Chapter 20
Naomi woke the next morning to an empty bed, but the wafting scent of coffee told her that Greg wasn’t far. She rolled over and stretched, letting out a contented groan.
When was the last time she’d slept so well?
The sun was so bright and she could smell the fresh scent of the sea.
She didn’t even want to look at the clock, because it didn’t matter what time it was.
She was in paradise with everyone she held dear and there was no reason to care about anything else.
Besides, her plans for the day weren’t anything strenuous.
Hopefully, they’d get to the pool this time.
Greg, who hated sand, wasn’t at all happy about yesterday’s beachside diversion and seemed to find the pool closure yet another strike against the hotel.
Whereas Naomi thought cooling off in the waves and then lounging in the sea breeze was the perfect way to chill out after wandering around in the heat that morning on the tour.
Though the complimentary pina coladas did have the effect of cooling his annoyance and loosening him up a bit.
‘Hey there,’ she called to Greg, who was sitting out on the patio with his laptop on his knees. A half-eaten tray of food was on the table beside him, and what looked like a second pot of coffee.
‘Hey,’ he replied, jumping a little at the sound of her voice. ‘I ordered breakfast earlier. Had to make some calls to the office first thing. Didn’t know if you wanted to eat here in the room or … ?’
Was it her imagination or did he seem a little jittery, as if she’d interrupted something? But he wasn’t on a call or Zoom meeting that she could tell from her vantage point in the bed.
‘Actually I told Mum and Dad we’d meet them downstairs for breakfast.’
‘Really? What time did you tell them? You know they like to eat before ten.’
‘And?’
He turned with a smirk. ‘It’s half past.’
‘What?’ Naomi shrieked, bounding up from her pillow before tumbling off the side of the bed with a thud.
‘Did you hurt yourself?’ Greg asked, still seated comfortably on the patio with his gaze fixed on the computer screen.
‘Yeah, I’m fine,’ she replied as she scrambled to get up. ‘How could you let me sleep so late?’
‘Me?’ Greg laughed. ‘I’ve been up for hours already. Besides you looked so peaceful I didn’t want to wake you. You don’t sleep in often. I thought you’d enjoy it.’
She gave him a sidelong glance as she rushed to take a shower. ‘Mum and Dad are going to kill me,’ she muttered.
Greg winced a little. ‘Do you mind if I don’t come along? I’ve got a lot to get through here if you want to go out and about again today. Plus I’ve already eaten.’
‘No problem.’ Biting back her frustration as she got dressed, Naomi then raced down to The Conch Shell, one of the three restaurants in the resort.
Situated under a wooden canopy and lined with clay tiles, the restaurant had a rustic, yet refined appearance. The furniture was all made of dark, marbled wood and the tables were covered in clean white cloths, though most were empty as she walked into the restaurant.
She darted between the tables to where her mother and father were seated, with the most unexpected company.
‘Morning. So sorry I’m late.’ Then she turned to the pair who sat across from her parents. ‘Oh hello there!’
‘Hi Naomi,’ Holly cheered as she picked at the remnants of bread on her plate.
‘Good morning,’ Will added with a nod as he got to his feet. ‘Please,’ he said as he offered her his seat.
‘Thanks.’ Confused, Naomi slipped in beside Holly while Will pulled another chair from a nearby table.
‘You know Will, dear?’ Janice questioned, smiling.
‘Yes, we met on the tour yesterday.’ Naomi looked around. ‘Did I miss breakfast? The restaurant seems very empty.’
‘I’m afraid so – it ended at ten.’
‘Dammit. I accidentally overslept.’
‘Well, aren’t you very fortunate to have me for a mother then?’ she chuckled. ‘I ordered you something and asked them to pack it up just in case.’
‘Thanks, Mum, love you too.’
George then beckoned the waiter over and asked him to bring the food they’d ordered for Naomi, before he and Will fell back into a conversation about fishing.
Janice was chattering away to Holly about her school and her favourite TV shows, while Naomi waited for her breakfast, slightly baffled by the cosy tableau before her.
It was as if they’d all known each other for ever.
It was also a scene straight out of her imagination, an image she’d been conjuring up in her mind since she was a little girl – three generations in her family all together enjoying a holiday. The only problem was that Will and Holly weren’t family.
‘So how did you meet my folks?’ she asked him as the waiter placed a bowl of granola and a delicious selection of tropical fruit in front of her.
‘Will here came to my rescue earlier,’ her mother said, laughing. ‘I was having a tough time trying to find something I could eat when he offered to help.’
‘I was walking by and heard the accent, so thought I might be able to assist. I’d want someone to do the same if it were my mother,’ he admitted bashfully. ‘It was nothing really.’
‘Nothing? It was wonderful. Such a gentleman. Will told the waiter exactly what we wanted, and even offered a few alternatives so your father’s heartburn wasn’t an issue,’ Janice continued. ‘The least we could do was ask for him and his lovely little girl to join us.’
