Page 24 of What Happens in Paradise

But I had noticed that whenever I was with Jasmine, there were more sparks than a fireworks display.

When she squeezed my arm in the car and I woke up and saw her face, I thought that I was dreaming.

I was not short of confidence. I believed in myself. I was excellent at my job. I was a kind person. I had a lot going for me. But the truth was, Jasmine was in a different league.

She was a woman who travelled first class, came from a background of dealing with the rich and famous, she was experienced and probably used to dating successful businessmen, not a man on the rise who had not reached his goals.Yet.

And after the meeting where Jasmine had warned everyone not to get involved, the fact that we worked together would obviously be an issue for her too.

I was not concerned about the age gap. Jasmine would be smart enough to know that did not matter.

Anyway, everything I had just thought about was irrelevant because she was not interested in me romantically, which was fine. It was just me who found her attractive. Clearly, I was not her type.

The point was, I could manage my attraction to Jasmine if our contact and interactions were limited. But I was worried that spending more time with her would prove more difficult.

It had taken a lot of willpower, but I had managed to stay cool at breakfast.Just.

When I could not sleep, I decided to get up and explore the hotel. I was hungry and knew that Jasmine would be too, so that was when I decided to make her breakfast. And when I saw how beautiful the beach was, I knew she would love it too.

That was why I decided to set up the table outside.

I will admit, I may have dreamt about sitting across a table from her, just the two of us, once or twice. But being attracted to Jasmine was like salivating at the most exquisite pastries through a French patisserie window after committing to eating healthily. Jasmine was someone that I could admire from afar, but never touch.

I returned to my room to get my swimming trunks. I had to meet Jasmine in reception in twenty minutes where we would be driven to Dunn’s River Falls.

That at least was something I was happy to try. I had heard many things about this place when I researched Jamaica online.

When I arrived at reception, Jasmine was already there speaking to Nadine.

‘Hi,’ Nadine smiled. ‘Ready for Dunn’s River Falls?’

‘Sí. I am very excited to visit.’

‘Is the car on the way?’ Jasmine asked.

‘So here’s the thing…’ Nadine paused. ‘The chauffeur, Linford, is also out of action this week and the driver who picked you up from the airport last night is on holiday from today. But don’t worry! I asked a friend to take you instead.’

The loud toot of a car horn vibrated around us and I turned to see an old, brown Mercedes pull up.

The driver wound his window down and the sound of a Bob Marley track blared from his car speakers.

‘This is Bob,’ Nadine said. ‘He’ll be your driver today.’

Bob jumped out of the car with a big smile on his face. He had light-brown skin, a salt-and-pepper beard and his big red, gold and green oversized hat covered a head full of long dreadlocks.

‘Wah gwaan?’Bob said in a thick Jamaican accent.

‘Hello.’ Jasmine held out her hand to greet him. ‘I’m Jasmine.’

‘Nice fi meet yuh, pretty gyal.’He looked Jasmine up and down then smiled approvingly. I ground my jaw.

‘Hola,’ I said flatly, keeping my hands firmly to my sides. ‘I am Alejandro. I am herewith Jasmine.’

A look of mild surprise flickered in his eyes and I knew he was trying to work out whether I was with her romantically or platonically.

Good.

Seconds later, I regretted what I had said. I would like to say that I did not know why I had said I was here with her, but that would be a lie.

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