Page 34 of Sunshine and Secrets

Millie didn’t hear Zach’s question. She had already been transported back to that harrowing time after her world had ground to a halt.

‘Of course, I shared everything with my best friend Frankie, everything. She was so supportive, so angry with Luke. It was Frankie who found out who his new girlfriend was, and I honestly think she was more shocked and horrified than I was.’

She paused again, unsure whether she could deliver her final sentence, the sentence that until now she had only uttered to her mother and Jen. Even Pippa thought Luke had run off with some random girl.

‘Luke had been having an affair with Frankie’s mother for six months. They are expecting their first child in January.’

There it was: a neat summary of her life in a few carefully chosen words but surprisingly without the expected gush of self-indulgent tears. Memories of the day Frankie had appeared on her doorstep, her face as grey as overworked pastry, still haunted her dreams. Until she had arrived in St Lucia, she frequently woke up with damp cheeks – the physical evidence of her continued distress – with the image of Luke still crisp in her mind’s eye in the moments of consciousness between sleep and waking.

She realised Zach had spoken. ‘Sorry?’

At last she found the courage to meet Zach’s eyes and saw within them an unfathomable depth. A twist of something stirred within her chest as he held her gaze. She knew he hadn’t judged her, knew that what had happened to her in Oxford, and in the restaurant in Soufrière, hadn’t altered his opinion of her one iota. For all his tetchiness, she experienced a surprisingly strong emotional attachment to Zach, something that confused her a great deal.

‘So you ran away to London?’ he repeated, getting up from the floor and taking a seat next to her on the sofa, his proximity sending spasms of electricity into her fingertips like errant fireworks.

‘Yes. It seemed like a good idea at the time,’ she whispered.

‘Well, if you hadn’t, I doubt you would have ended up here in the Caribbean, working for a celebrated chef, visiting tropical rainforests and spectacular waterfalls, discovering new recipes, and meeting fabulous people. None of this would have happened if you were still with your ex in Oxford, would it?’

‘No.’

‘So it’s a win-win situation. You got to find out what sort of person you almost ended up marrying as well as expanding your culinary and geographical horizons. Not to mention making some great new friends.’

Zach’s mouth was inches away from hers and she daren’t move a millimetre. Every nerve ending zinged with excitement and her inner voice screamed, ‘Kiss me!’ He must have heard, or maybe she had said it out loud, because the next minute his lips were on hers and she tumbled into the most exquisite maelstrom of desire she could remember.

Chapter Eighteen

Millie woke and took a couple of moments to explore her senses. Where was she? Panic ricocheted around her body as the events of the previous evening came screaming back to her – the disastrous date with Jake, her sprint through the rain after being abandoned, the sympathy on Lottie’s face, being rescued by a knight in a shiny red Roadster. A spasm of electricity shot through her veins as she remembered exactly where she was, the intimate details of the conversation she’d had with Zach over a rum-laced coffee, and then…

Oh, God! The kiss! But was that part of her fuzzy recollections a dream?

No way! She could still feel the remnants of the most delicious sensation on her lips and in her heart.

Then a second bolt of alarm hit her. What had happenedafterthe kiss?

She scrambled around in her brain for an answer, but came up with a complete blank. Her heart fluttered haphazardly with the possibilities until she cracked open her left eye and experienced a huge whoosh of relief – she was still lying on the sofa in his lodge, fully clothed, and covered in a soft fleecy blanket. She inhaled a deep breath and her nostrils filled with the delicious aroma of freshly ground coffee beans and dog-breath. This time she opened her eyes properly to be met by a long pink tongue reaching out towards her nose.

‘Euew!’

‘Ah, and a good morning to you too, Millie. Coffee?’

‘Ah, yes, please.’

Zach handed her a steaming mug of her favourite Blue Mountain coffee and a warm croissant. She devoured her breakfast in seconds, brushing the flakes from her lap to an appreciative Binks.

‘Sleep okay?’

‘Yes, yes, I did, thank you.’

Heat rushed into her cheeks. She glanced at Zach, but he simply gifted her with his usual cheerful smile accompanied by a side order of mischief.

‘Need a lift back to the studio or are you up for joining me and Binks for an early-morning stroll through the grounds? It really is the best time of the day.’

‘A walk sounds lovely.’

‘Okay. The bathroom’s through there. See you outside in a couple of minutes.’

Millie locked the bathroom door and expelled a long sigh. A pendulum of emotions swung through her chest, and when she tried to put them into some semblance of order so she could understand what had happened, she started to feel dizzy and disorientated.

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