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‘And humans, for that matter.’ Clio patted her flat stomach before casting a critical eye over Millie’s contours.
The thoroughness of the unexpected scrutiny caused a flare of indignation to ignite inside Millie. Whilst she was a perfectly normal weight, she certainly wasn’t as slender as Clio, which, coupled with her height, actually made her look a little on the gaunt side. She opened her mouth to respond, but Clio must have noticed the look of incredulity on Millie’s face at the overtly personal comment, because she sensibly decided to switch tack.
‘It’s really beautiful here, isn’t it?’
‘Yes, it is…’
‘I’m so pleased Zach and I are able to have this time together. I’m not sure whether he mentioned that we broke up briefly a few weeks ago, but now we’re back together it’s as though we’re enjoying an early honeymoon.’
‘A honeymoon?’ Millie spluttered before she could stop herself.
Clio laughed, a high tinkling false sound. ‘Well, not exactly, but who knows what will happen in such a tropical paradise? Love amongst the palm trees? Eh? Anyway, I must be making tracks. Zach will be wondering where I am and he doesn’t like to be kept waiting. We’re planning a romantic boat trip to Martinique today. Have you been?’
‘No, as I said, I haven’t had much time to sightsee. I’m not on holiday!’
‘Oh well. Good luck with the baking.’
Clio called Binks to heel and he obediently trotted off in her wake as she made her way to the end of the veranda, the ribbons of her sunhat rippling in the breeze like the tails of a kite. She walked as though she was on a catwalk, swinging her hips but keeping her head high and still.
Millie opened her mouth to call goodbye but quickly closed it again. She had been left in no doubt whatsoever that she had just been well and truly warned off from fraternising with the hunky cocoa plantation manager, Zach Barker.
Despite her acute sense of loss of their blossoming friendship, Millie found her lips twitch upwards. She would bet her favourite handbag that Clio would never in a million years have ended up rolling in a ditch with Zach or have agreed to swap her towering stilettos for Sketchers to channel her inner Tinkerbell on an exhilarating journey through the tropical foliage.
A chuckle erupted from her throat, followed by a deep belly laugh that Ella would be proud of. She laughed and laughed until tears trickled down her cheeks. She had no idea what Clio did for a living, but if she were an actress, she would have been awarded the wooden spoon in the contest for the “most transparent attempt to warn off a potential love rival”. She would have had more respect for the woman if she had screamed from the poolside “hands off my man, you Harlot!” and ran away.
She wondered what Zach saw in Clio. In contrast to his girlfriend, he was nothing if not straightforward and honest to the point of rudeness. And why had he changed his mind so quickly about resuming their relationship? But Millie knew she was the last person to ask for answers when it came to the task of unravelling the mysteries of romance.
Chapter Thirteen
It was true what they said. A good laugh is the best medicine for an aching heart. When Millie dried her eyes on a piece of kitchen towel, her spirits had ascended a couple of notches up the happiness scale. She carried her empty mug and Clio’s untouched coffee into the kitchen, rinsed them in the sink and put them back in the cupboard. Perhaps Zach’s obsessive neatness was starting to rub off on her at last.
She checked her watch. Nine o’clock. She wondered what the day would have in store. She was expecting Ella to arrive at nine-thirty but she still hadn’t heard anything from Imogen or Julia so had no idea whether she would have any students interested in learning how to make choux pastry. She decided that if no one turned up, she would suggest to Ella that they took a trip down to Soufrière to see how Lottie was getting on in her managerial role at the Purple Parrot.
‘Morning, Millie. Isn’t it another wonderful day?’ chirped Ella as she hooked the handles of her huge canvas bag over her shoulder so she could wave goodbye to Henri who had dropped her off in the courtyard with a farewell toot to Millie.
‘Mmm,’ said Millie, her tone noncommittal.
‘Okay, before we go any further, I want you to tell me what’s going on. And don’t say “nothing, I’m fine” because I’ve been a mother for twenty-eight years and I’ve heard every avoidance tactic in the book so I know when something’s festering.’
Ella plonked her well-padded bottom into the cane chair next to Millie, folded her arms over her voluminous Kermit green kaftan, and levelled her gaze at Millie, her lips pursed in expectation.
Millie scanned her brain for a suitable alternate scenario that didn’t feature Zach in the lead role, and which would satisfy Ella’s line of questioning but came up with a blank. She opened her mouth to speak but no words issued forth, so she closed it before opening it again.
‘Don’t just sit there like a gobsmacked goldfish. Speak up. It’s Zach, isn’t it? I noticed he was somewhat conspicuous by his absence yesterday. What’s happened? Have you had a falling out?’
‘Not as such.’
‘So what is it?’
‘His girlfriend has arrived from the UK.’
‘His girlfriend? Are you sure, dear? I would have thought that if Zach had a girlfriend, we would have heard all about her. Perhaps you’re mistaken. Maybe his visitor is his sister.’
‘Zach doesn’t have a sister. It’s Clio, his ex. Don’t look at me like that. She called round here an hour ago on the pretext of an early morning walk with Binks but it was really so she could make it quite clear that she was with Zach and I should keep my hands off her man.’ Millie grimaced when she thought of the encounter.
‘A little melodramatic, don’t you think?’
‘Clio has nothing to worry about. Zach and I are just friends. But, Ella, I have to admit that it was a shock when she arrived out of the blue and demanded that Zach collect her from the airport. We’d just had the most fabulous time zip lining through the rainforest yesterday morning. I thought… well, I thought we had a connection, something I had never felt with Luke. When I’m with Zach he makes me feel as if I can do anything, that I can conquer my worst fears – and enjoy myself while I’m doing it.’
