Page 7 of Stuck in Paradise with You

I’ll bet this is a seasonal job. Looking after guests who’ll tip extremely well and playing around with Mr Hettich’s boats and toys in her spare time. Maybe frolicking with the other crew – one of whom, Henry, was young, tanned and buff beneathhis fitted black polo and butt-hugging Bermuda shorts. I wasn’t intending to look but some things demand attention.

‘Great, then I’ll leave you to it. There are towels in the wardrobe and welcome drinks and snacks have just arrived on the veranda. If you need anything at all, there are numbers for the bar, the main kitchen and the water crew by the phone on the bedside table. Oh, and don’t forget to open the invitation on your bed.’

I thank Jenny, not knowing whether I’m supposed to tip her or not, and then make a snap decision to tip all the staff when I leave.

After waving her off, I take a rum punch, which comes with a delightful pinch of nutmeg on top, from the table on my personal veranda. Sipping the smooth but hard liquor, I relieve my hot feet of my toe-pinching, leather flats and take the gold envelope from the bed, setting down my glass to find out what awaits me.

Dear Carrie,

We would be delighted if you would join us for dinner at 8p.m. on the main terrace.

Beach-smart dress code.

Yours,

Luke Chalmers

(And the Hettich family)

Stomach flu was wishful thinking.

Is this a joke?

Luke. Luke? Inviting me?? To dinner???

I sit down onto the edge of the bed before I fall down. As I stare at the card in my hand, I remember the first note Luke ever left me.

I’d been his associate for more than a year, the two of us sharing an office. He was on the cusp of making partner at the accountancy firm we worked for then.

It had been months of crush, wanton and lust on my part but he’d had a wife. I knew things hadn’t been great between them for a long time and six weeks before he wrote the note, they’d separated.

In those six weeks, it seemed like everything I felt for him was amplified. There was a lingering tension in our office from the moment we both entered until the lights went out at night.

I wanted him so badly, I could barely concentrate on my work.

I could feel it ramping up for him too. The grazes and accidental touches, the looks that were held a moment too long.

Then one morning, I returned to the office from a meeting to find a handwritten note folded under the keyboard on my desk.

Room 210, The Old Court Hotel, 12p.m. Luke x

I felt a rush, a thrill, unlike anything I’d ever felt before when I held that piece of paper. But today’s note should have come with a trigger warning, or at least an apology.

I turn the card over in my hand to make sure there are no hidden words on the other side.

Nothing.

Instinctively, I pick up my phone and message Callum:

I can’t do this.

He fires back:

You can do this. He doesn’t have a hold over you anymore. Don’t throw away your career on him, again. Pull up those big girl panties! I love you, Cx

Almost simultaneously, my boss, the big boss, Eric’s boss, the head of the New York office who told me I was coming on this trip, sends me a message:

Good Luck. Hettich is eccentric but great. Enjoy the views! Rachel.

---