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‘Ella made those chocolate cakes, and I made over fifty cake pops which are setting in the freezer.’
‘Cake pops? No, don’t bother. Let’s just get started on the chores or we’ll be here all night. You take the washing up and I’ll dry and put away. Here.’
To Millie's amazement, Zach produced a pair of bright pink marigolds from his back pocket. Now it was her turn to smirk.
‘Are you seriously expecting me to believe that you wear Marigolds when you wash up your dinner plates?’ An image of Zach standing at his sink in a frilly apron sporting a pair of rubber gloves floated across her mind and she had to quash a rising giggle. ‘What’s the matter? Worried about your manicure?’
Zach rolled his eyes in reply and started to rummage in the drawers for one of Claudia’s signature yellow tea towels. Whilst he had his back to her, Millie took the opportunity to continue with her appreciation of his impressive physique. At six feet two inches, there wasn’t a spare inch on his frame, yet she knew his muscular body had not been achieved from anything as boring as sweating over the equipment in a gym, but from working the land.
An unexpected image of Luke flitted across her mind. Her former boyfriend hadn’t been blessed with the height gene, so he had made up for his lack of stature with a forceful personality. He was slender too, but that was because he had no interest in consuming the food he lavished so much care and attention on creating, which now she thought about it, was a little odd. Why hadn’t she noticed that before?
Also, Luke was as fair as Zach was dark; any contact with the sun turned his skin an unattractive shade of ripe tomato on the rare occasions she had been able to persuade him to leave the restaurant they ran together for a trip to the beach or countryside on the rare occasion the sun was shining.
The final item on Millie’s list of contrasts, and the one which had bothered her the most, was the fact that Luke had steadfastly refused to entertain the possibility of owning a pet. She would have loved a dog or a cat. In fact, even a hamster – or as a last resort, a goldfish – would have done, but there had been no persuading him, no mater how she presented her arguments.
Whilst Millie loaded the dishwasher with the kitchen utensils, Zach filled the sink with hot soapy water to wash the glasses by hand. To the smooth rhythm of the Caribbean music drifting from the radio, they worked in easy harmony until every last piece of cutlery and crockery had been returned to its resting place ready for use the following day. When Millie finally hung up her apron, she had to admit it was a very satisfying feeling to see the kitchen returned to its chaos-free glory. Fitz and his friends – the gang of builders Claudia had employed to upgrade the villa’s kitchen – might have possessed a laid-back attitude to timekeeping, but their workmanship was exemplary.
Millie found a small aluminium bowl in the cupboard underneath the sink, filled it to the brim with fresh water, and offered it to Binks who guzzled it noisily. She fondled his silky ears with affection as she watched Zach scrutinise the room like a surgeon in an operating theatre. She thought he was about to declare himself satisfied when he sighed, snatched up a slice of kitchen towel, and wiped away a miniscule splodge of ground coffee from the marble bench top.
‘I think it’s even tidier than when we started this morning!’ she smiled. ‘Thanks, Zach. Without your help I would have been here until well past midnight.’
‘You’re welcome. I did offer to help and I’m a man of my word. Anyway, I have an ulterior motive.’
‘What sort of ulterior motive?’
Millie’s stomach performed a backflip of anticipation and a whoosh of desire rotated through her body causing her skin to prickle. Her thoughts spun to her bedroom in the studio across the courtyard with cool white cotton sheets and muslin drapes floating at the window. But then her mind diverged onto a different tangent – knowing Zach, his intentions could equally involve the quad bikes that were lurking in the shed behind his lodge, or the archery targets she had seen affixed to the coconut trees while on her early morning walks.
‘Since you arrived on St Lucia, you’ve hardly taken any time off to explore the island. You’re leaving on Monday and who knows when you’ll get the chance to come back.’
‘Well, I have been a little pre-occupied with supervising the kitchen renovations and then presenting an upmarket cookery course. Anyway, you did take me on that amazing trip to the Diamond Waterfalls last week…’
Millie felt her cheeks colour when she recalled their dash through the afternoon downpour to a remote shack in the rainforest that she was sure was used as a love nest by the locals. As they had waited for the rain to abate, Zach had confided a little of his personal history and offered her the opportunity to reciprocate.
It had been too early in their friendship for her to reveal the details of her broken engagement, but Zach had not been as reticent about sharing the fact that his former girlfriend, Clio, had become engaged to someone else within weeks of them splitting up. Their conversation in the tiny wooden shack under the rainforest canopy had been a turning point for her, and was the reason she felt so comfortable in Zach’s company.
‘The Diamond Falls are just one of many spectacular sights St Lucia has to offer. Are you up for another expedition?’
‘Zach, I’d love to explore more of the island, but I just don’t have the time if I’m going to get everything done before the Imogen and Alex’s wedding on Sunday. There’s so much to do, I—’
‘What time is Imogen coming over tomorrow?’
‘Around twelve o’clock, but—’
‘Perfect. I’ve spoken to my friend François and he’s expecting us at seven a.m. – that means a six o’clock start for us.’
‘What exactly do you have in mind?’
‘It’s a surprise. Trust me. You’ll love it. Come on Binks, let’s leave Millie to get a good night’s sleep. By the way, I recommend you wear a long sleeve tee-shirt and a pair of comfortable shoes – none of those sparkly flip-flops you’re so fond of. Tomorrow, instead of affixing the badge declaring to the world that you are the Countess of Chaos and Cupcakes, or the Baroness of Buttercream and Brioche, you’ll be given the opportunity to perform in the starring role of Millie, the Mistress of Misadventure!’
‘Adventure? Zach, I really don’t think—’
But he and Binks had already reached the end of the veranda and were ignoring her protestations. It was after seven o’clock and twilight enhanced their duet of silhouettes with a golden glow until they disappeared into the trees.
Millie heaved a sigh, indecision flooding her brain.
Okay, the kitchen was pristine and ready for another busy day at the coalface of the culinary world. The cake pops were ready to be decorated, and Ella and Denise had the wedding cake under control. But could she afford to abandon her post, even if it was only for a couple of hours before their guests arrived? She really wanted to show Claudia that she was not just capable of supervising the building work and delivering a finished product on time, but that she could also take charge of a high-end cookery school and showcase the fabulous Caribbean recipes that her boss had specifically devised for theChocolate & Confetticourse.
Then something Ella had said earlier came screaming back to her.
