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If Millie didn’t already know that Travis usually made his living in Soufrière as an artist, she would never have guessed he had a creative bone in his body when she saw the car crash cocktail that had been placed on the table in front of her. The glass had been stuffed with miniature umbrellas and twizzle sticks and finished with a sprig of frosted mint. She prayed that it would taste better than it looked.
‘Thanks, Travis.’
‘Hey, no problem, man. Enjoy.’ And he sauntered off to chat to a pair of Scandinavian teenagers who were making it abundantly clear that they would like nothing more than to help Travis shake his cocktails.
Millie decided to throw caution to the wind and chance a sip. She wasn’t in the habit of indulging in spirit-based drinks at eleven o’clock in the morning, but she was in the Caribbean and now that her services were no longer needed at the Paradise Cookery School, why shouldn’t she relax a little?
‘Mmm, that’s absolutely amazing!’
Far from being the grass-flavoured sludge Millie had been expecting, the ice-cold, mint-infused cocktail smashed into her taste buds and sent tingles cascading down her throat.
‘Don’t look so surprised!’ giggled Lottie, flicking her long magenta hair over her shoulder, causing the silver necklaces at her throat to glisten in the sun. ‘Me, Alisha, and Travis have spent all week devising and tasting a whole new menu of signature cocktails for the Purple Parrot. It was tough work, but someone had to do it! Well, we couldn’t exactly continue offeringAndy’s Blasts, could we?’
‘And nor should you!’ exclaimed Ella, having tasted the cocktail and shoved it away in disgust. ‘That man, and so many others like him, are a menace to our communities. They prey on the vulnerable for their own financial gain and I, for one, will not stand by and let them get away with it. I shall be contacting the authorities to make sure that Andrew O’Leary is given the stiffest of penalties when his case eventually gets to court.’
When the Purple Parrot’s erstwhile proprietor had been arrested for his part in a drug-smuggling incident, Lottie had been presented with a decision to either close the popular restaurant-cum-bar at one of the busiest times of the year or step up to the challenge of managing the restaurant with the help of friends. Like everyone who was part of the St Lucian community, she didn’t have to wait long for the offers of help to come flooding in, and Travis and Anisha had taken over the jobs of barman and waitress respectively, enabling the Purple Parrot to continue offering fabulous food, made from the freshest of ingredients, and a long list of potent rum cocktails to the hungry and thirsty tourists who descended on Soufrière every day to access a little slice of paradise.
‘I agree with you, Ella. I just wish he’d left his business in a better state,’ sighed Lottie. ‘There’s a queue of creditors howling for their money and nothing in the till to pay them with. I had no idea it was so difficult to run a bar. Perhaps I should have let the police close it down until Andrew’s future is decided.’
‘No way! The Purple Parrot is an institution which can only go from strength to strength now that you are in charge!’ Ella beamed, her expression reflecting her absolute confidence in Lottie’s capabilities and securing a grateful smile from Soufrière newest bar manager.
‘Well, I don’t know what I would do if Dylan, Travis, and Alisha hadn’t rallied round to help out. Hey, Millie, instead of flying home on Monday, why don’t you stay on here in St Lucia? You can have a free rein in the kitchen, experiment with all the exotic ingredients you want, and I can guarantee a ravenous, if not discerning, clientele?’
Millie glanced at Ella. She would have liked nothing more than to jump at the chance to run her own kitchen again, especially in the Caribbean, never mind spend more time with these wonderful people, friends she had grown to love and trust. And maybe she would have given Lottie’s offer serious consideration had it been issued the previous day if it had meant that she could have continued her friendship with Zach, but that was no longer a possibility.
Whilst she wasn’t looking forward to leaving St Lucia, she didn’t have to be psychic to predict that the atmosphere around the villa would be uncomfortable if she was going to have to avoid taking her morning run around the estate for fear of coming into contact with Zach and Clio. Anyway, Pippa would never forgive her if she abandoned her job at the patisserie.
‘Thanks, Lottie. It’s a very kind offer, and I am tempted, but I’ve already been here a week longer than Étienne agreed. If I don’t go back to work next week, I’m not sure I’ll have a job to go back to.’
‘Life’s not all about work, Millie.’
Millie couldn’t stop herself from smiling when she saw her friend’s gaze slip towards the Dive Shack next door where the object of her affections was busy getting his boat ready for the next influx of enthusiastic divers. Dylan must have sensed their scrutiny because he straightened up and waved enthusiastically at them, his blond, surfer-dude hair, sticking up as he grinned at Lottie.
‘How’s Dylan?’
‘Fab!’ Lottie’s eyes sparkled. ‘We’ve just got back from a trip to Castries market. Look what he bought me.’ Lottie held out her hand for Millie to inspect the slender silver ring, set with a tiny turquoise stone. ‘Oh, it’s not an engagement ring or anything like that, but it doesn’t matter. I love it!’
From Lottie’s wide smile, it was clear to Millie that she loved the gift-giver even more. Her heart twisted with affection for the two lovebirds, who had sealed their partnership only a week ago when Dylan had discovered Lottie’s boss had been using his dive boat for illicit purposes and Andrew’s life had unravelled.
‘Hey, hang on! It’s Friday!’
‘Yee…ees…’ laughed Millie.
‘So why are you and Ella here? I thoughtChocolate & Confettiwas a five-day course? Why aren’t you up at the villa doing what you do best? Showcasing and tasting delicious chocolatey recipes?’ Lottie screwed up her nose in confusion as she selected a strand of hair to coil between her fingers, the jumble of silver bangles jangling from her wrist to her elbow. ‘Is everything okay?’
‘As I said, it’s a bit of a long story.’
‘So, tell me the shortened version.’
Millie exchanged a glance with Ella then proceeded to give Lottie a brief synopsis of the problems that had befallen Imogen and Alex’s wedding arrangements.
‘And there’s still no news from the wedding planner?’
‘No. It’s as though she’s disappeared off the face of the earth.’
‘I bet she’s just taken their cash and dashed,’ Lottie, declared her kohl-ringed eyes wide with sympathy.
‘You could be right, but then, why did Fleur meet up with Imogen and Alex when they arrived on Sunday to go through everything? Imogen said neither of them had any suspicions at all that she wouldn’t come through with everything she’d promised them.’
