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She should take some time to relax and have fun. Millie knew that her new-found contentment reflected in her disposition when she stood in front of the cookery school enthusiasts and encouraged even the most reluctant of students to grab their confidence and give the recipe a go. It had taken a mere few days in the St Lucian sunshine for her to discard the mantle of melancholy she had arrived with and replace it with a cheerful smile and a carefree demeanour.
Being happy and being professional were not mutually exclusive; in fact, she would even go as far as to say that they were a perfect partnership. As long as she made sure Zach knew she had to be back at the villa by eleven-thirty to be ready and waiting behind her demonstration bench at midday, then tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough.
Chapter Eight
Millie tossed back the covers and crawled out of bed. She had just ten minutes to make herself presentable before Zach arrived. The sun was already peeking over the horizon, ready to make its debut in another sun-filled day. The dawn chorus had started on its second verse, and she flicked the switch on the radio to add a soft calypso soundtrack to her morning shower.
As she dragged a brush through her voluminous curls, she decided that she would take a leaf out of Imogen’s book and put her hair into a ponytail with the hair tie Pippa had given to her before she left London for the Caribbean. It felt like a lifetime ago since she’d sat with her best friend and gossiped about the patisserie and the next guy on Pippa’s radar. She missed her and experienced a sudden urge to pick up her mobile and give her a call until she heard an impatient toot from the courtyard beneath the window of her tiny studio flat. Never mind, she thought, she would be seeing her in five days’ time.
She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, slung her straw bag over her shoulder, and cantered down the stairs to meet Zach for her magical mystery tour of St Lucian highlights.
‘Jump in!’ Zach called through the open window of Tim’s scarlet BMW roadster. ‘Great to see you’ve heeded my advice about the sensible footwear.’
‘No Binks today?’
‘Can’t take him where we’re headed.’
Millie groaned. That didn’t bode well.
Perhaps Zach had hired a boat and they were going fishing, or worse, maybe he had organised a session of parasailing or water skiing. A coil of trepidation began to weave its way through her abdomen, but she shoved her fear to one side. It was pointless speculating what she was about to experience, so instead she decided to turn her attention to what was fast becoming one of her favourite pastimes – covertly appraising her companion as he expertly handled the twist and turns of the St Lucian roads through colourful villages and row upon row of banana and cocoa trees.
In profile, Zach was as attractive as ever in his navy shorts and immaculate boat shoes. The collar of his peppermint green polo shirt was open at the neck to reveal a smattering of chest hair. It occurred to her that whenever she was in the company of Zach Barker her emotions always churned uncontrollably, whether that was an overflow of annoyance and indignation whenever he accused her of causing chaos, unexpected surprise and delight when he offered to help her with the washing up, or a concoction of apprehension and sexual attraction that was whipping through her veins at the present moment.
Her inspection lingered on the way his long fingers draped across the steering wheel of the little sports car: sure, relaxed, confident. She recalled something that Carla had said about Greg – that he made her feel alive, and it was the same for her when she was with Zach. There was never a dull moment; either they were engaged in a battle of verbal sparring, or he was challenging her to abandon her comfort zone and indulge in a brand new experience. She had a feeling that whatever he had organised for them that morning would involve plenty of physical exertion and mental agility – just like everything she did with Zach Barker.
Why had he insisted on keeping the activity they were about to experience a secret?
But she knew the answer – he had expected her to refuse, to plead a more urgent engagement. And he was right. After all, she was a confirmed beach and sunshine addict whose idea of a good time was swinging in a hammock beneath a swaying palm tree listening to the melody of nature as the sun made its way through the clear blue sky,notan intrepid tropical rainforest explorer!
Panic resumed its insidious journey around her body. She started to feel lightheaded and almost had a coronary when a hand-painted signpost for a local airfield loomed in front of them. Oh God! They were going skydiving! Her breath began to feel laboured, and her heartbeat increased.
She was about to die!
‘Zach, I really don’t think…’
‘What’s the matter? Your face is the colour of one of Ella’s meringues! Are you okay?’
‘I’m fine, it’s just that I thinkyouridea of having fun andmyidea of having fun reside at opposite sides of the entertainment spectrum. Can’t we just—’
‘Are you telling me that the gutsy,half-FrenchAmelia Harper is frightened to try something new? You’re always telling me that you love experimenting.’
‘In the kitchen, with flavours and textures and the most exotic, even outlandish, ingredients I can get my hands on? Yes! But I would never in my wildest nightmares contemplate for even one second hurling myself out of a plane in the name of experimentation.’
‘A plane?’ Zach shot a mischievous glance at the signpost that flashed by. ‘You want to do a parachute jump?’
‘No, I donotwant to do a parachute jump!’
It was happening again. Her temper had been ignited and she opened her mouth to continue with a litany of justifications as to why she had no intention of throwing herself to her death. Her life might not be perfect after what had happened with Luke, but it was definitely on an upward trajectory at last. She loved her home in London. She adored her job at Étienne’s little patisserie and had fun on her nights out on the town with Pippa. And she was absolutely loving presenting the cookery courses at the Paradise Cookery School for Claudia, not to mention being blessed with the friendship of Ella, Lottie, and Denise.
Zach chuckled. ‘Ah, there she is! Grouchy Millie pokes her head above the parapet again. I love her!’
Millie gawped at him but before she could properly compute what he had just said to her, he had swung the car sharply to the left down a bumpy dirt track. She had to grab on to her seat to steady herself and the moment was lost. They had arrived at Treetop Adventures and the next, much more welcome sensation in her kaleidoscope of emotions, was relief. Although it wouldn’t have been her first choice of activity for an early Thursday morning jaunt, it beat the spots off anything airborne.
‘Are you ready to channel your inner eagle?’
‘Do I have any choice?’ she said as she slipped out of the passenger seat to greet Zach’s friend François who was waiting for them in the deserted car park. Dressed in khaki combat trousers and Doc Marten boots, he could easily have been cast in the role of International Man of Action – Caribbean-style.
‘Hey, Zach, good to see you, man.’ François offered Zach a fist bump, a broad grin splitting his cheeks as he led them to the little wooden cabin that housed his company’s reception. ‘And you must be Millie. Welcome to Treetop Adventures. I’m pleased to see Zach has managed to persuade you to give it a go. I can promise that you’re in for an awesome ride!’
