Page 119 of The Love Position

‘Huh? For what?’

She bit the inside of her cheek. ‘I know you were… You liked him a lot.’

Estelle snorted. ‘You think I still fancy him? God no. I haven’t thought about Isaac like that for nearly a year, and now it’s a physical impossibility for him to give me the horn. I love your infuriatingly awesome brother far too much.’

Thank god.

‘But Sophia…’

‘Yes?’

‘I don’t want to rain on your love parade, but are you sure this is the right thing for you?’

Ice pierced her heart. ‘What do you mean?’

Estelle sighed. ‘I know Isaac’s super nice and super hot, but are you just rebounding from Marcus? I know your ex was a complete fuckwad and you’re not getting back with him, but you were together for ten years. That’s a lot to unpick and process.’

It was a lot, but each time Sophia thought of Marcus, it was with revulsion, sadness, and disbelief that she’d been with him for that long.

And when she thought of Isaac, her heart grew three sizes and her soul sang.

‘I’m not doubting that Isaac fancies you. It’s just his vow was one of the things that defined him. What if he changes his mind and then somehow blames you for leading him astray?’

Was that going to happen? She wanted to throw up.

‘Shit. I sound like a total arse. I’m sorry, Soph, I’m just gobsmacked and should have processed the news without sounding my big mouth off. Ignore me. Honestly, I don’t know what I’m talking about. Please forget what I’ve just said.’

But how could she?

After getting off the call, Sophia left her room and went to find Anisha, mulling over Estelle’s words. Isaac had been so clear back in January that he didn’t want to break his vow, but now he had.

Would he regret it when they got back to Foxbrooke? He’d asked her to move in with him, but he’d been living alone for longer than she’d been with Marcus. Would Isaac change his mind once there were two toothbrushes in the bathroom and her clothes in his wardrobe?

Doubt and misery churned in her stomach. It had taken a massive leap of faith to believe Isaac wanted to break his vow with her. Apart from Marcus, she’d never been aware of anyone else fancying her before.

And Isaac was beyond hot. No matter what he’d said to her, or how he’d worshipped her, old insecurities were crawling from the woodwork to bite chunks out of her happiness.

Sophia knocked on the admin block door and Anisha opened it. Her face was pale and her eyes dark and hollow.

‘Mohan said you’d arrived back.’

‘How can I help?’

‘Can you go to the kitchen and help prepare breakfast? It’s been delayed till lunchtime now. You can chop while sitting down.’

‘Yes, of course.’

‘Thank you.’ Anisha gave her a tight smile, then went back inside the building.

Ten minutes later, Sophia was sitting on one of the picnic tables outside the kitchen, peeling vegetables. The faint smell was not enough to cover the sargassum stench as it drifted up from the beach.

People moved slowly through the calf-deep seaweed like zombies, heaping it into piles, then transferring it onto trolleys that were wheeled past her.

‘Where are they taking it?’ she asked a chef when she came to collect the carrots Sophia had just chopped.

‘They’re putting it on the ferry then dumping it offshore on the other side of the island.’

‘Won’t it just float to the mainland then?’

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