Page 27 of The Summer Island Swap
‘The two of you are very different, aren’t you? She’s almost finished her strip,’ he said. ‘Shall I ask her to help you?’
‘No thanks.’
What I needed was a long drink. A fragrant bath. A massage. A plateful of pastries and shade.
My eyes welled up but I squeezed tears away. For Amy’s – and Jonas’s – sake I had to be strong.
‘Are you okay?’ Rick said and took my arm.
His voice was hard to hear. The rainforest went in and out of focus. I tried to shake him off. ‘If you could just leave me to get on, I’ll… I’ll…’
My knees felt like jelly and as they buckled my hat fell off and everything went black.
13
Tropical warmth wrapped around me like a winter duvet. I opened my eyes. Or did I? Perhaps this was a dream – me, lying in the arms of an indecently handsome man. Fingers gently brushed hair out of my eyes.
The good thing about dreams was that you could do whatever you wanted. There was no point in wasting them. At the very least I could bag a swoonworthy kiss, without the baggage of real-life insecurities and limitations. I lifted a hand and tucked it behind his neck, gently pulling his face towards mine.
‘Sarah? How are you feeling?’ asked an English voice.
There was something about the line of the jaw and the way those eyebrows pinched together into quizzical frown that I recognised.
I was lying down. A strong arm around my shoulders. In the middle of the rainforest.
Oh crap!
I sat bolt upright.
‘Ow!’ He rubbed his chin.
‘Sorry, Rick,’ I said, feeling myself blush furiously. ‘I… was just grabbing onto you to pull myself up.’
‘You fainted,’ he said. ‘Unless you fell over.’ He glanced at my pink trainers. I should have put on the boots. ‘Did you not even read the kit list before packing?’
‘No, because—’
‘Right. You’ll have to buy some proper footwear over on Tortola at the weekend. Have some water.’ He picked up my bottle, shook it and looked further puzzled.
‘I forgot to refill it,’ I said lamely.
‘Then you’d better have some of mine.’
‘That won’t be—’
‘No arguments,’ he said firmly. ‘You need to rehydrate. I’ll get your sister to take you back to the camp and take you off the turtle trip tonight. I was going to roster you on with Amy.’
‘No way. I was just thirsty and tired. See?’ I knocked back some water and stretched my arms. ‘I’m perfectly capable of carrying on.’
‘That’s all very stoical but I don’t want a health and safety issue on my hands. And you need a hat that stays on in this heat.’ He picked his up off the ground and put it on my head.
‘There’s no need to make a fuss,’ I said, in an urgent tone.
Rick glanced at me. I stared back rebelliously. He rubbed his forehead, stood back and studied me as if I were a new species of insect he’d spotted.
‘Sarah? What’s going on?’
Too late. Running footsteps. Amy appeared by my side.
