Chapter 13
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.
‘Okay.’ I nodded. I’d always loved the rum punch my grandad used to make.
She disappeared, giving us time to look over the menu.
‘Everything sounds so good!’ Alejandro licked his lips and my body reacted.
Bloody hell. We’d barely been here five minutes and I was already turning to jelly. I needed to get a grip.
‘It does,’ I agreed.
‘I made a list of everything Bob recommended. I think that we should try it all.’ He handed me his phone which was open on the notes page.
‘That’s a lot! You know there’s only two of us, right? Not a whole army!’
‘True. I am just so excited to try everything! Perhaps we can try some today and then the rest next time.’
‘ Next time? ’ I frowned.
‘ Sí . The chef will be away for at least a week, so I will still need to research. I can eat alone of course, but going with you to Dunn’s River Falls today showed me that it is better if we work as a team. We know what will work well for the hotel. And I value your opinion.’
My heart swelled. It was nice that he appreciated me.
‘Thanks. I value yours too. You coming along today was helpful. It made writing my report easier.’
‘I am happy to hear that.’
‘Yuh ready?’ The waitress appeared at our table, placing our drinks down and then taking out her notepad and pen. Once we’d placed our order, she left.
‘The rum punch looks very colourful.’ Alejandro moved the two glasses to the centre of the table.
‘It is. My grandad used to always make it for family parties. I think it’s a mixture of pineapple, orange and lime juice, grenadine or strawberry syrup and of course, lots of rum!’
‘ Sí . I can smell the rum from here!’
‘Funnily enough, it never seemed to affect me that much. I could drink multiple glasses of rum punch and feel fine, but if I did the same with wine, I’d be drunk. Grandad used to joke that if he cut his veins, there’d be pure white rum inside instead of blood, so maybe it’s hereditary!’ I laughed and Alejandro flashed his gorgeous smile.
‘You want to try first?’ he offered.
‘No, it’s your first time, so go ahead,’ I said, remembering not to make an inappropriate virgin joke like I had on the plane.
‘ Vale ,’ he picked up the glass, took a sip and then choked. ‘ Madre mía! ’ His eyes watered. ‘It is even stronger than I thought, but I like it. You want to try?’
‘Of course!’ I wrapped my lips around the straw and a tingle raced through me knowing that Alejandro’s mouth had sucked on it a few seconds earlier.
God . If I got a thrill just from sharing a man’s straw, I really needed to get out more.
After taking a long sip of the punch, I swallowed. My eyes bulged and I started coughing.
‘Bloody hell! Grandad’s punch was never that potent! That’s strong enough to strip paint, but it’s also delicious.’
‘Do you know how they make the Guinness punch?’ He picked up that glass.
‘Yes.’ I nodded. ‘It’s another thing my grandad used to make. It’s obviously Guinness, but it’s mixed with milk, condensed milk and different spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and I think vanilla too.’
‘I will try.’ He took a sip. ‘This is also good. So when did your grandad move back to Jamaica?’
‘About ten years ago.’
‘And you keep in touch?’
‘Not as much as I’d like. Grandma was the glue that kind of held the family together. When she passed, we lost a lot of contact. Grandad is a bit old school. He doesn’t do emails or computers or mobile phones. My mum doesn’t keep in touch with him any more, but I send him a Christmas card every year and usually call him on Christmas morning because I know I can get him on the house phone, but that’s about it.’
‘Are you going to visit him whilst you are here?’
‘I’m not sure. He lives in the middle of nowhere. It’d probably take ages to get there and like I said, he only has a house phone, which he rarely answers, so I could go all that way and he wouldn’t be there.’
‘But what if he is there?’
‘If I was here on holiday, maybe I’d try, but there’s so much to do here to get things set up, so I wouldn’t have time. And like I said, it’s in a really remote part of the countryside. I’m not sure I’d be comfortable going alone.’
I had to focus on work. I didn’t want Hazel to think I was taking advantage and using this trip to visit family.
‘Jasmine, it is not my place to tell you what to do, but it is never a good idea to say you will do something tomorrow, because tomorrow is not promised. You are here, in Jamaica now . I am sure there will be time to see him. If you do not, you may regret it. How old is your grandad?’
‘Eighty-nine.’
‘He is not a young man. I think you should go to see him. You have his address?’
‘Yes.’ It was stored in my phone so it’d be easy to find whenever I sent his Christmas card.
‘That is good. We can ask Bob later if he knows how to find it. And I will come with you.’
My eyes popped.
‘I… that won’t be necessary. I don’t want to put you out.’
‘I will come with you. Unless you do not feel comfortable with me?’
‘No. You don’t make me uncomfortable.’
That wasn’t entirely true. Whenever I was around him, my mind and body were a kaleidoscope of emotions: excitement, happiness and desire. I liked being around him a lot more than I should. And that was the problem.
But I knew what Alejandro was asking. He was checking that I didn’t find him creepy and that definitely wasn’t the case.
‘Good. Then we will go together to see your grandad. It is settled.’
‘How about your family?’ I asked, avoiding commenting on what he’d just said. As much as I wanted to see my grandad, I really wasn’t sure that it was feasible. ‘Are you close to your parents or grandparents?’
‘I do not have any. By the time I was nineteen, I had lost both of my parents. My two remaining grandparents died a few years later.’
‘Oh my God!’ My eyes widened. ‘I’m so sorry. That’s awful.’
Sadness washed over me and I almost reached out to touch his hand or shoulder to comfort him somehow, but decided it wasn’t appropriate, so stopped myself.
‘It was difficult.’ His gaze dropped to the table, then he started playing with a serviette. ‘I was only fifteen when Mum had a stroke. And then Dad had an accident. He worked in construction and one day, well… he fell and…’ Alejandro swallowed a lump in his throat.
