Page 29 of One Week in Paradise
But I don’t listen. I whirl around and storm out of our suite before he can spot the tears that quickly begin to well in my eyes.
A car takes us on a twenty-minute drive away from the hotel to the outskirts of the jungle. We’re accompanied by a tour guide named Leroy, who happily informs us of all the names and uses of the exotic-looking plants we pass by. It’s all incredibly interesting information, but I barely hear any of it.
Focusing onnotlooking focused on Cash is taking all my attention. I can see him out of the corner of my eye, desperately trying to catch my gaze, but I stare steadfastly ahead. I won’t let him have the satisfaction of seeing how much his actions have affected me.
I pull out my phone and record the short drive through the window, getting shots of the winding roads and the clear ocean peeking out from over the side of the mountains we’re crawling along.
The prospect of spending the day with Lacey and Danny hadn’t filled me with excitement, but now I’m grateful for their presence. They’re a convenient buffer between Cash and me. I don’t even mind when Lacey monopolises the entire twenty-minute drive, bragging about her last PR trip to Dubai.
‘Now, that was arealluxury trip,’ Lacey says. ‘Not that this isn’t nice, because it is. Just that Dubai was on a whole other level, you know?’
‘Sure,’ I say, though I don’t. I once went on a weekend trip to Cornwall with a cosmetics company which was fun enough, but this is definitely the biggest PR trip I’ve ever been invited on. It annoys me even more that Cash is here to experience this milestone in my career.
I’m starting to wish I’d chosen to bring anyone else. Surely even plucking a random man off Tinder would’ve been better than this?
‘What about you, Cash?’ Lacey swivels around in her seat to face him. ‘Have you been anywhere nice recently?’
‘Does Hastings count?’ Cash jokes.
Lacey blinks at him. I’m not too sure she even knows where Hastings is.
‘No,’ Cash says eventually, once he realises he’s not going to get a response from her. ‘I don’t really like flying. This is the first time I’ve stepped on a plane since I was a kid.’
My brows knit into a frown. I didn’t know that. The question spills from my lips before I can catch myself. ‘How come?’
Cash glances at me and quirks a brow as if to say, ‘Oh, you’ve remembered I exist?’
I raise my own brow in retaliation.
‘Planes make me nervous,’ he says with a shrug. ‘Too many unknowns. I like to be in control or at least be able to see the person who is in control. I’d rather sit on a boat for twenty-four hours than get on a plane.’
I think back to the flight and remember how standoffish and nervous he’d been. I hadn’t realised just how much he hated flying.
‘Aw.’ Lacey shoots us a sickly sweet smile. ‘And he still agreed to come on this trip. Bailey, that’s a keeper right there.’
And the thing is, she’s right. Knowing that Cash was happy to get on a plane for me, despite his fears, makes my heart swell.
But then I remember last night and how he behaved in the aftermath of it all, and my expression clouds with irritation once more.
‘We’ll see about that,’ I say.
Next to me, I feel Cash twitch, but he doesn’t say anything.
Our car stops in a small clearing, and Leroy instructs us to get out.
‘We’ll start our hike here,’ he says, his bald head shining in the relentless sun. ‘It’s about a twenty-minute walk to the waterfall. And we’ll spend the afternoon there. Keep up, drink plenty of water, and let’s go!’
Leroy leads us into the bushes, and we soon come across a small but well-worn pathway. Lacey and Danny storm ahead. Lacey’s eager to get to the waterfall, and Danny seems happy enough to follow her. He’s a bit like a puppy.
I purposely stay close to Leroy, asking him questions about the route we’re taking and all the various plants and bugs we come across. Cash isn’t far behind me, but he seems to respect that I’m in no mood to speak to him and doesn’t make any effort to try and interrupt.
‘This right here.’ Leroy stops suddenly and points at a yellow bundle of vines. They’re so thin they almost look like thread. ‘This is calleddodder vine. Any idea what it’s used for?’
I shake my head. It doesn’t look like anything special.
‘It supposedly has some medicinal qualities,’ Leroy explains. ‘If you boil it with ginger, it can help to fight a chest infection. But that’s not why it’s so popular. It’s got another name. Some people call it thelove bush.’ He grins, clearly impressed with himself for sharing the fact. If Cash and I were actually a couple, it might’ve been cute.
I give Leroy a polite smile and signal for him to continue.
