Page 14 of Sunshine and Secrets

Millie had the grace to blush and decided to leave any further character assassination for a more auspicious occasion.

‘Can I get you a coffee?’

‘Please.’

She unearthed the kettle from beneath a pile of scrunched-up greaseproof paper and set it to boil.

‘So if you won’t share your bounty with Binks and me, what do you intend to do with it all? There’s enough to feed a ravenous regiment.’

‘To be honest, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.’

She busied herself at the sink so as not to have to look at him. Now that Zach had mentioned it, her morning’s baking splurge did seem to be a waste of food, something she always tried not to do. He was so infuriating – why did he have to be right as well?

She slammed down a mug of coffee on the marble worktop in front of him, its contents sloshing onto the surface. Zach calmly tore off a piece of kitchen towel and wiped the spillage away before strolling outside to the balcony.

‘Well, if you’re sure you don’t intend to indulge in a secret cupcake-and-madeleine marathon, I might have an idea what you can do with the products of your impromptu bake off. And you can indulge in a little fun at the same time. You do know what fun is, don’t you? Do they have that in the cloudy skies and grim-streaked streets of London?’

‘Of course we do!’ Millie shot back before realising that once again Zach had managed to hit the spot with his sarcasm. She most certainly had not had much fun in the capital’s hotspots over the last six months as she nursed her broken heart, despite Pippa’s constant encouragement. But she wasn’t about to admit that to Zach. ‘I can party with the best of them.’

She saw Zach smirk as he realised his bullet had been well aimed and had found its mark. However, he was astute enough also to realise that the rising temperature in the room was radiating not from the oven but from the anger bubbling up inside Millie.

‘So, how about we take a trip down the hill to see a couple of friends of mine. You’ll like Dylan. He runs a diving school on the beach in Soufrière, mainly for a bunch of pale-skinned corporate guys anxious to experience a dose of excitement beneath the waves. It’s Sunday lunchtime so I think we can be sure to find him having a beer at the Purple Parrot next door.’

‘Great, I’m actually meeting a few friends there at three so that works perfectly.’

Millie wasn’t ashamed to admit how much she enjoyed the expression of surprise zip across Zach’s handsome face, but he recovered well.

‘Okay. Why don’t you wrap everything up here and slot on a pair of your most sparkly flip-flops? We’ll hop on my quad bike and deliver these mouth-watering examples of five-star baking to Andrew who owns the Purple Parrot. He can hand them out to his customers as a post-Sunday lunch treat. Every little helps when it comes to drumming up extra business. It’s a win-win solution. I know Claudia would approve and nothing will be wasted. I’ll introduce you to Lottie who works behind the bar. I think you two will get on famously.’

Millie’s simmering irritation with Zach was suddenly doused. Perhaps this grouchy guy did possess some redeeming features after all. She had to admit that his proposal was a very generous-spirited answer to her dilemma. She had no problem with the donation of the products of her labour. What shedidhave an issue with was riding down the hill to the town on the back of a quad bike with Zach at the wheel!

Yet how could she refuse without looking uncharitable and confirming all his suspicions about her? Could she suggest they walked to the town? Yet how would they carry everything? And where was her courage and her promise to herself to try new things while she was in the Caribbean? But quad biking?

‘Fine. Just give me ten minutes.’

‘Great, see you in the courtyard. Come on, Binks. I’ll drop you off at the lodge.’

Millie busied herself tearing off sheets of greaseproof paper. She wrapped up the chocolate tortes, most of the cupcakes – well, she had to eat something – and half of the madeleines, stashing them in a couple of plastic boxes which she then tied with string so she could hook them over her arm.

Finally, she cast a glance around the kitchen. It was a complete mess. Oh, well, she would tidy up when she got back. After all, she had nothing else to do before the hard work started on the villa’s kitchen the next day and she and Ella got stuck into the recipe testing.

She stripped off her flour-speckled tee-shirt and replaced it with an embroidered kaftan her mother had bought her for her birthday, teaming it with her navy capri pants. She would have preferred to wear heeled sandals but decided that in this instance practicality should reign over sartorial elegance. She wasn’t sure what the dress etiquette was for the back of a quad bike, but she hazarded a guess it was not short skirts and stilettos.

Finally, she ran a comb through her hair before reluctantly accepting it made no difference and taking the route of least resistance by tying it into a high ponytail with Pippa’s hair tie. She then grabbed her baked goodies and headed down the stairs for her rendezvous with the dreaded mechanical bronco. Unsurprisingly, Zach was already waiting for her, revving the engine impatiently. He surveyed her change of clothes and her brightly coloured sequinned flip-flops and smiled.

‘Hurry up and hop on! Unless, of course, youwantto get caught in the daily downpour?’

Chapter Nine

Millie had ridden a jet ski many times along the sparkling sea of the Côte d’Azur, but she had never had the questionable privilege of travelling around – either on the French Riviera or the narrow lanes of the Oxfordshire countryside – on a mud-splattered quad bike when other, more appropriate, forms of transport were available. The thought of using such a vehicle to get from A to B was just too incongruous; the vehicle in front of her looked like something a schoolboy had designed for a James Bondesque computer quest!

After a few seconds of hesitation, she ditched her last crumb of dignity, and climbed onto the padded seat, her heart doing its best to escape from her ribcage, her stomach churning in trepidation when she remembered how steep the hill down to Soufrière was.

‘Hold on tight!’

Zach pulled away much faster than Millie had expected, forcing her to grab on to his waist or risk somersaulting from the back. As she clung on for dear life, she could feel the tautness of his muscles through his flimsy cotton tee-shirt and a ripple of something she hadn’t felt in months meandered through her lower abdomen and sent heat whooshing into her cheeks. She had never been so grateful to be occupying the rear seat.

Telling herself she was assisting with the aerodynamics, she scooted closer to Zach, moulding her body to his. She was surprised at how perfect a fit they were as she relished the whiff of his citrussy cologne in the oncoming breeze that caused her senses to fizz.

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