Page 76 of The Love Position

Fingers trembling, she held up a white bra, embroidered with pale blue flowers. The material was so soft, the design utterly exquisite, and she knew without checking that it would fit. Alongside the bra were—two!—pairs of matching knickers. Again, large enough to fit perfectly.

Sophia pressed a palm to her chest. No matter which way she tried to spin it, Isaac Hayward had bought her underwear…

She checked the bag, but there was no receipt and the price had been removed from the tags.

How much did they cost? And is the ashram really going to foot the bill for them?

Inside a third bag she found a hairbrush, a flannel, toothbrush and toothpaste, sun cream, a pair of sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed straw hat with a silk band inside so the straw wouldn’t scratch against her skin.

And in the last bag was a scoop-necked maxi sundress with a blue hibiscus pattern on a white background.

Oh. My. God.

Sophia blinked a few times, as if needing to make sure this wasn’t a figment of a pharmaceutically medicated mind, then replaced each item in their bag.

Isaac Hayward likes me. Me!

But the giddy excitement was tempered by the knowledge that he would never act on his feelings. The clothes were necessary, the shoes imperative. Isaac was just being his usual kind self and she would be silly if she read any more into his actions than that.

The shower shut off in the bathroom and Sophia carefully lifted her bad leg off the side of the bed and reached for the crutches. She’d been given a brace to support her knee but could take it off to wash. If she was mindful, she could clean the rest of herself without soaking the bandage on her hand and the stapled cut on her forehead. She remembered the flannel Isaac had bought. Had he already been thinking ahead?

After a few minutes, Isaac exited the bathroom, dressed in loose, cream linen trousers and a navy t-shirt, his damp hair curlier than when it was dry.

Sophia bit back a whimper.

His gaze went from the bags to her as if wondering if she’d checked out what he’d bought.

‘How much did it all cost? Will the ashram really pay for it? Are you going to get in trouble?’ The words tumbled out of her mouth.

‘Are they okay?’

‘What? Yes! It’s all perfect. Beautiful. Far too posh for me.’

‘Well, you are a Lady.’

‘Huh?’

‘Your passport. Your name’s Lady Sophia Hunter-Savage.’

Dropping her head, she let out a groan. ‘I’m not titled. That’s my dad’s fault.’

‘Is he the King?’

Sophia rolled her eyes. ‘He thinks he is. Please don’t tell anyone. I was going to change it when I—’

She broke off. When I married Marcus…

‘The thing is, I was born Chardonnay Skinner.’

Isaac’s eyes widened.

‘I know, I know. You’re thinking it suits me much better than “Sophia”.’

He grinned.

‘Anyway, when I was two, Dad’s businesses really took off, and he decided to change my brother’s name from Kevin to Lord James, mine from Chardonnay to Lady Sophia, and our surname from Skinner to Hunter-Savage.’

‘Wow.’

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