Page 27 of The Love Position

Isaac, on the other hand, had at least three inches on her, and carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone who was happy in their own skin and had nothing to prove.

‘What drew you to archaeology?’

She paused before replying. This year she’d almost completely lost sight of why she loved her job.

‘When I was at primary school, we learnt about the stone age. The class book was The Boy with the Bronze Axe. Do you know it?’

He shook his head.

‘It’s a story based on the settlement of Skara Brae on Orkney.’

‘That vaguely rings a bell. Isn’t it called “the Scottish Pompei”?’

‘Yes! It’s five thousand years old, but was only uncovered after a storm in eighteen-fifty. In class, we made our own versions out of clay, and I just lost myself in the project. As a kid, even ten years seemed like a lifetime, but here were people thousands of years ago who looked like us, living in houses with what we would recognise as dressers, beds, fireplaces. It made me see the landscape completely differently, and I wanted to discover what else was hidden below the surface.’

‘What period are you most interested in?’

‘It all fascinates me, but I’m most drawn to pre-industrial civilisations. We’re so used to electricity, cars, phones, and modern houses. It’s easy to forget that for most of human history we haven’t had anything like that. I love finding out how people took what they could find and shaped these incredibly rich and diverse cultures. And I love being in nature, feeling the earth in my hands and connecting with people across millennia.’

As Isaac smiled at her, Sophia’s heart sang. She felt seen and heard in a way she hadn’t done for years. Marcus used to love her enthusiasm, but as she became more knowledgeable and experienced, he would find ways to put her down, as if they were in some kind of winner-takes-all competition where he had to come first.

And he always did come first…

Sophia’s happy balloon deflated at the thought of sex with Marcus. Would she ever be intimate with a man again? She hoped she would, but right now, she couldn’t imagine it.

Well… She could imagine it, but sex with Isaac was only ever going to happen in her dreams. Not only had he taken a vow of chastity, but he was also completely and utterly out of her league.

‘When’s the exhibition opening in Salisbury? I’d love to visit and see what you found.’

Sophia bit the inside of her cheek as pain flared in her chest.

Isaac’s expression changed, his brow furrowing. ‘What’s happened?’

She shrugged.

‘Sophia?’

His voice was so gentle she wanted to weep.

They stopped by the side of the main road into Foxbrooke, then crossed and continued down a narrow lane lined with old hedges.

‘You don’t have to tell me. But I want you to see me as a friend. And I’ll never betray your confidence.’

The traffic noises were receding, and the air was filled with birdsong. Sophia felt the edges of her anxiety soften. She could do with a friend. Someone who didn’t know Marcus, her family, her life. Isaac had no agenda. He could just be an incredibly kind and extremely hot human worry-doll.

‘I don’t think you really want to hear about my drama.’

‘I do. I want to know what’s been making your light dim. Apart from everything to do with your dad, of course.’

Had Marcus dimmed her light? Or was she just the same old dull Sophia with her nose in a book that she’d always been?

She took a deep breath. ‘When I went to uni, I fell in love with my professor. We’ve been living together for the past ten years and are now colleagues. Only in January, I found him with…’ Her stomach turned at the memories from that night.

‘Another woman?’

She glanced at him. ‘Women…’

The look of shock on Isaac’s face was almost comical.

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