‘I see,’ Naomi said as she spooned yogurt into her granola. ‘But how did you know what to suggest?’ she asked him.
‘I’m kind of in the business myself back home in London, so I’m used to dealing with people with all kinds of food sensitivities.’
‘Daddy has a restaurant,’ Holly piped up. ‘Named after me.’
Naomi smiled at her. ‘Oh, I’m in London a lot. What’s it called? Maybe I’ve been there.’
‘The Holly Golightly.’
‘Like as in Breakfast at Tiffany’s?’
‘Yes. It was my late wife’s favourite book. Hence …’ He nodded toward his daughter, blushing a little.
‘Dad says it’s where I got my name from. Mum had it all picked out from the minute she knew about me,’ the little girl prattled, and Naomi’s heart almost broke at her adorable grin.
‘The movie is one of my favourite movies too,’ Janice remarked.
‘Audrey Hepburn was always such a lady. When my girls were growing up I used to tell them they should model themselves after her. She was one of the few proper ladies I’ve ever seen.
She and Grace Kelly. Now, there aren’t many you’d call a lady these days. ’
‘There’s Lady Gaga,’ Naomi joked, and everyone but her parents laughed.
‘Who’s Lady Gaga?’ Janice quietly asked her husband, but George shrugged and took a sip of his water.
‘Sorry, Mum, I was only teasing.’
‘Well, you need to do more eating,’ she grumbled, indicating her half-eaten breakfast. ‘Didn’t you say we were going out again today?’
Her mother was always so sensitive to teasing, she never took it well, which was why Naomi loved to do it. It made her mother seem less the superwoman she’d always appeared to be while she was growing up, and made her more fallible.
‘If you all are heading out, Holly and I really should get going. We wouldn’t want to keep you,’ Will offered.
‘Not at all, I was enjoying our chat,’ Janice offered. ‘Besides, we can’t leave until Naomi is finished and she takes forever to eat.’
‘I do not, Mum,’ she protested as she bit into a cold slice of toast. ‘And I didn’t make any plans for today actually.’
‘You’re always the first at the table and the last to leave it,’ her mother divulged.
She leaned closer to Will. ‘We always had to take Naomi into account whenever we went to a restaurant. We’d let her order a few minutes before everyone because by the time she finished, everyone else would be too and we wouldn’t have to wait around. ’
‘I’m not going to apologise for enjoying what I eat,’ Naomi countered. ‘You should savour your food.’
‘I completely agree,’ Will chorused. ‘I’m always telling Holly that she eats too quickly. Food is made to be enjoyed not wolfed down.’
‘Thank you! There you go, from the mouth of a proper restauranteur, too. Thank you.’
‘So what do you do, Naomi?’ Will asked, and before she could answer her mother piped up.
‘She takes pictures of herself and puts them on the internet for money.’
‘Mum!’ she admonished, mortified. Bad enough that she herself found it hard to comprehend her little side profession, much less explain it to someone else. Plus her mother made it sound so … tacky.
‘What? It’s true, isn’t it?’
‘I’m actually a teacher,’ she told Will, pink-cheeked, ‘but these days I also have a little following on social media as a bit of a clothes’ horse.’ Gosh, it was always so difficult to get it across to people who weren’t social media users and she could see the confusion on Will’s face already.
‘Oh, like a YouTuber?’ Holly gasped, her eyes wide. ‘So you’re famous? Wow!’
‘I’m definitely not famous,’ Naomi assured her quickly. ‘It’s only a hobby really, something to do in my spare time.’
‘Dad, get out your phone.’
‘Honestly, it’s nothing,’ Naomi persisted and, to his credit, Will seemed to pick up on her discomfort and didn’t seek to deepen it even further by looking her up online there and then.
‘So how long are you and Holly staying at The Palms, Will?’ Janice asked, and Naomi noticed a weird inflection in her mother’s tone as she spoke. As if she was trying to impress him by sounding posher than she was.
‘Another week – Holly was determined to be here for the big party next Saturday.’
‘Party?’ Naomi enquired.
‘Yes, The Palms’ annual beach party? They do a big bonfire on the sand, local food specialties, music and dancing – it’s a huge affair going back years apparently,’ he said, filling her in on all the details.
‘Sounds amazing and the first I’ve heard of it. And how perfect – on the night of my birthday too,’ she commented, looking delightedly at her parents.
Not only that but assuming Greg had also known about this, wouldn’t such an event make the perfect backdrop for a proposal? Maybe that was exactly what he’d been planning all along and why he was so preoccupied and disengaged on the trip thus far, and dare she say it, nervous.
‘It’ll be our first time attending, but by all accounts, it’s the highlight of the season,’ Will informed them knowledgeably. ‘Supposed to be a truly memorable occasion. I hear the hotel really goes all out, fireworks and everything.’