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An upsurge of gratitude grabbed her unawares and, despite their slight awkwardness since she had spent the night crashed out on his sofa at the lodge, she flung herself at Zach, hugging him to her, only just managing to grip on to her emotions by her fingertips. To her surprise and delight, he picked her up and spun her around, depositing a kiss on her cheek when he set her back down. It wasn’t a patch on the embrace they had shared on Wednesday night, but the connection still sent waves of desire running through her veins. She briefly wondered what would happen if she wasn’t leaving for the UK on Sunday.
However, there was too much to do to dwell on what if’s.
Millie spent the next hour going through her list with a pencil behind her ear, a tape measure around her wrist, making detailed notes and issuing instructions. Fitz and Alph scampered around like lambs under her firm but friendly direction, making their own contributions and suggestions for improvements.
Ella and Lottie appeared an hour later with a platter of fried-fish-and-mango-chutney sandwiches and a pitcher of freshly squeezed lemonade.
‘I’ve spoken to Henri,’ said Ella, her multicoloured bangles tinkling at her wrist as she poured out their drinks. ‘He’s just finishing a piece on illegal rum production for the weekend issue of theTribuneand he’s promised to present himself for inspection on the drill line first thing tomorrow morning. Leon doesn’t think he can get away from work, but has offered his services on Saturday night and Sunday. I’ve also left a message for my brother Byron and I’m sure he’ll be delighted to be roped in for a bit of painting.’
‘He will if he wants to taste my cookies!’ exclaimed Lottie.
At six o’clock, Ella and Lottie discarded their Paradise Cookery School aprons and squeezed into Henri’s little Fiat for the journey back to Soufrière.
‘I’m so happy that you’re about to experience how the St Lucian community can pull together and make good things happen,’ smiled Henri as he stowed his mother’s oversized bag in the boot and gave Millie a farewell hug. ‘See you tomorrow, bright and early.’
Millie saw that Ella had tears in her eyes. She watched her friend extract a delicate lace handkerchief from her sleeve and dab them away, whilst she swallowed down her own. She truly felt as though she was part of an extended Caribbean family and a curl of regret that her visit was so short-lived wriggled through her stomach.
‘Thanks, Henri. Ella, Lottie, I’ll see you tomorrow.’
Millie watched the car trundle away down the hill and disappear around the bend. She went in search of Zach but couldn’t find him, so she retreated to her studio above the garage for a good cry. The release was satisfying and afterwards, she fell into an untroubled sleep until she was woken by a knock on her front door.
‘Miss Millie?’
Dusk had started to ripple over the horizon, spreading a wave of cerise and pink over the distant sea as she dashed down the stairs to meet Fitz and Alph who were busy loading up the van for the day.
‘We’ll be off now, but we’ll be back for the seven-thirty roll call.’
‘Erm, I think it’s seven,’ said Millie with a grin, knowing that he was trying it on. ‘You are still in charge, Fitz, but now you will have ten more willing workers under your direction, all looking to you for leadership. What will we all do if you’re not here to direct operations?’
Millie watched as Fitz straightened his spine and shoved back his shoulders. ‘Seven a.m. on the dot, it is. See you then.’
Millie smiled and waved as he jumped into the cab of his dilapidated white van next to Alph and reversed down the driveway to the road, their favourite reggae music blasting forth. A feeling of pride invaded her chest. She had never had the confidence to speak to Fitz in that way before. Yet when she had done so he had responded with enthusiasm, with pleasure even, at the authority and responsibility she had bestowed upon his shoulders. Maybe if she had been able to do that from the start they wouldn’t be facing the uphill challenge that was ahead of them now.
Another lesson in life for her to dwell on.
Millie slumped down on one of the sunloungers and took stock of the last few hours. If all the offers of help materialised, she had every confidence that the kitchen would be finished by the time Claudia arrived on Sunday afternoon. That would give her and Ella a few hours to talk through the culinary side of things and the Paradise Cookery Schoolwouldgo ahead on Monday morning as scheduled. TheChocolate & Confetticoursewouldbe a tremendous success and Ella would get her coveted job as a guest presenter and Zach would be able to continue with his plans for extracurricular activities which he could proudly pass on to his colleague Dominic when his stay in the Caribbean came to an end.
She pushed herself up and slotted her feet into her sparkly flip-flops. It was time she went to the lodge to thank Zach for everything he had done to save the day.
Chapter Twenty One
Despite Millie’s last-minute doubts, all three tradesmen turned up the following day at seven a.m. just minutes before Henri, Ella, and her brother Byron, and Travis and Anisha, who had negotiated a rare day off to be part of the team. Dylan and Lottie floated in with Ryan and a friend of theirs, Connor, at seven-thirty. The couple were bug-eyed from lack of sleep, having spent the night celebrating their new relationship. Lottie reported that although she had wanted to keep the Purple Parrot open, Leon had requested that it remain closed until the following weekend at least to allow their investigations to take place.
Before she had retired to bed the previous night, Millie had tried to call Claudia again. She knew she was due to arrive the following day, but she still needed to speak to her and couldn’t understand why her calls kept going to voicemail. However, shehadenjoyed a long chat with Pippa who had suggested that she should consider asking Étienne for a week’s unpaid leave so she could take advantage of being part of the very first of Claudia Croft’s Paradise Cookery School courses, as the experience would be invaluable for any future dreams she harboured of sharing her own knowledge with a group of students.
Millie had brushed her friend’s suggestion aside, keen to return home to normality, eager to indulge in an extended session of gossip. Pippa had casually dropped into the conversation that her date with the guy at the Italian deli across the road hadn’t worked out, but that she now had set her sights on a tall, dark, handsome chef from the bistro at the end of the street. They had already been out on a couple of dates and she couldn’t wait to introduce Millie to his friend, Charles.
For some reason, Millie did not reciprocate by sharing with Pippa her feelings for Zach as she couldn’t put them into words. Yes, they had shared a stomach-churning kiss that night in his lodge, and yes, being with him sent her emotions haywire, but she was leaving the next day, so there was no point in pursuing their connection any further, even if Zach had shown such an inclination – which he hadn’t. However, she had a great deal to thank Zach for, not least the fact that talking to him about what had happened with Luke had put the whole episode into perspective and she hadn’t thought of her ex-fiancé once since their conversation.
Why couldn’t she have met Zach earlier? But she knew she might not have appreciated his unique brand of down-to-earth advice if it had been presented before she was ready.
Nevertheless, a part of her did wish she could stay in St Lucia, to spend more than just an hour with Claudia, to take part in theChocolate & Confetticourse, to see where her friendship with Zach would take her. And she had to admit that Zach wasn’t the only person she would miss when she went home. She couldn’t get her head around the fact that she would never see Ella again, especially when the Caribbean chef had told her the previous day that she was like the daughter she had never had. But before she could stroll too far down her life’s highway of regrets, Millie was called upon for her advice.
‘Hey, Millie, where do you want this canvas hung?’
‘Shall I finish the gloss work in the porch?’
‘Where are the handles for the drawers?’
