Page 21 of Sunshine and Secrets

Millie experienced a flash of guilt before meeting Zach’s accusatory stare.

‘Oh, I didn’t think anyone would mind. I didn’t take them from the trees. I found them in the crates over there. Did you pack them?’

‘No, I didn’t.’

Millie saw a look of annoyance stalk across Zach’s expression. She opened her mouth to apologise and offer to return them, but Zach spoke first, surprising her when he didn’t use the opportunity to chastise her for her presumptuousness.

‘Fancy an excursion?’

‘What sort of excursion?’

She had a vision of them bucking and bouncing across the rough terrain on the back of the quad bike before indulging in a session of wild swimming in one of the mountain streams and cooking their dinner on a campfire. Maybe they would have to forage for edible bugs! Eeuw! And anyway, shouldn’t she be staying at the villa to oversee the workmen’s progress?

‘I’m not sure about leaving Fitz and his crew to their own devices…’

‘All sorted. I’ve spoken to Ella and she’s happy to hold the fort for a while.”

Zach had followed her up the stairs to her studio. Although the kitchen was an improvement on the previous day’s explosion of culinary chaos, it still bore the scars of that morning’s breakfast. She cringed when she saw him staring with abject disgust at the pile of crockery she had shoved higgledy-piggledy in the sink, so, before he could launch into a litany of criticism on her housekeeping skills, she decided to accept his offer.

‘An excursion sounds great. What did you have in mind?’

‘How does a personalized orientation tour sound? I was thinking maybe the Botanical Gardens, the Sulphur Springs, the Diamond Falls? Come on, let’s get out of here. I don’t know how you do it, but this kitchen looks like Downtown Fallujah. Claudia usually keeps everything pristine and organised, you know.’

Millie ignored his criticism; she was becoming accustomed to his snippy comments and put it down to his temperament rather than taking it personally. She grabbed a light cotton cardigan, hooked the handles of her straw bag over her shoulders, and switched her sandals for a pair of embroidered crimson Sketchers. She was keen to visit the famous multicoloured Diamond Waterfalls and she didn’t think sequinned flip-flops were the ideal footwear. She then skipped down the stairs to the courtyard where Zach was waiting for her.

‘So, your chariot awaits!’

Zach performed a theatrical bow, his dark features more akin to the villain of the show than to Prince Charming. But when Millie saw what he was pointing to, her heart sang. To her surprise, and not a little relief, her “chariot” was a lipstick-red BMW Roadster Convertible.

‘Wow! Is this yours?’

Zach laughed. ‘No. It’s Tim’s, but he doesn’t mind if I use it when he’s over in the UK.’

Millie smiled. This was exactly the sort of excursion she could get used to.

Chapter Twelve

They drove down the hill towards Soufrière. Some of the houses on the outskirts of the town were little more than sheds with corrugated-iron rooftops, but they had been proudly painted with bright Caribbean hues of emerald, aquamarine and sunflower yellow. She wondered how such flimsy structures managed to withstand the daily dose of what Clavie had labelled liquid sunshine, never mind the not-infrequent hurricanes.

They reached the harbour and Millie skimmed her eyes over the storefronts which were awash with exuberantly coloured souvenirs, busy with bustling tourists from the two yachts moored at the jetty. Young boys swam in the sea at the boats’ sterns, squealing to those on board to throw in coins for them to retrieve from the seabed.

Millie couldn’t help but smile as they passed the Purple Parrot and saw Andrew in the alleyway indulging in a forbidden cigarette, his bandana – today’s blue – knotted around his neck.

They passed Dylan’s Dive Shack around which a disparate collection of surfboards and kayaks were scattered, along with rails of wetsuits drying in the sun. Dylan himself lounged in a white plastic chair, his ankle over his knee, plugged into his phone, tapping his foot to the beat. She cast her eyes over her shoulder to the wooden veranda of the Purple Parrot and was not in the least bit surprised to see Lottie loitering on the steps as she delivered a tray of lunchtime drinks to thirsty patrons, her eyes resting on the object of her affection, her burgundy hair streaming in the breeze.

‘Doesn’t Dylan realize Lottie adores him?’

‘You’ve noticed that too?’

‘How can you not!’ she laughed.

Zach swung the steering wheel to the right, taking the road that skirted the foothills of the Pitons. They left the streets of Soufrière behind and followed the signs for the Diamond Falls Botanical Gardens.

‘I don’t think Dylan realises the extent of her devotion. He’s happy with his life as it is. He has his business; he works with his best friend, Ryan, and the third musketeer in his group, Elijah, works up at one of the luxury five-star resorts in the next bay. And there’s Jake, of course, who works at the Purple Parrot with Lottie.’

‘Sounds like an idyllic life.’

‘Dylan tumbles into a romance every other week with a girl who’s desperate for a holiday fling to boast about when she returns home to the wind and rain. You could write an epic novel about his exploits. Who better to cavort with for a while than a golden-tanned surfer dude with his own diving school? Alone in the boat, drifting serenely under a perfect sky, reliant on each other for your safety as you swim beneath the sapphire waves exploring the magnificent coral and all those secluded coves. Dylan’s been here for ten years and I don’t think he has plans to leave any time soon. Hang on!’

---