any of it.’

Her friend sighed. ‘Lily, please tell me what happened.’

‘Sarah’s here – in St Lucia.’ There was a long pause. ‘The fiancée. Who abandoned him at the airport?’ she added, and Dee nodded.

‘I see.’

‘Now she says she made a mistake and wants them to get back together,’ Lily divulged and then the horrible thought struck her that maybe Sarah would want to go through with the wedding too. Which meant Lily would have to face not only watching the guy she’d fallen for marry someone else, but actually carry out all the arrangements for it too.

That was one outcome she hadn’t mentally catastrophised until now.

‘How do you know that?’ Dee asked.

‘I was there when she said it. She was waiting in his room last night when we got there—’

‘Actually, I already know this,’ her friend said calmly, much to Lily’s shock.

‘You do? How?’

‘I talked to Shay. Your phone kept ringing all morning and when I saw all the missed calls from him I figured something was up so I answered.’

‘What did he say?’ Lily questioned, slumping into a nearby chair.

‘I think you should talk to him yourself.’

‘What did he say, Dee? You’re always straight with me.’

Her friend faltered briefly but stuck to her response, much to Lily’s annoyance.

‘Just call him back.’

But no matter what anyone thought, Lily simply wasn’t prepared to hear what Shay had to tell her.

She wasn’t ready to hear him say goodbye.

Chapter 53

Her entire time here felt like a complete blur. It still seemed as if Erin was spending every waking moment at work putting out fires … a guest’s missing pet dog, damaged beachside seating and an unexpected power outage that left the entire resort in darkness, which, save for a quick response from the electrical company, could well have entirely hung the fate of tonight’s sunset party in the balance.

Now, as she worked putting final touches to the beach area for the bonfire, Erin yawned despite all the caffeine coursing through her veins. She’d picked up a takeout at the lobby coffee dock and saw Mack enjoying a chat with Trevor of all people, and was pleased to see the two men had continued their friendship after the tour that time. Now that he’d officially rubber-stamped a partnership with the hotel, Mack seemed content to simply relax and enjoy the rest of his stay.

While on the one hand Erin was glad he hadn’t checked out yet, she was also aware that now her task to win him over was accomplished, their time together would also be at an end.

And she was surprised by how bereft the very notion made her feel.

‘Over there,’ she instructed the maintenance crew as they continued setting up large pieces of driftwood around empty wooden crates. The nearby entertainment stage was complete, with speakers and a microphone for Derek, the head of animation, to host The Palms inaugural Hula contest – a genius idea by Lily to make up for the traditional dance company supplier cancelling on them that time. Many of their guests, and indeed some of the staff, had already expressed an interest in participating. Which had the potential of being a lot more fun than simply watching professionals.

‘There you are,’ she greeted Lily now as the events manager wandered slowly onto the beach. ‘What do you think?’ she asked, motioning proudly around.

‘It’s …’ Lily looked blearily around her, her expression strained and her eyes devoid of their usual sparkle, Erin thought. ‘Amazing.’

‘I strung those up myself,’ she told her, smiling, as her colleague went over and touched a string of gold fairy lights circling a nearby palm tree. ‘Once the sun sets, torches are lit, and you get the moonlight reflecting off the ocean, it’s going to be breathtaking down here.’

‘Definitely,’ Lily agreed simply.

‘So Derek is going to start the Hula lessons backstage at eight. We’ll take a break for the fireworks and then maybe the contest can begin around nine?’

The other girl merely nodded, and Erin frowned. She seemed very distracted and dare she say it, disinterested?