Page 81 of A Taste of Paradise

Erin broke away, stunned. She could forgive Mack taking advantage of her; that was partly her own fault for being attracted to him in the first place and stupid enough to believe his lies or fail to see through the charm.

But manipulating poor Molly was unforgivable.

‘What’s wrong?’ the other woman asked, confused. ‘I thought you’d be happy? This helps me do exactly what my mother wanted, to get out there and live life to the full. You said you wanted to help with that too.’

Erin’s heart broke at her innocence, not to mention she was doubly furious at herself for introducing Mack to Molly and Trevor in the first place. And what of Trevor, Erin couldn’t help but wonder now. Could he have been working alongside Mack on all of this too? She’d assumed he was beyond suspicion given he was one of Molly’s old school friends, but perhaps that had been part of an elaborate ruse too?

How else would Mack have managed to so smoothly and successfully inveigle himself into the lives of all his apparent targets in his quest to bring down The Palms?

And to think that Erin had been dutifully dealing with a litany of crises, attending to every last problem that had cropped up, determined to keep the show on the road and the hotel’s reputation intact despite some supposed faceless saboteur. When all along he had been right under her nose.

Was Mack even involved in the eco-tourism business, or was that a cover story too? Now she remembered him mentioning something about having venture capitalist partners that time at Tanzie’s. Had that backing come with particular strings attached?

‘I … I need to talk to you for a second,’ she said, taking Molly gently by the arm.

She needed to break it to her that selling her shareholding to Mack was actually playing right into the hands of her late mother’s opponents. And Erin also needed to find out if they’d actually completed the sale or were simply preparing for it.

As well as the nature of Trevor’s involvement. Because Erin knew the poor woman’s heart, to say nothing of Molly’s confidence, would be utterly shattered if they were to discover that her supposed old friend and potential new beau was in on this too.

As she pulled Molly aside, she tried to gauge the men’s reaction and thought they seemed perplexed, as opposed to worried or suspicious. While Erin didn’t think either could be dangerous, she wasn’t going to take any chances either.

‘Molly, have you actually signed the shares over to anyone yet?’ she asked, trying to keep the urgency out of her voice.

‘No, but like I said, I picked up the certificates from the safety deposit box and made all the arrangements for the transfer. Why – what’s the problem? This ensures The Palms’ future is in safe hands, doesn’t it? Mack loves this place; he wouldn’t do anything to …’ But studying Erin’s expression, her eyes quickly widened in hesitation. ‘Oh no, have I done something stupid? Trevor was adamant that Mack was best placed to protect the resort from outside interference … that he would keep it going as is, and help make it even better! He wouldn’t lie about that, would he? Anyway, I don’t understand, I thought Mack was your friend.’

‘So did I,’ Erin said through gritted teeth, but in truth, she no longer knew what to think.

But there was only one way to find out.

She strode back over to where Mack and Trevor were still standing by the bonfire, shooting the breeze, and was about to confront them both and demand they tell her everything, when the first explosion went off.

Chapter 56

Naomi watched the fireworks display in delight, surrounded on the beach by everyone she loved. She couldn’t have hoped for a better birthday celebration. Everything felt right with the world again, better even. Yes, she was single, but she wasn’t alone. Her family and friends had gone above and beyond to make the day memorable, and the resort sunset party tonight had been a spectacular finale. She was only sorry the trip had now come to an end.

Once the show in the sky finished and she’d danced the night away, she ambled alone back to her suite, choosing the long route along the beach to make the journey that much longer. On the way, she passed the room Will and Holly were staying in and lingered a moment. The lights were on inside; no doubt he was busy trying to get his daughter ready for bed after tonight’s excitement.

That pleasant tableau tugged at her heart and the unfilled desires within it. She’d love the responsibility of readying a child for bed, and not simply any child – hers.

She envied Will the gift he had. What would it be like to be part of something like that? The question popped into her head unbidden, but Naomi found herself contemplating it as she stood in place for a moment.

What would it be like to come home to a little girl like Holly eagerly running to meet her? Or how nice would it be to walk into Will’s restaurant and be greeted by his smiling face as he ushered her to sample some new dish he’d come up with. What would it be like to wake up to a man like him every day?

She shook her head then, feeling stupid. These thoughts were dangerous ones that only confused her even further. As much as Naomi liked Will, and as much as she’d enjoyed his and Holly’s company, it was just a brief holiday encounter.

She had to accept that. And accept too, that when it came to motherhood, Naomi might always remain on the outside, looking in.

Chapter 57

Erin stopped in her tracks as bright lights flashed overhead followed by the sound of popping. One by one, the fireworks whizzed and crackled, shooting into the night sky and ensuring it was way too loud to talk.

But it also meant that everyone, including Mack and Trevor, was distracted, so she took the opportunity to usher an increasingly disheartened Molly away from the bonfire area before either man noticed.

‘Promise me you won’t sign anything yet,’ she urged her and the woman nodded, her face stricken. Much like Erin, she’d evidently started putting the pieces together.

‘You think Mack and Trevor might be working together?’ Molly asked, her tone plaintive. ‘Trevor wouldn’t do that, though. He has family in St Lucia; he wouldn’t agree to help someone else destroy part of his heritage, surely?’

Erin had to agree with that much at least, though she’d seen the promise of money topple the most upstanding person’s principles.