‘It’s okay if you’d rather not talk about it. If it’s too painful…’
‘Many of the recipes I use today were inspired by my parents. They were both fantastic cooks and I always loved helping them and learning everything they were willing to share. After Mum passed, I spent a lot of time with Dad in the kitchen. We became much closer. He always wanted to be a chef, but he never got the chance. That is one of the reasons I decided to try. Because I loved cooking, of course. But also to honour his memory.’
‘That’s really beautiful. And I’m sure he’d be super impressed.’
‘He would. Mum too. My sisters are also very supportive.’
‘I didn’t realise you had more than one! How old are they?’
‘My youngest sister Evita is twenty and my elder sister Lola is thirty-six.’
Wow . I was even older than his eldest sister.
Alejandro took a sip of his drink, then continued. ‘Lola became like a mother to us. She is very protective. Sometimes too protective.’ He smiled.
‘I’m sure it’s just because she cares. Are they in Madrid?’
‘No. They are both in London. Evita is studying and Lola has lived there for many years.’
‘Oh yeah!’ I nodded. ‘I remember you saying she was married to an English guy.’
The waitress brought over the saltfish fritters, fried dumplings which were pieces of fried dough, as well as some ackee and saltfish.
‘This is ackee?’ Alejandro pointed to the bright-yellow pieces that kind of looked like bright fried egg yolk.
‘Yes.’ I squeezed my eyes shut. ‘It’s been so long since I’ve had any Jamaican food.’
‘Por qué?’
‘Well, it’s not easy to get in Spain. And as we’ve established, my cooking abilities are limited!’
‘Everyone has the ability to cook. Especially someone like you.’
‘Someone like me?’ I frowned.
‘ Sí . Someone who is intelligent, resourceful and determined.’
My heart fluttered. Alejandro was always very complimentary.
‘You’re such a charmer.’ I took another glug of rum punch. ‘I bet you use those silver tongue lines to get all the ladies.’
‘You think that I am a Casanova?’ Alejandro’s brows knitted together.
‘Maybe not a Casanova, but I’m sure you’re not short of female attention. And you’re a young and attractive man. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying your life. I wish I hadn’t wasted my twenties.’
‘Why did you waste them?’
I blew out an exasperated breath, then picked up the punch glass which was now almost empty. I should really wait until the rest of the food came before I had more to drink, but it was so addictive.
‘Where do I start?’ My shoulders slumped. ‘Short version is, I met a guy, fell for his charms, ended up working for him, then marrying him and sacrificing my whole life to get the company off the ground. So instead of going out and enjoying myself, I was always stuck at my desk.’
‘And he did not want to go out and have fun with you?’
‘Oh, he went out. He travelled for work a lot and played golf. He was older so we were at different stages in our lives. I should’ve dated someone my own age. Won’t make that mistake again.’
I drained the punch dry just as the waitress brought over our mains.
‘ Gracias ,’ Alejandro said as she put the plates down. ‘It sounds like you and your ex-husband were just not a good match,’ Alejandro said. ‘His age may not have been relevant.’
‘I disagree.’ I shook my head. ‘Anyway, so I wasted most of my twenties and thirties on him. But now I’m making up for lost time.’
‘By having more fun?’ Alejandro spooned some of the rice and peas and jerk chicken onto my plate before serving himself.
‘By focusing on myself and building my own career,’ I said, as if it was obvious. ‘When we broke up, after I’d discovered he was screwing his secretary, I lost my home and my job. When an old friend put me forward for the job at the Love Hotel, I wasn’t sure. I was in the middle of a divorce, so I didn’t think I’d be a good advert. But when the founder, Celine interviewed me, she said that she thought my divorce could help me relate to guests who’d gone through the same thing and were hoping for a second chance at finding their soulmate.’
‘That is true.’ Alejandro nodded.
‘And most importantly, despite my ex-husband cheating on me, I still believed in love. Well, at least for other people. And the role combined so many elements that I enjoyed, like travel, organising trips and activities, plus I knew it’d give me the chance for a fresh start in a new country. Luckily, Celine believed in me and I got the job.’
‘I am sorry you had a bad experience. Your ex is clearly an idiot who did not deserve you,’ he said sympathetically and my stomach fluttered yet again at another compliment. ‘But at least you turned a negative chapter of your life into something more positive.’
‘Definitely. I love my life in Spain.’ I slid a forkful of rice into my mouth. ‘And how about you? You must be living your best life! With your talents, it won’t be long until you’re promoted, so your career is taking off and you have the pick of women. You’re probably the envy of every man.’
‘I am determined to get a promotion, that is true, and I have always believed that it is important to enjoy life, but these two years I… Having fun has not been my focus.’
‘I thought that whenever you weren’t working, you’d be partying!’
‘No. Tell me what you think of the chicken.’ He picked up a piece of the chargrilled jerk chicken. The blend of spices flooded my nostrils and took me back to those days when Grandma used to season a big tray of chicken and Grandad would barbecue everything outside inside a red steel oil barrel drum.
It hadn’t escaped my attention that Alejandro had avoided responding to my partying comment. Probably because he didn’t want to make me feel bad about my non-existent social life.
Anyway, he didn’t have to tell me about what he did in his spare time. We were colleagues and now that I thought about it, I’d probably overstepped by sharing stuff about my background too.
Note to self to be more professional.
I blamed that glass of potent rum punch for my loose tongue. The next drink I ordered would definitely be water. If I wanted to get through the rest of this dinner, I needed a clear head.
The last thing I needed was to say something stupid and embarrass myself.
And given my slip-ups so far, there was a higher probability of that happening than I would like.