Page 73 of The Love Position

He cleared his throat. ‘Of course.’

Releasing Sophia’s hand, Isaac took the forms and got off the bed.

‘Don’t go!’ Sophia’s voice was panicked.

‘I won’t, love. I’m right here. I just need to give the doctor some space. Alright?’

Sophia nodded, then glanced at Tonya. ‘Sorry. I’m not great with hospitals and it’s been a bit of a morning.’

Tonya smiled. ‘And it’s not even nine o’clock. Don’t worry, Sophia, you’re in good hands. Now, why don’t you talk me through what happened and we can do a full injury assessment.’

Taking Sophia’s passport from his bag, Isaac filled in the form as she talked, putting his mobile number down as well as his address in Foxbrooke, as Sophia’s home. He knew they were in an abnormal situation and were only pretending to be married. However, the thought of her living in his home didn’t evoke feelings of revulsion. Quite the opposite. In his mind, her presence there was natural, as if she was an intrinsic part of his happy place.

‘Oof, that’s a nasty cut you’ve got there,’ Tonya said as she lifted the bandage. ‘But it’ll stop bleeding as soon as I’ve stapled it up.’

The clipboard dropped from Isaac’s hands, and Sophia’s face paled.

Tonya chuckled. ‘Oh, don’t worry, it’s a medical stapler. I apologise. I forget how that must sound.’ She took a small white device from the trolley. ‘It’s sterile and remarkably effective. You’ll be able to have the staples out in about a week, and as the scar is by your hairline, hopefully it’ll be pretty unnoticeable.’

Sophia gave her an unsteady nod.

‘If people ask you how you got it, you have to have a very exciting story ready.’

‘I had a fight with lord Shiva.’

Tonya laughed. ‘That trumps a shark attack any day.’

Isaac stayed with Sophia whilst the gash on her head was stapled and the one on her hand bandaged, then followed as she was wheeled to have an X-ray, then CT scan.

After the scan, Sophia’s bed was pushed into a private room overlooking the bay.

‘Rest now while the doctor looks at the results,’ Doreen said to Sophia, before turning to Isaac. ‘Can you get her fresh clothes and a pair of shoes? I don’t want to get Sophia cleaned up properly until she’s got something else to change into.’

Isaac nodded. ‘As soon as she’s asleep, I’ll—’

‘Are you going back to the ashram?’ Sophia interrupted, her voice rising.

He took her hand. ‘No, love, just into town. I won’t be long and I don’t need to go right now.’

‘Can I get you anything to eat?’ Doreen asked her.

‘Yes, please. I’m absolutely starving.’

‘Okay, let me get you a menu.’

As soon as Doreen left the room, Sophia’s face crinkled with concern.

‘Isaac, how can I pay for this? I don’t think my travel insurance will cover a private room and god knows how much a CT scan costs.’

Even though they didn’t have to put on a show of being married now, he didn’t want to relinquish her hand.

He smiled. ‘You won’t even need to worry about putting in a claim. The ashram is paying for all of it.’

Sophia’s mouth dropped open. ‘But how?’

‘None of the ashram staff get a wage, so there’s plenty of money for emergencies like this.’

‘Anisha and Mohan work for nothing?’

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