Page 34 of What Happens in Paradise

‘I was just coming to find you,’ he said.

‘Oh?’

‘I need your help.’

‘Of course, anything!’ I said, then regretted agreeing so quickly without first knowing what he needed. ‘What do you need?’ I added.

‘I have been trying to follow the recipe the chef left for the jerk chicken. I bought the ingredients earlier from a place that Bob took me to, but something is not right.’

‘I wish I could help but when it comes to cooking, pasta and sauce from a jar is my area of expertise!’ I laughed.

‘I do not need you to cook. I need you to come to a restaurant with me. I need to taste authentic jerk chicken. Bob said he can take us to his favourite place, but I will need a second opinion. He is a local but you know the foodandunderstand the standards we have at the Love Hotel.’

Shit, shit, shit.

Going to an adventurous activity like Dunn’s River Falls together was one thing, but sitting in a restaurant having a candlelit meal, staring into each other’s eyes was far too dangerous.

I’d barely recovered from the hand-holding earlier.

‘I…’ I wanted to say no. Ishouldsay no. It was the smart thing to do. But how could I when Alejandro had taken hours out of his schedule today to help me?

And he was right. It wasn’t just good enough for the food on the menu to be authentic. It had to be top-notch quality too.

‘Will you help?’ He looked at me with puppy-dog eyes and my stomach flipped. How could I say no to that face?

‘I wouldn’t really call myself an expert, but I do understand the level of cuisine the hotel would expect. So if you think my opinion will help…’

‘It will.’

‘Okay. I’ll come with you,’ I said, then my cheeks heated as I realised that could have another meaning. ‘To the restaurant,’ I clarified. ‘To do the market research.’

‘Gracias!’ Alejandro beamed and seeing his smile made my stomach flutter again. ‘I will call Bob and ask him to meet us in half an hour.’

‘Great!’ I said, trying to sound enthusiastic.

I had thirty minutes to work out how to keep my hormones under control whilst sat at a table for two with a man I was growing increasingly attracted to.

I asked the universe to send me strength and willpower.

Here’s hoping it delivered.

13

JASMINE

Alejandro held the door open for me as we stepped into the restaurant.

Throughout the whole car journey, Bob had raved about all of the amazing dishes we had to try. Not just the jerk chicken, but also the rice and peas, the curried goat, the saltfish fritters… He’d gushed so much, I wondered whether he earned commission.

Still, I was glad of the distraction. The more he spoke, the less I had to interact with Alejandro. And considering we still had a whole night ahead of us, the more I could minimise having to look or speak to him, the better.

‘Good evening,’ our waitress greeted us, clutching two menus.

‘Table for two, please,’ I said.

‘Come.’ She summoned us over and pointed to the table.‘Wah yu waan fi drink?’

‘Bob said the rum punch and Guinness punch are good. Perhaps we should try them?’ Alejandro suggested.

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