Page 117 of The Love Position

‘Go,’ Sophia said, a little more forcefully, trying to convey with her tone the need for him to treat her the same as anyone else on the island.

‘Yeah, come on, Hanuman,’ Mohan said to him. ‘She’s fine.’ Putting a hand on Isaac’s shoulder, he pulled him away, Ganapati following.

Taking a deep breath, Sophia squared her shoulders and hobbled down the dock towards the island. The sargassum seemed even worse than normal, so far up the beach that it was now under the trees.

However, the private beach with her accommodation was on the lee of the island, and when she got there, apart from leaves and the odd branch on the sand, everything looked the same.

Letting herself into her room, Sophia sat on the bed and let out a sigh. Her body ached, and she was dizzy with tiredness. The previous night, she and Isaac had made love until the sun rose, too desperate for each other to sleep. She’d dozed in the taxi on the way to meet the boat, but it was nowhere near enough to take the edge off her exhaustion.

Could she have a nap now? It wasn’t like she was mobile enough to clear seaweed or any other physical task. Guilt gnawed at her insides. Logically, she knew she wouldn’t be much help, but the idea of sleeping whilst everyone else worked on their day off didn’t sit right with her.

Her phone buzzed in her bag with a call, and she took it out.

‘Estelle?’

‘Aha! You’re alive then. Jolly good.’

‘Did you know about the storm?’

‘I was just checking the weather, and I’d left the location on the BVI. I didn’t want to tell James or your folks before I’d tried you, as I didn’t want them to worry.’

‘Thanks, I really appreciate that. I’m fine.’

‘But it was still a hurricane. It can’t have been much fun on that tiny island.’

‘Oh, we were on the mainland.’

There was a short silence, and Sophia’s sleep-deprived brain went slowly back over her words, trying to figure out what she’d just said.

‘We?’

Oh dear…

‘Who’s “we”,’ Estelle continued, ‘and why were you on the mainland?’

‘Um…’

‘Sophia? Is everything alright?’

Tiredness rolled through her, pushing tears into her eyes. She was emotionally wrung out and desperately needed to talk to someone about what was going on.

‘Sophia? You still there?’

‘Yes, sorry.’ She swiped at her eyes and sniffed. ‘Isaac was with me.’

‘Isaac? As in Isaac, Isaac?’

‘Yes. He came here from India with his guru.’

‘Has he been there the whole time you’ve been there?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Why didn’t you say anything? Is he okay? He left Foxbrooke so abruptly. Have you seen much of him?’

Sophia’s mind flashed with images of Isaac’s naked body on hers, their limbs entwined as orgasm after orgasm rolled through her. The memories were viscerally fresh, but also starting to feel like a fevered dream.

‘Sophia? Is he okay?’

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