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‘I’m sorry, Zach.’
Millie’s heart sunk to her toes as she watched Zach struggle to keep his emotions in check. This was a different side of Zach to the one she had encountered in St Lucia, the playful, good-humoured optimist who had filled her life with sparkle and her heart and soul with the confidence that she could do anything she put her mind to. Now it was her turn to step up and usher him down the positivity path, even if it meant she would lose him from her life.
‘What are your options?’
‘Tim’s offered me a job in St Lucia if I want it. But Dom’s happy there, for the moment at least, and I’m not sure they really need my services or whether they are just being kind.’
‘That’s not the case at all! Once the hotel is up and running, you said yourself that Claudia intends to offer tours around the cocoa plantation – you know, “From cocoa bean to chocolate chip dream”. You would make an amazing tour guide, Zach, and weren’t you talking about organising quad bike safaris and archery shoots for the guests too? Not all the guests will want to spend the whole day cooking in the kitchen.’
‘Maybe…’
‘So there’ll be more than enough work to keep youandDom busy.’
The grandfather clock in the hallway struck midnight and Zach pushed back his chair to leave.
‘Thanks for listening, Millie. You know, I really feel like I’m about to lose a treasured member of my family – an old maiden aunt who’s being shipped off to a care home against her will, so heaven knows how Claudia is coping.’
‘You could look on it as an opportunity to start something new?’ Millie suggested as she tossed the empty mugs into the sink and left them there for the morning.
She saw Zach’s eyes linger briefly on the clutter; the fact that he chose not to comment, not even a chastisement, never mind a sarcastic response, worried her more than anything she had heard that night. She wanted to reassure him that everything would turn out fine, but she didn’t see how that could happen and her hesitation gave Zach the signal to leave.
‘Maybe. Look, I’d better go. We’ve both got an early start in the morning. Goodnight, Millie.’
Zach paused at the boot room door for a few seconds, his mouth inches from hers. Goosebumps shot over her forearms at the sharp intensity of his gaze. All she wanted to do was fall into his arms and rekindle the closeness they had experienced during her sojourn at Claudia and Tim’s spectacular villa high on the hill overlooking the bay of Soufrière, and when she scoured his eyes, she saw that Zach felt the same.
However, just as Millie thought their lips were about to meet, Zach turned on his heels and left. Disappointment and confusion flooded her veins, but her overwhelming emotion was that of concern for what the director of Zach’s destiny had in store for him. As she locked the door behind him and climbed the magnificent staircase to bed, her brain continued to churn over the details of their conversation until she was even more perplexed.
How did she feel about the possibility of Zach returning to St Lucia?
If he did go, it would probably mean she would never see him again. But then their busy work schedules, coupled with her lingering fear of rejection, had conspired to keep them apart anyway. Nevertheless, it was still easier to dream of spending cosy weekends in the company of a gorgeous estate manager with a witty repertoire and a knack for making her feel like she could conquer the world when he was living in a cute little stone lodge in the Cotswolds rather than in a wooden cabin a ten-hour flight and a very bumpy taxi ride away!
Was that why he hadn’t kissed her? Fear of starting something that couldn’t be finished? But did that matter? She had definitelywantedhim to kiss her. Maybe sheshouldhave taken Pippa’s advice and carried an emergency sprig of mistletoe in her back pocket!
She undressed quickly and slid beneath the duvet, her thoughts chasing a myriad of possible solutions down blind alleyways, craving a lightbulb moment in which she could come up with a way to allow Zach to continue in the job he so clearly loved, and preferably closer to home.
Sleep came quickly again. It was so peaceful in the Hummingbird Suite; no sirens, no dogs barking, no crows bouncing on the TV aerials on the roof above her head, no late-night party goers shrieking their favourite rock ballads in the street below her attic window.
She was well on her way down the chute towards slumber before she realised that the reason she was stretching her brain cells to come up with an answer to Zach’s dilemma was because, despite the lack of a goodnight kiss, the emotions she was experiencing had progressed well beyond the bounds of friendship and into the less-well chartered waters of romance.
Chapter Seven
‘Good morning everyone and a warm welcome to theFestive Feastcookery course at the Claudia Croft Cookery School. It’s an early start so it’s great to see you all so bright-eyed and raring to go!’
Gina laughed and nudged Leo who clearly looked as though he had just been dragged out of bed. His hair had ballooned into a halo of auburn curls that framed his ruggedly handsome features just like his namesake. He hadn’t had chance to shave, and the smattering of golden stubble gave him an attractive, more relaxed look than the clean-shaven face he had presented when they had arrived the previous day. Gina had dressed for a day out on a Mediterranean yacht, her pixie-style crop immaculate just like her flared white trousers and Breton stripped tee-shirt with the instantly recognisable designer logo on the sleeve. Unlike Leo, Gina was leaning across her workstation hanging on Claudia’s every word.
‘Okay, as you know, you are here to discover the variety of culinary delights on offer at Christmas. You will have seen from the itinerary that the week has been organised as a gastronomic journey through the various meals served on the most wonderful day of the year. So, today is all about preparing a sumptuous breakfast. Millie and I will demonstrate the recipes, coaching you where you need it, then we’ll share the meal we have prepared, taking the opportunity to appraise each other’s offerings.’
‘Marks out of ten?’ asked Mike, pushing his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose and patting his quiff nervously.
‘Mike, darling, it’s not a competition! It’s a tutorial,’ smiled Marianne who sported a scarlet cashmere jumper with sparkling silver snowflakes and the legend “Let it Snow”.
‘Well, thank God for that. You know how hopeless I am in the kitchen. I’d be the proud owner of five wooden spoons by the end of the week! So, Claudia, what do you have planned for us tomorrow?’
‘A slightly later start, you’ll be relieved to hear,’ she laughed. ‘We’ll be focussing on a delicious brunch menu, which will lead us nicely to the main event on Wednesday – Christmas lunch with all the trimmings. On Thursday we’ll be baking up a storm as we create an amazing High Tea, and then on Friday we’ll make canapés and petit fours for an elegant evening soirée that will be the envy of your guests. As Friday will be our last day together, I thought it might be nice to invite a few friends from the village to join us in celebration of what you have achieved, and to help us to eat all the products of your labours!’
‘Sounds amazing!’ exclaimed Marianne, clapping her hands in excitement, her eyes shining as she tied her pale lemon CC-logoed apron around her slender waist and positioned herself behind her workstation, ready to get started. ‘Mike, you’re useless – you’ve got your apron on the wrong way round!’
There followed the best two hours Millie could remember in a kitchen. When she had worked with Luke in their restaurant in Oxford, every shift had been so full-on that she hadn’t had time to appreciate the finer points of what she was creating. Then, at Étienne’s patisserie, she was part of a team that worked together like a well-oiled machine producing the finest French pastries in Hammersmith – everyone in the room knew exactly what they were required to do so there was no need to discuss why the eggs had to be at room temperature, or the butter super-cold, or the flour sieved from a great height.
