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Unfortunately, irritation exuded from his pores and he was clearly expecting for her to say something.
‘What?’
‘Oh, I’m sorry. I guess I was just waiting for your effusive thanks for helping you out of that crater you threw yourself into, and then for you to explain why you are trespassing on private property.’
Millie opened and closed her mouth in amazement. The guy wasn’t just prickly, he was downright rude. She was about to launch into a speech about civility when her teeth started to chatter and a bout of violent shivering overtook her. She wrapped her arms around her waist and her new adversary reluctantly removed his jacket and draped it over her shoulders. With a brief glance at the column of wooden crates stacked at the villa’s front door, he guided her towards one of the cane chairs on the villa’s covered veranda, his faithful attack dog trotting at his heels.
‘So? What are you doing here?’
‘I’m Amelia Harper. Claudia Croft has engaged me to oversee the kitchen renovations for the first of her Paradise Cookery School courses in the Caribbean. She’s had… She’s unable to make it over to St Lucia until the end of next week.’ Millie didn’t want to disclose any information about Claudia’s personal circumstances to the stranger who was now wearing a look of extreme scepticism on his face.
‘How do I know you are who you say you are?’ The man rolled his eyes in an exaggerated gesture. ‘Mrs Croft usually vets all her staff and emails through their references before they arrive. I was expecting a Mrs Jennifer Bertrand and you look nothing like her.’
‘Jennifer Bertrand is my sister. She couldn’t make it and so I came instead.’
‘So you just thought you would step seamlessly into your sister’s shoes?’
‘I beg your pardon! Iamqualified, you know! Not that it’s any of your business, but I have excellent credentials in the culinary field.’
Again, Millie could hear the defensive tone that had crept into her vocabulary since the debacle with Luke and she didn’t like it – she reallyhadto work on reacquainting herself with her former assertiveness. Her usually imperceptible French accent had also strengthened as her emotions churned, and the heat rising in her chest had nothing to do with the warmth of the weak rays of sunlight that were at last poking through the pewter canopy overhead, ratcheting up the temperature and causing wisps of steam to rise from the surrounding vegetation.
Who did this man think he was, cross-examining her on the reasons for her presence? Nevertheless, she experienced an overwhelming need to justify herself to him.
‘Until six months ago, I was head chef at a Michelin-starred bistro in Oxford. I have more than enough expertise to oversee the installation of a commercial kitchen, even one of such high calibre as this one! Anyway, I don’t have to reel off my qualifications to you. As I said, Claudia approved my appointment as Jen’s substitute personally.’
‘Ahh, the arrogance of the French.’
‘I happen to find your comment offensive,’ Millie retorted, before adding unnecessarily ‘Anyway, I’mhalfFrench.’
As soon as she had spoken, the mask of suspicion melted from the man’s face and was replaced by amusement. Dimples appeared at the corners of his lips and laughter, with a soupçon of mischief, danced in his eyes as he took in her damp clothes from her unscheduled dip in the puddle and the confetti of fallen flower petals that had become lodged in her hair.
‘So, now that we’ve ascertained your rudeness about my presence here was unwarranted, why don’t we find out whoyouare and whyyouare here? Are you one of the gardeners?’
The man’s smile widened as he patted Binks. ‘No. I’m Zach Barker, Tim and Claudia’s estate manager back in the UK. I’m here temporarily, responsible for the smooth running of the plantation and the upkeep of the grounds whilst my colleague is visiting his sick mother in Cheltenham.’
A sudden thought occurred to Millie. ‘Do you live in the villa?’
‘No way!’ Zach laughed, then smirked at the relief scrawled across Millie’s face. ‘Don’t worry, Binks and I won’t be getting in your way. We live in a very comfortable lodge on the other side of the plantation. Now, why don’t I call Ella to see where she’s got to while you get out of those damp clothes. You look like you just rolled off a pathologist’s slab.’
‘Charming,’ she muttered.
Millie returned Zach’s jacket to him before making her way to the studio above the garage, feeling his eyes scorching a hole into her back as she went. She prayed that she wouldn’t trip or fall over her two left feet again. She didn’t want to give him any additional fuel to enflame his character assessment of her.
She stripped to her underwear and selected a sunflower-yellow spaghetti-strapped tee-shirt and a pair of white denim shorts before pushing her toes into sparkly flip-flops. As she grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, an unexpected surge of homesickness ambushed her. The Croft plantation was a stunningly picturesque place to be but, if her first brush with the other member of Claudia’s staff was anything to go by, she would much rather be paraded on the dance floor by her kaftan-bedecked mother.
Before she could stop herself, tears of loneliness trickled down her cheeks as she stared at the bucolic panorama from her balcony, still mesmerized by its hypnotic beauty. She wiped her eyes and gave herself a good talking-to. If she had been given this amazing opportunity six months ago, she would have squeezed every last drop of enjoyment out of it. She resolved to do as Jen had suggested – to use the time and space to move on – and she should start by making an effort with Zach. She squared her shoulders and went back down the stairs to the courtyard.
‘Okay. I’ve spoken to Ella and she should be here in fifteen minutes. Hey, have you been crying?’
‘No. Of course not.’
Zach narrowed his eyes, but decided against delivering another one of his pithy comments on her blatant lie. He called Binks to heel and strode away down the driveway.
‘Where are you going?’ Millie called, disappointed that her resolution to get to know Zach better was a non-starter. She also didn’t want to admit that his sudden and unexpected appearance from the tropical rainforest earlier had unnerved her.
Who, or more to the point,whatelse could be lurking in there?
‘Well, as a lowly “gardener” my responsibilities are many, Princess Sparkle-Toes.’ Zach swept his gaze to her flip-flops and took in her multicoloured pedicure, courtesy of Pippa during a pre-holiday girly session that involved glittery varnish and copious amounts of her favourite pink Prosecco. ‘After you’ve met up with Ella, you’ll be able to spend the rest of the evening polishing your tiara and rustling up one of your Michelin-starred creations us mere mortals can’t possibly be expected to appreciate. Oh, and don’t forget to get your quota of beauty sleep required by all royal personalities. You’re going to need it!’
