Page 77 of The Love Position

‘Yeah. My brother still calls me Char, but to everyone else, I’m Sophia. I don’t talk about it much. Not that I’m embarrassed by what he did, more that I can’t remember ever having a different name. But I never use the “Lady” part. I’ll change it when… At some point in the future.’

Isaac was looking at her in a way that made her skin tingle. The air between them seemed to crackle with electricity.

He may fancy you, but nothing’s going to happen!

Grabbing the crutches, Sophia pushed to her feet.

Isaac rushed forward as if to help but she shook her head.

‘I’m okay, and I need to be able to get about unaided. Could you bring the bags, please?’

He took them into the bathroom, then came back out. ‘Are you sure you’re alright in there on your own?’

Heat flared through her, and she stopped, a crutch squeaking on the floor.

‘Oh god, no! I didn’t mean me. I—’ Isaac ran a hand through his hair, his face on fire. ‘I meant I could call for Doreen, or one of the other nurses.’

‘Oh.’ See? Nothing’s going to happen.

Mortified at where her mind had gone, Sophia shook her head and hobbled to the door. ‘I’ll be fine. Can you do the paperwork please?’

Hesitating, he gazed at the brace around her knee and the crutches.

‘I’m fine, Isaac. I’ll pull the emergency cord if I need to.’

Giving her a brief nod, he grabbed his bag and left the room.

Sophia puffed out her flaming cheeks, then sighed. This was rapidly becoming torture. Like staring through the glass of the fanciest patisserie, knowing you could never taste any of it.

Twenty minutes later, clean and feeling like a boho princess, Sophia exited the bathroom.

Isaac was sitting on the bed, looking at his phone. Standing, he pocketed it and stared at her as if he knew he shouldn’t but couldn’t look away.

‘Do you like it?’ she asked shyly.

His gaze was reverential but hungry. ‘You’re so beautiful…’

Sophia’s mouth ran dry and her expensive panties ran wet. Her body ached for him.

Clearing his throat, Isaac glanced away. ‘All the paperwork’s done. We’re in no hurry to get back, so I didn’t know if you wanted to go for lunch. You said you’d eaten a sandwich, but that doesn’t sound much.’

‘That would be great. I’m still a bit hungry. Is there somewhere close by?’

‘There’s an amazing barbeque place just over the road.’

‘Meat?’

Isaac looked embarrassed. ‘In the interests of full disclosure, I had a burger an hour ago.’

Sophia burst out laughing. ‘And my sandwich had chicken and bacon in it… So, what happens on Tortula stays on Tortula?’

He nodded. ‘This is one rule I don’t have a problem breaking.’

‘So, you never went all-in with the vegetarian thing, then?’ Sophia asked as she demolished a family-sized meat platter with Isaac.

The sun was gentler in the mid-afternoon, but they still sat under an awning, the sparkling sea just a stone’s throw away.

‘I did it in India for a couple of years, but it’s not a diet I thrive on,’ he replied. ‘And if the Dalai Lama eats meat, then I don’t think vegetarianism is necessary for a strong spiritual practice. I know plenty of people who are perfectly fine without meat. I’m just not one of them.’

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